The Wolverine Now

OCT. 28, 2012 HURTING A In Robinson's absence, Nebraska junior Denard Robinson And The Wolverines Are Knocked Out By Nebraska BY JOHN BORTON ll anyone needs to know about Mich- igan's 23-9 loss at Nebraska boils down to one crushingly cruel statistical line. Before senior quarterback Denard Rob- inson left the game late in the second quar- ter with a nerve problem in his throwing arm, Michigan had racked up 144 total yards and stood a chance. Over the final 33 minutes in his absence, Michigan picked up 44 more yards. For all practical purposes, the Wolverines' night was over when Robinson called it a day. "It was pretty tough, but at the end of the day, we all have to have his back," fifth- year senior wide receiver Roy Roundtree said of Robinson's replacement, redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Bellomy. "Him being a young leader out there, we've got to respond. You've got to give credit to Nebraska, because they held us to nine points. The offense has to score. That's the main thing. We've got to come together and score, move the ball." That's proper, brave talk, but in front of Nebraska's Sea of Red, a rabid Memorial Stadium crowd of 86,160 — NU's sec- ond-largest crowd ever — it was far more likely that a rookie-led offense would sink instead of swim. That's exactly what happened. Bellomy (3-of-16, 38 yards, three inter- ceptions) came under relentless fire from a quarterback Taylor Martinez (14-of-24, 166 yards passing, one touchdown, com- bined with 14 carries for 58 yards) secured a vice grip on the game. He combined with sophomore I-back Ameer Abdullah (24 carries, 101 yards, one TD) and a hun- gry 'Huskers defense to choke off any U-M hopes. The Wolverines trailed just 7-6 at the half, but when Robinson didn't emerge 23 9 for the final 30 minutes, Hoke's crew re- mained in neutral. Nebraska senior placekicker Brett Ma- her gave the 'Huskers a 10-6 lead on a 19-yard field goal just 3:12 into the second half, after a wild exchange of intercep- tions. Michigan sophomore linebacker Desmond Morgan leaped high to tip a Martinez pass into the hands of freshman defensive end Mario Ojemudia, giving the Wolverines the ball on their own 46. But three plays later, Bellomy fired to Robinson was forced to leave the game after suffering an injury in the second quarter that caused a nerve problem in his throwing arm. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Nebraska team desperate to claw back into the Legends Division race. Robinson's departure opened the door, and the Corn- huskers (6-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) came storming through against the Wolverines (5-3, 3-1). Robinson (6-of-11, 55 yards) had his hands full in front of the hostile crowd as it was. When his throwing hand couldn't grip a football, it wasn't long at all before Michigan's hold on first place in the divi- sion slipped away. "He just couldn't grip a ball well enough, didn't feel like he could throw it well enough," head coach Brady Hoke said. diving senior tailback Vincent Smith, who cradled the ball as he crashed to the turf and then saw it pop out of his hands and tumble upwards. Nebraska senior safety T.J. Smith grabbed it in stride, racing 53 yards down to the U-M 4. Michigan's defense held on a gutsy goal-line stand, forcing Maher to hit a 19- yard chip shot, widening the margin. With Robinson out and Michigan going nowhere, the Cornhuskers soon cashed in again. This time, Maher boomed a 51-yard

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