Carr Sets His Sights on Turnover Battle

The bad stretch came early.

Three fumbles against Notre Dame. Three turnovers in an upset loss at Oregon and four the next week against Indiana.

Looking back on Michigan’s wobbly play in the first month of the season, Coach Lloyd Carr said only, “We got off to a poor start.”

The Wolverines did a significantly better job of holding onto the ball while finishing the regular season with six consecutive victories, but turnovers are foremost in their minds as they prepare to face USC in the Rose Bowl.

The Trojans tied for the best turnover margin in the nation this season, taking the ball away from opponents 41 times, or 21 more times than they gave it away.

Michigan, by comparison, ranked 51st in that category.

“It really comes with the style of play Coach [Pete] Carroll brought here,” USC defensive lineman Kenechi Udeze said. “He emphasized getting the ball. We work on that.”

While Carr expressed admiration for the way the USC defense forced fumbles and interceptions, he also had praise for the Trojan offense.

Attempting 407 passes this season, USC suffered only nine interceptions.

“When you throw the football that many times and have nine interceptions, that’s very impressive,” Carr said.

This week, the coach is preaching a simple message to his players. Throw out the statistics. Forget about what happened this season -- especially early on.

“We’ve just got to find a way to win the turnover battle in this game,” he said.

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When the Wolverines say that USC holds a home-field advantage in the Rose Bowl, they don’t necessarily mean the stadium or the crowd.

Michigan players and coaches are talking about the fact that the Trojans are practicing on their own campus this week.

“They don’t have to change their meeting rooms, their routines,” Carr said.

“They’re right at home so there’s not a lot of adjustments.”

Having played in the Orange Bowl last season, USC defensive lineman Shaun Cody remembers what it was like to be on the road.

Getting settled in an unfamiliar locker room. Finding your way around an unfamiliar town.

“All kinds of things can screw you up,” Cody said. “Staying at home makes it that much easier.”

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The team planned to spend Saturday night at the Improv as guests of Eric Champnella, a regular at the comedy club and a Michigan alumnus.