The Wolverine Now

Oct. 20, 2013 Wild Ride Wolverines Survive Record-Setting Shootout M By John Borton ichigan athletics director David Brandon probably doesn't want to invest in new stadium scoreboards this quickly, following a mega-million remake of Michigan Stadium. He'll have technicians checking the meltdown, though, after the Wolverines and Hoosiers left them smoking. U-M surged to a school-record 751 total yards in stiff-arming the high-scoring Hoosiers, 63-47. Devin Gardner fired away through the air (21-of-29, 503 yards, two 63 47 touchdowns) and scrambled past the defensively hapless Hoosiers on the ground (15 carries, 81 yards, three TDs) for another school record of 584 individual total yards. Wideout Jeremy Gallon snagged 14 catches for a Big Ten-record 369 yards and two TDs, and the Wolverines played just enough defense in the end to win. Safety Thomas Gordon's two fourth-quarter interceptions set up Gardner's game-clinching plunge into the end zone and then put away what seemed like Indiana's 100th charge downfield. "Coach [Brady] Hoke always reminds me we need more," Gardner acknowledged. "Coach [Fred] Jackson came up to me and said it's going to be like a basketball game. You have to keep scoring." It felt like an NBA All-Star game for a while, Indiana ringing up 572 yards of offense on its own, including 288 yards passing and three touchdowns by quarterback Tre Roberson. In the end, Michigan Stadium breathed one major sigh of relief in a game that left its denizens breathless. "A lot of frustration," noted Hoke, as defensive-minded as they come. "Sickening, sick feeling, that kind of thing. You don't win championships without playing defense, and we didn't play good defense today." But they did enough, on this day, to move on at 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana delivered an early airmail reminder of its quick strike ability. Starting QB Nate Sudfeld (8-of-19, 122 yards) gunned a 59-yard touchdown strike to wideout Cody Latimer in the opening five minutes, putting the Wolverines in rally mode. Little did anyone know, that marked the tiniest snowflake on the iceberg, for both teams. The Wolverines wasted no time, either. Set up by a 44-yard kickoff return by sophomore Dennis Norfleet, the Wolverines covered the other 56 in five plays, Gardner bolting in on a keeper to square the scoreboard at 7-7. U-M then demonstrated big-play ability of its own, Gardner tossing a quick pass to Gallon, who bolted away for 70 yards. With the skies opening into a downpour at Michigan Stadium, Gallon then made a juggling grab Redshirt junior Devin Gardner set a U-M record by passing for 503 yards in the win over Indiana, marking the first time a Michigan quarterback had thrown for even 400 yards, much less for 500. photo by lon horwedel

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