8 — Friday, October 30, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
What to Watch
For: Minnesota
By MAX COHEN
Managing Sports Editor
The No. 15 Michigan football
team has had an extra week
off since a last-second loss to
Michigan State two weeks ago.
While the Wolverines won’t get
to erase that loss this weekend,
they can exact revenge from
another defeat from last season.
Michigan
will
travel
to
Minnesota, where it will play
the Golden Gophers on Saturday
night. Minnesota won the Little
Brown Jug in crushing fashion
last
season,
defeating
the
Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 30-14.
This year’s game will be a chance
to remedy the situation and bring
the trophy back to Schembechler
Hall. Michigan had defeated the
Golden Gophers in six straight
contests prior to last year’s game.
Here’s what to watch for
Saturday.
1. How will both teams start?
There will be no lack of
emotion in Saturday’s game.
Michigan will be playing for the
first time since its heartbreaking
loss against Michigan State, in
which a fumbled punt turned
into disaster on the game’s final
play.
Minnesota,
meanwhile,
will be playing its first game
without coach Jerry Kill, who
retired Wednesday because of
health problems.
The Wolverines have insisted
all week that they will come out
ready to play, motivated instead
of defeated. But this team hasn’t
yet had to face a great deal of
adversity
this
season.
Sure,
Michigan lost its season opener
at Utah, but that was no shock.
This will be a different test
altogether. The Wolverines have
said that they will not let one
loss turn into two, but Saturday’s
game will be their chance to
prove it.
From afar, it seems as though
the Golden Gophers took Kill’s
retirement hard. Players took
to social media to wish him
well and express how much Kill
meant to them. While Michigan
tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh
said this week that he thinks
Kill always had his team so fired
up that it couldn’t possibly play
any harder, it will be interesting
to see if Minnesota comes out
playing inspired in honor of its
former coach.
2. Will Jabrill Peppers play
more offense?
The redshirt freshman safety
made a couple of appearances
on offense against the Spartans.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
said Peppers could very well play
offense in the future, but exactly
how much remains to be seen.
When he went in on offense,
Peppers had an immediate effect
against Michigan State. Spartan
coach Mark Dantonio called
back-to-back timeouts the first
time Peppers appeared with
the offense, an indication that
Peppers presented an immediate
concern to the seasoned coach. In
limited offensive action, Peppers
finished with two receptions for
35 yards.
It will be interesting to see
how Harbaugh deploys Peppers
on offense going forward. Is he
a weapon to be used only against
the toughest opponents, or is he
going to become a regular part
of the offense now that he has
had more than half a season to
settle in on defense? Jackson said
this week that Peppers playing
offense likely had to do with
both of those factors. No matter
the situation, Peppers playing
more offense would certainly be
a way to mix things up.
3. How will Blake O’Neill
respond?
The fifth-year senior punter
has shown nothing but grace
ever
since
his
game-ending
gaffe that filled sports highlight
shows. He spoke to the media
last week, emphasizing that one
mistake will not define him.
But now comes the next
part of the equation: actually
kicking. While the Wolverines
have expressed no doubts about
their confidence in O’Neill going
forward, it will ease the minds
of fans to see him back in his old
form, pinning opponents inside
the 10-yard line.
4. Can Michigan’s defense
return to its dominant ways?
Before
the
Wolverines’
defense surrendered 21 points
against Michigan State — with
the Spartans’ last touchdown
coming on special teams — the
unit had recorded three straight
shutouts.
Michigan’s
defense
had been suffocating until it
faced the task of shutting down
an experienced Michigan State
offense, but even then, the
Wolverines held their own.
This
week
will
be
an
opportunity
for
Michigan’s
defense
to
return
to
its
dominance. The Golden Gophers
have
experienced
mixed
results offensively this season.
Minnesota
scored
41
points
against Purdue on Oct. 10 but
could not muster a score against
Northwestern the week before.
The
Wolverines’
defense
should
come
out
fired
up,
particularly senior linebacker
Joe Bolden, who was ejected
from the game against the
Spartans for targeting. A fourth
shutout of the season, especially
after last week’s loss, would be
quite an impressive feat.
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan vs. Minnesota
101
Minnesota’s national ranking in total
offense at 351 yards per game, heading
into Saturday’s game vs. Michigan
28
Minnesota’s national ranking in total
defense at 328.7 yards per game
100
The Gophers’ ranking in turnover margin
(minus-.57 per game)
73-25-3
Michigan’s record in the series against
Minnesota
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Jabrill Peppers impacted all three phases of Michigan’s last game.
‘M’ to host Robert Morris
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
New York was kind to the
Michigan
hockey
team
last
weekend,
as
the
Wolverines
tied
then-
No. 18 Union
and
defeated
Rensselaer
to
preserve their
undefeated
record.
Now,
No.
10
Michigan
(3-0-1)
will
defend
its
home ice and
untarnished
resume
against
Robert Morris in a two-game
series on Friday and Saturday.
And while the Colonials (2-0-
2) are unranked, the Wolverines
do not intend to take them lightly.
“We’re preparing for a good
team,” said Michigan coach Red
Berenson. “Their power play
looks to be much better than
ours — and their penalty killing.
Their numbers are better than
our numbers, really.
That respect is warranted
for a Robert Morris squad that
boasts 24 goals in just five games.
Most notably, the Wolverines
will need to contain forward
Greg Gibson, who is headlining
the
high-powered
offense
coming off a five-goal weekend
against Niagara. This could be a
daunting task given Michigan’s
defensive
inconsistency
(14
goals in four games) as of late.
Gibson also finished plus-three
on the weekend.
More
than
anything,
the
Wolverines are trying to learn
from their mistakes and turn
last weekend’s shortcomings into
this weekend’s edge.
“We want to be stingier,”
Berenson said. “We can’t be a
team that gives up four or five
goals against and expects to win
a game, so goals against (needs
to improve), our power play has
to be more productive, and our
penalty killing has to be tighter.”
On the offensive side of the
puck, senior forward Tyler Motte
and
freshman
forward
Kyle
Connor leads the team with four
and three goals, respectively, but
they head a balanced attack. Four
players are tied at two goals apiece,
and Michigan will likely lean on
its surprising support coming
from the third line. Sophomore
forward Tony Calderone and
freshman
forwards
Brendan
Warren and Cooper Marody have
combined for six goals and five
assists this season.
In terms of injuries, senior
forward Boo Nieves will be out
with an upper-body injury, and
junior defenseman Kevin Lohan
will be sidelined as well.
As Michigan hosts its second
homestand of the season, the
Wolverines will try to send a
message to opposing teams that
no performance is good enough to
steal victories in Yost Ice Arena.
“We want to get off to a good
start,” Berenson said. “I can’t
say we did that last Friday when
we played at Union. Even on the
Friday before that, I don’t think
we won the first period. We want
to be a team that comes out of the
gate fast and sharp at home and
sets the tone for the game.”
Robert Morris
at Michigan
Matchup:
Robert
Morris 2-0-2;
Michigan 3-0-1
When: Friday
7:35 P.M.,
Saturday
3:05 P.M.
Where: Yost
Ice Arena
TV/Radio:
BTN Plus
ICE HOCKEY