Say what you will about the quality of the Michigan secondary; the quality of its opponents is unquestionably strong. Washington's Reggie Williams, Illinois' Brandon Lloyd and Penn State's Bryant Johnson have all lined up against Michigan, and Saturday the defensive unit faced perhaps its biggest challenge: Michigan State junior receiver Charles Rogers.

Rogers has caught 50 passes for more than 1,000 yards, and was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate earlier in the season. Rogers and the Michigan State offense suffered a setback when quarterback Jeff Smoker was suspended from the team before Saturday's game. Even so, there was serious concern that substitute quarterback Damon Dowdell would still be able to find Rogers against a secondary that has been known to give up the big play.

He couldn't, and the Michigan secondary once again contained one of the nation's top receivers; it held Rogers to just four receptions for a quiet 75 yards.

"He's one of the best receivers in the nation, and it was a challenge for all of us," said Michigan cornerback Markus Curry, who was one of several defensive backs who lined up against the speedy Spartan. "I believe we did our job today."

Michigan offered Michigan State a few different looks, at times playing either a zone coverage scheme or man-to-man. Rogers' biggest play of the game - a 26-yard pass from Dowdell that set up Michigan State's lone score - came on a zone scheme meant to contain him and keep the Michigan safeties from getting burned.

"If Rogers was going to catch the ball, we wanted him to do it in front of us," Michigan coach Lloyd Car said.

But the effort to limit Rogers' productivity was very much a team effort. Injuries to Zia Combs and Julius Curry have left the secondary weakened, but junior safety Jon Shaw and freshman safety Ernest Shazor performed magnificently in replacement. The defensive line kept pressure on Dowdell, forcing him to make bad passes.

"The biggest thing is we got pressure up front and there weren't a lot of throwing lanes for Dowdell," Michigan secondary coach Teryl Austin said.

The running man: B.J. Askew made no effort to hide the fact that he wasn't thrilled about moving to fullback this season. Saturday, Askew had a chance to return to tailback, getting the start over a banged up Chris Perry.

"I loved it," Askew said. "I'll probably be right back at fullback next week, though. Whatever. We won. That's all that matters."

Askew played a major role in the victory, rushing for a career-high 147 yards and two touchdowns. He carried the ball 32 times, wearing down the Michigan State defensive line for the benefit of Perry - who saw limited action - and sophomores Tim Bracken and David Underwood, all of who rushed well late in the game.

Carr regrets not moving Askew to tailback a week ago.

"I made a mistake," Carr said. "I was extremely confident that Chris Perry would come back because he had played in the second half against Purdue with that ankle injury and played extremely well. Based on what I knew and what I thought, I made a mistake. I should have moved Askew back to tailback a week ago so that we could come in and have an opportunity, regardless of how Chris was, to run the football. I think it hurt our team. I think it hurt our chances to win a week ago."

First in flight: Saturday was a day for Michigan football moms to set up the VCRs; their little boys made a lot of "firsts."

Freshman receiver Jason Avant and sophomore Andy Stejskal made their first career receptions. Junior safety Jon Shaw and freshman fullback Sean Sanderson each made his first career start. Sophomore tailback Tim Bracken recorded his first career touchdown, freshman safety Ernest Shazor recorded his first career sack and fifth-year senior cornerback Blake Nasif made his first career interception.

Marlin Jackson tied a Michigan single season record with his 15th pass breakup of the season. He currently shares the record with former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, who had 15 PBU in 1996.

Injury update: On the offensive line, freshman lineman Matt Lentz returned to action, but fellow freshman Matt Stenavitch is still missing. During the game, junior Tony Pape moved to the left side of the line to protect quarterback John Navarre's blind side, which allowed junior Courtney Morgan - who admits to playing poorly against Iowa last week - to play on the right of the line. Michigan ran heavily to the left.

Senior safety Julius Curry again said that he would be ready to play by next week, but there is no word on when fellow safety Cato June will return.