Football In-game Features vs. Delaware State
10/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Grady Brothers Bring it Back to the 1940s
No hard record has been kept on this tidbit, but not since the Elliott brothers (Chalmers "Bump" and Pete) ran the ball for Michigan in the 1940s have brothers each scored a Wolverine touchdown in the same game. Little brother Kelvin Grady caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and big brother Kevin Grady rushed for a seven-yard score in the second to match the legendary siblings. The touchdowns were the first of 2009 for both brothers and the first of Kelvin's collegiate career. Grady the younger finished with two catches for 48 yards, while big brother Kevin racked up 73 yards of rushing offense.
Brandon Graham's Lack of a Touchdown Celebration
On Brandon Smith's blocked punt in the first quarter, Brandon Graham scooped up the ball and stepped into the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown. Graham ran into the end zone with the ball outstretched and was mobbed by his teammates. As end zone celebrations go, Graham's was as modest as they come. Graham ran to the sideline where he was like the bride in a wedding procession with everyone and their uncle giving him handshakes and high-fives. Fans took pictures from the stands and offensive line coach Greg Frey ran 40 yards down the sideline from his usual roost to give BG a big hug. When Graham caught his breath, he turned to linebacker Stevie Brown and yelled, "I didn't know what to do!"
"You should have pitched it to me!" yelled back Brown.
In the locker room after the game, Graham admitted he had a celebration planned all along. "I was going to do a back flip," Graham said, "but my teammates jumped all over me. I wasn't going to push them away."
"I'll get another chance," he said with a wink.
Emptying the Benches
Michigan put 84 players on the field against the Hornets with nine Wolverines seeing action for the first time in their collegiate careers. Fittingly, fifth-senior linebacker and All-Name Team All-Star Ohene Opong-Owusu served as a game captain and saw his first action in five seasons, playing on the kickoff team. Opong-Owusu twice busted the Delaware State wedge on kickoffs to the delirious cheers of his teammates on the sideline.
"It was nerve-wracking the first time," he said in the locker room after the game, "but on the second kickoff I was calm and had a chance to soak in the experience."
And the next time he gets a chance to get on the field.
"I'll do more celebrating," he said.
Kevin Grady, Road Grader
With running backs Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor on the mend, Michigan's offense unleashed the heavy running of 5-foot-9, 230-pound Kevin Grady on the Delaware State defense. Grady ran around, between, but mostly at Hornet defenders, relishing the contact. Grady finished with eight carries for 73 yards and at least seven of those tackles were at or below his shins. The Road Grader added a touchdown to his total, his first of 2009.
Cold Coach = Victory
ESPN.com columnist Gregg Easterbrook sticks to the immutable law that "cold coach = victory" during games held in frigid temps. Though the 46-degree temperatures on the field were far from arctic, the wind and cloud cover made it feel closer to 39. Head coach Rich Rodriguez chose to wear a light jacket and baseball cap, while the rest of his staff selected light jackets or thin sweaters for their attire. Polar expedition wear was left in the closet. The coldest coach? Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who faced the elements in a maize polo shirt over a blue long sleeve. On the sideline, nearly 60 percent of the Wolverines from warm weather states played in short sleeves, adding a possible corollary of "cold player = victory" to the Easterbrook canon.
Break Out the Fire-Spewing Heaters
The Delaware State game marked the debut of sideline heaters on the U-M bench at Michigan Stadium. Five dull golden Protemp PT-175T-KFA heaters spewed heat behind the benches, cranked up to just over 90 degrees. Like fat jet engines, the bazooka-shaped heating element rumbled continuously, glowing orange and belching flames just inside the protective rim. One BTU equaled the heat generated from a single wooden match and at 175,000 BTUs each ... well, these heaters were hot.
Skills Players Blocking
Michigan's running backs and wide receivers have made blocking a priority this season and it showed on a number of Wolverine plays, perhaps none more illustrative than Martavious Odoms' 25-yard catch-and-run on Michigan's opening drive. Odoms caught the pass in the right slot and wide receiver Greg Mathews immediately sealed his man on the right sideline. Odoms cut up field and ran to the right pylon with running back Michael Shaw far upfield blocking defensive backs into the end zone and losing his mouth guard in the process. Odoms was pulled down two yards shy of the goal line, but Shaw was rewarded for his hard work with a two-yard TD carry on the next play.
The Shortest Player to...
At 5-6, freshman running back Vincent Smith became the shortest Wolverine to:
• Score a touchdown this year
• Rush for 100 yards this year
• Rush for 150 yards this year
Smith made the most of his playing time, putting up the second-highest rushing total of the season and adding his first collegiate touchdown.
The Dream Cabinet - Kennedy, Sheridan and Cone
Five Michigan quarterbacks saw action under center, including sophomore walk-on Jack Kennedy, who made his first collegiate appearance and ran for a gain of six yards in the last play of the game. Nick Sheridan (7-for-9, 88 yards) and David Cone (3-for-3, 54 yards), Tate Forcier (2-for-2, 39 yards) and Denard Robinson (3-for-4, 85 yards) rounded out the five-headed monster.
Delaware State Band - The Approaching Storm
Though numerically inferior to the Michigan marching band, the Delaware State marching band (AKA The Approaching Storm) represented the First State in style. Fronted by drum major Matthew "Hurricane" Brown, the band put on an entertaining show during pregame, and then took it to a new level at halftime with the music and moves of the late, great Michael Jackson.
Notes of Note
The announced crowd of 106,304 was the most to see a Delaware State game in program history ... Delaware State's previous single-game high was 29,713 (vs. Florida A&M at Ford Field) ... The single-season attendance record for an entire Delaware Sate season was 111,096 in 2007 ... Michigan Stadium featured Closed Captioning for the first time, displaying the words of PA announcer Carl Grapentine.
