Stories by Zach Helfand
Failure to adjust leads to nightmare second half for Michigan
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
COLUMBUS — It took Ohio State coach Urban Meyer two quarters, but he had simplified Michigan’s offense down to one key: stop Denard Robinson.
Michigan could decide AP National Champion in 109th version of The Game
- File Photo/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
Greg Mattison couldn’t recall the year Ohio State’s dreams last died at Michigan’s hands. Michigan’s defensive coordinator just remembered the feeling. It was better than a Super Bowl, one player recalled. It was worth 11 other wins.
Al Borges's new offense features Robinson, possibilities
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
For Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges, football is a game of possibility. It’s surveying a field or scribbling plays on a napkin, devising ways to get two top-five NFL draft picks in the same backfield, getting playmakers in open space or to get your playmaker the ball even if he’s injured. In his mind, there are possibilities.
Denard Robinson starts in final home game as Michigan dominates Iowa
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
The Michigan football world turned again on Saturday. It was an end and a beginning, the closing of a spellbinding chapter of Michigan football and an emphatic statement for the future.
Denard Robinson is gone, another casualty of the unrelenting spinning of the college football world. The senior will play again, but never again in Michigan Stadium.
Omameh: 300 pounds of sunshine
- Marissa McClain/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
Where did this kid come from? This colossus of a kid who had waltzed into St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus? There had been a kid like him in the feeder school, but that kid had been a foot shorter and with glasses — a bit awkward.
Notebook: Robinson boo-boo business bothers Hawkeyes' preparation
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
Maybe there is something to this boo-boo business. Michigan coach Brady Hoke has declined to give any sort of update on senior quarterback Denard Robinson’s status against Iowa. And that’s at least a bit of an obstacle for the Hawkeyes, according to coach Kirk Ferentz.
Finally assertive, Roundtree bails out Michigan
- Teresa Mathew/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
The Michigan football team had practiced this play. Thursday, actually, they ran the play they would call if they trailed late in the game and needed a miracle.
Michigan considering shake up on offensive line
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
Devin Gardner hardly had a chance in the first quarter last week. The Minnesota pass rush overwhelmed the junior wide receiver turned quarterback from the start, along with his help in the backfield. The pressure halted drives. It ruined Gardner’s rhythm.
Notebook: Scoreboard watching (or not), Bellomy update
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
Scoreboard watching is a lot like picking your nose. Invariably, there are people who do it, and inevitably, those people don’t like to admit it. Take the Michigan football team, for example.
Zach Helfand: For his team, Gardner answers the call again
- Erin Kirkland/Daily
BY ZACH HELFAND
MINNEAPOLIS — Scrambling and out of alternatives on Saturday, Michigan leaned on the familiar option. Once again, Michigan needed Devin Gardner, his own concerns be damned.
