Michigan has Heart…but not Hart

They had a rocky start to their season, but today, Michigan again proved that the deserve to be ranked. In fact, I’d even argue that, if they really had the chance to play against all over schools, Michigan would end up in the top ten. We’ll see if they actually make it that far, but in today’s win against Illinois (who went into the game 5-2), they showed a lot of heart.

What Michigan did not show was a lot of Hart. Mike Hart, that is. Hart, the BCS’s leading rusher with and average of 152 yards a game, didn’t even dress for the game. He was hurt in last week’s game against  Purdue, and although everyone had hoped he would play, the trainers and coaches obviously didn’t think he was ready yet.

Hart is definitely in the running for the Heisman…or, at least, he was. Has his sit-out this week smashed all chances? Well, maybe. I mean, a week of not playing means a lot in the race. But let’s not forget that he is still the nation’s best rusher, so if he bounces back and plays well for the rest of the season, I think he still has a shot.

Anyway, the game went well even withou Hart. Carlos Brown stood in as the team’s lead rusher, running for 113 yards in 25 carries. Mario Manningham was also on point today, scoring two touchdowns and totaling 109 receiving yards. That’s compared to Illinois’ Rashard Mendenahall’s 85 yards rushing and Adrian Arrington’s only 35 yards receiving.

The game was really lost in the mistakes, however. Although both Michigan’s Chad Henne and Illinois’ Juice Williams each had one interception, but Illinois ended the day with a whopping 10 penalties for 107 yards while Michigan only has 4 penalties for 35 yards.