FootballSaturday, October 10, 2015
6

Breakdown: ‘M’ vs. Northwestern

Average offenses 

may struggle against 

stingy defenses

By MAX BULTMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Riding two straight shutouts, 

the Michigan football team is on 
a roll. No. 13 Northwestern comes 
to Ann Arbor this week, though, 
and it might take a third straight 
shutout to beat the Wildcats.

Northwestern 
and 
the 

18th-ranked Wolverines (1-0 Big 
Ten, 4-1 overall) boast the top two 
defenses in the Big Ten and two 
of the best in the nation. While 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh 
pointed out that the defenses 
won’t go head-to-head, all eyes 
will be on that side of the ball 
Saturday.

The 
Daily 
broke 
down 

Michigan’s 
upcoming 
meeting 

with the Wildcats.

Michigan 
pass 
offense 
vs. 

Northwestern pass defense

The Wildcats should pose a 

difficult test for fifth-year senior 
Jake Rudock’s game-managing 
abilities. Rudock has been about 
average in his first five games as 
a Wolverine, turning the ball over 
a little too much but generally 
holding the offense steady against 
subpar defenses.

The only time Rudock has 

faced a defense comparable to 
Northwestern’s 
was 
against 

Utah in the season opener, when 
he threw three interceptions, 
including a pick-six.

Against 
the 
Wildcats’ 
stiff 

rush defense, Rudock will likely 
have to throw more than in past 
games, meaning accuracy will 
be at a premium. He is currently 
completing 60 percent of his 
passes but has not yet needed to be 
the focal point of the offense. He 
may need to be on Saturday.

Some 
miscues 
have 
been 

surmountable against teams like 
Oregon State and Maryland, but 
against Northwestern, he’ll need 
to avoid mistakes at all costs. The 
Wildcats boast the No. 7 pass 
defense in the country, giving up 
just 130 yards per game, and held 
Stanford to just two field goals in 
Week 1.

All the Cardinal have done 

since is hang 41 on Southern 
California, 42 on Oregon State and 

55 on Arizona.

Northwestern 
is 
the 
best 

defense Rudock has faced all 
season, and unless he makes a 
large leap in a hurry, it doesn’t 
look like a good matchup for the 
Wolverines.

Edge: Northwestern

Michigan 
rush 
offense 
vs. 

Northwestern rush defense

This pairing should be closer, 

and it will also be the centerpiece 
of the game. Michigan wants to 
pound the ball. Northwestern 
wants to stuff the run. It’s a match 
made in power-ball heaven.

The Wolverines are averaging 

201 yards per game, but they face 
a more-than-worthy opponent in 
the Wildcats’ 26th-ranked rush 
defense.

One key factor will be the 

status of junior running back 
De’Veon Smith, who missed the 
Maryland game with an ankle 
injury. If Smith is at full strength, 
his tackle-breaking abilities are 
of paramount importance against 
the stingy Northwestern line. If he 
can’t play, or is limited, look to see 
redshirt junior Drake Johnson, 
who isn’t the bruising type of back 
Harbaugh prefers to use.

Johnson spreads the field more 

with his agility and pass-catching 
abilities, but he’s also easier to 
tackle than Smith if you can catch 
up to him.

In either case, the Wildcats 

will be ready and willing to face 
the run. Don’t expect Michigan to 
abandon its power style unless it 
trails late, though, no matter how 
much gridlock its running backs 
face.

Edge: Northwestern

Northwestern pass offense vs. 
Michigan pass defense

According to the rankings, 

the Wolverines have the No. 3 
pass defense in the country. But 
don’t tell that to the Michigan 
secondary, which believes it can 
be the nation’s best.

Currently, 
opponents 
are 

averaging just 112.6 yards per 
game through the air, and the 
Wolverines have held their last 
two opponents well under 100 
passing yards.

Junior 
cornerback 
Jourdan 

Lewis 
has 
broken 
up 
seven 

passes this season and has been 

a shutdown corner in every sense 
of the word. He intercepted 
his first pass of the season last 
week, and against the Wildcats’ 
inexperienced 
quarterback 

Clayton Thorson, Lewis and the 
secondary will be salivating for 
more.

Thorson has gone over 152 

yards in just one game this season, 
and three of his four touchdown 
passes came against Ball State. 
He does, however, have four 
more touchdowns on the ground, 
meaning Michigan will need to 
contain him throughout the game.

If the Wolverines can force 

Thorson to throw, the secondary 
is more than capable of winning 
the air battle.

Edge: Michigan

Northwestern rush offense vs. 
Michigan rush defense

So far, only Utah has given 

Michigan any trouble on the 
ground. 
Travis 
Wilson 
and 

Devontae Booker rang up 120 
rushing yards on the Wolverines 
in the first game of the season, 
and the Wolverines have been 
sturdy since, holding every other 
opponent under 100 yards.

The defense took a hit when 

Mario Ojemudia was lost for 
the season with an Achilles 
injury 
against 
the 
Terrapins, 

but otherwise, this is one of the 
scariest units in the country.

Between 
redshirt 
junior 

defensive ends Chris Wormley 
and Willie Henry, and redshirt 
sophomore 
defensive 
tackle 

Maurice Hurst, Michigan has 
enough weapons to be fresh all 
game. For the Wildcats, that 
should be a scary thought.

Through 
five 
games, 
the 

Wolverines have 40 tackles for 
loss, totaling 149 yards. If that 
keeps up, it will be tough for 
Northwestern to sustain any kind 
of drive.

Edge: Michigan

Special teams

Now that we have the defensive 

dominance out of the way, it’s 
time for the matchup that very 
well could determine the game. 
It would hardly surprise anyone 
if this turned into a battle of field 
position, with both sides trading 
punts and collecting field goals.

If it devolves into that, fifth-

year senior punter Blake O’Neill 
gives the Wolverines a key weapon 
in the punting game. O’Neill 
has booted punts as long as 59 
yards this year and is averaging 
a respectable 40.7 yards. He has 
pinned opponents inside their own 
20-yard line 11 times already, and 
in a game that may be decided by 

inches, that could prove decisive.

Redshirt 
freshman 
Jabrill 

Peppers has also come close to 
breaking loose on a couple of 
punts this season, so expect the 
Wildcats to be well prepared for 
him.

Northwestern’s Solomon Vault 

returned a kick 98 yards for a 
touchdown against Duke and is 
averaging 31.6 yards per return.

As for the placekickers, the 

Wildcats’ Jack Mitchell is 10-for-
12 on the season with a long of 49, 
while Michigan’s Kenny Allen is 
6-for-8 with a long of 40.

Edge: Northwestern

Intangibles

Even in just the second week of 

Big Ten play, there’s plenty on the 
line for these teams on Saturday. 
Michigan has seen a drastic rise in 
its stock over the last two weeks, 
and a win would only further that.

But if the Wolverines get caught 

looking ahead to No. 4 Michigan 
State next week, Northwestern 
will be ready to pounce. The 
Wildcats 
have 
had 
an 
edge 

this season, and three straight 
overtime losses at the Wolverines’ 
hands will fuel their motivation.

Edge: Northwestern

Pick: Michigan 13, Northwestern 9

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Fifth-year senior linebacker Desmond Morgan is one of the veterans on the Michigan football team’s second-ranked defense.

