EVANSTON — Not only did Jason Avant make the best catch by
a Michigan receiver since Marquise Walker’s grab at Iowa two
years ago, he had quite a celebration prepared for his old hometown
fans.

Avant, who had just one career touchdown (against Oregon) up
until Saturday, hasn’t had many balls thrown to him in the
redzone. Michigan typically looks to Chris Perry or Braylon Edwards
to get the points, while Avant has developed into John
Navarre’s main third-down option. But this time,
Avant’s name was called, and he made the most of his
opportunity.

“That was the greatest catch I’ve ever seen,”
Edwards said.

The sophomore was set in motion and ran a post route across the
field. Navarre fired a bullet into the endzone a little bit ahead
of him, but that didn’t really matter. Avant reached out with
one arm and snagged the ball with his hand, and then pulled it into
his chest before he hit the ground.

Then it was time for the real show. Avant got up, put the ball
through his legs and started doing a crouched strut that was good
enough to get the No. 1 spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s
Top 10 Saturday night.

“I’ve seen Avant make catches like that in practice,
so I was not totally amazed,” Lloyd Carr said.

With his lack of scoring opportunities, Avant’s
contributions haven’t been as visible as Michigan’s
other receivers. But the sophomore has been a dependable and
dangerous option for the Wolverines, racking up more than 40
catches and 700 yards on the season thus far. Avant’s
contributions come in many forms, such as his ability to throw
blocks on the offense or on special teams.

Marlin sighting: After missing four games due to injury,
safety Marlin Jackson returned to action Saturday. He didn’t
see much action, though. The coaches just wanted to get him back in
the swing of things, but didn’t want to risk a re-injury.

Based on the defensive stats over the past four games, the
Wolverines haven’t exactly missed Jackson’s presence in
the defensive backfield, but they still feel good about having him
back.

“It’s always nice to have a guy like Marlin Jackson
in there because of what he brings to the table,” defensive
back Jon Shaw said. “He’s such a talented player, and
he can do so many things to help the team.”

Bad News, Breaston: Punt returner Steve Breaston had a
punt return for a touchdown called back because of a penalty for
the second time this season. Breaston, who should have four punt
returns for touchdowns in all this season if you count those two
(plus one returned to the two-yardline against Notre Dame), said he
wasn’t upset.

“It bothers me, but you have to understand that those are
things that just happen, and it’s just part of the
game,” Breaston said.

Traveling act: When Northwestern’s marching band
began playing “The Victors” as a tribute to their
opponents before the game, a large part of the crowd stood up to
cheer. That’s because Michigan fans took over Evanston for
the game. According to the Northwestern ticket office, About 13,000
of the 40,000 fans in attendance were Michigan fans.