Michigan and Western Michigan have officially gotten back stats that hardly anyone realized were missing.
On Sept. 3, the Wolverines defeated Western Michigan 34-10 in a rain-soaked game that was ultimately called in the third quarter because of lightning. Even though the final score of the game counted, an NCAA rule stated that statistics wouldn't count unless three full quarters had been completed. But the NCAA backtracked on the rule and decided during a conference call in early November to allow the missing stats to be officially entered into the database.
But really, did anyone realize those statistics were missing? When people were touting Denard Robinson for postseason awards, did they conveniently omit his 144 total yards from the opener? What about Western Michigan's "Carder2White" campaign that touts the connection between quarterback Alex Carder and receiver Jordan White? The YouTube channel dedicated to the duo includes the Michigan game, when White — currently leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards with or without the benefit of the opener — had 12 catches for 119 yards.
The only person who seems to have sincerely forgotten about those stats? Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. In the game, linebacker Brandon Herron returned both a fumble and an interception for touchdowns and was named national defensive player of the week. Outside of the big plays, though, the rest of his performance apparently didn't endear him to his coaches: Herron has only appeared in three of the Wolverines' last eleven games and failed to record any statistics in any of them.
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Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham.