8 — Friday, November 20, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Breakdown: Michigan at Penn State

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

Only one item remains on the 

Michigan football team’s to-do 
list before the Wolverines have 
a chance to face No. 3 Ohio State 
at home for a spot in the Big Ten 
Championship.

This weekend, No. 12 Michigan 

must journey into Happy Valley 
and come away with a win over 
Penn State (4-2 Big Ten, 7-3 
overall) — no small task.

The two teams have played close 

games in their last two matchups: 
In 2013, the Nittany Lions pulled 
out a 43-40, double-overtime win, 
and last season Michigan held 
off Penn State under the lights at 
Michigan Stadium, 18-13.

With the way the Wolverines 

have played lately — three of their 
past four games have gone down 
to the final play — more theatrics 
aren’t out of the question.

The Daily breaks down the 

matchup:

Michigan pass offense vs. 

Penn State pass defense

Michigan 
fifth-year 
senior 

quarterback Jake Rudock is coming 
off the best game of his career, 
and it couldn’t have happened at a 
better time. The Wolverines may 
need some more heroics from him 
in the last two weeks of the season. 
He appears ready to provide those 
heroics, with the help of redshirt 
junior wide receivers Jehu Chesson 
and Amara Darboh and junior tight 
end Jake Butt.

Michigan played it relatively 

safe last year against Penn State, 
with quarterback Devin Gardner 
finishing 16-for-24 with 192 yards, 
a touchdown and an interception. 
That was about Rudock’s average 
until 
last 
week, 
when 
the 

Wolverines started hitting passes 
downfield. If that trend continues, 
it also bodes well for what could be 
a shootout against Ohio State next 
week.

The problem for Michigan is 

that the Nittany Lions could be the 
best opposing pass defense of the 
season. Penn State gives up just 
159 yards per game through the 
air — second in the nation — and 
has nine interceptions. Indiana, 
meanwhile, 
came 
into 
last 

weekend’s game ranked second to 
last in that category.

The Nittany Lions’ leader in 

pass breakups has just five of them, 
but most of the team’s success in 
defending the aerial attack comes 
in its pass rush. Penn State has 
41 sacks this season, led by the 
nation’s leader in the category: 
defensive end Carl Nassib with 
15.5.

Edge: Penn State

Michigan rush offense vs. 

Penn State rush defense

The Wolverines have dropped 

off in their running game lately. 
In their five-game winning streak 
earlier in the season, they rushed 
for more than 200 yards four 
times, but they haven’t done so in 
the four games since. Last week at 
Indiana, Rudock was their leading 
rusher with 64 yards, while junior 
running back De’Veon Smith 
gained just 58 on 12 carries.

Due 
to 
a 
combination 
of 

injuries, splitting carries and 
ineffectiveness, Michigan hasn’t 
had a 100-yard rusher since Smith 
against Brigham Young on Sept. 
26. The Wolverines relied more on 
the passing game against Indiana, 
but if they could establish the 
ground game early, it might help 
relieve the pressure on Rudock.

That will be no easy task against 

Nassib and the Penn State front. 
The Nittany Lions have 94 tackles 
for loss this season, including a 
streak of 18 games with at least 
five. Overall, Penn State’s defense 
ranks No. 13 in the country, giving 
Michigan a tough test.

Edge: Penn State

Penn State pass offense vs. 

Michigan pass defense

Penn 
State 
quarterback 

Christian Hackenberg has already 
faced the Wolverines twice, with 
mixed results. Two years ago in 
State College, he threw for 305 
yards and three touchdowns, 
including one to lead a comeback 
at the end of regulation. Last 
season in Ann Arbor, Michigan 
sacked him six times and limited 
him to just 160 yards.

Hackenberg, 
a 
6-foot-4, 

228-pound junior, has thrown 
13 touchdowns and just three 
interceptions this season. His 
top 
target 
is 
wide 
receiver 

Chris Godwin (808 yards, three 
touchdowns). But his offensive 
line is still struggling, giving up 
33 sacks in 10 games this season, 
so Michigan has an opportunity 
there.

The Wolverines appear to have 

solved some of their issues in the 
secondary, allowing just 317 yards 
over the past two weeks after 
surrendering at least that many in 
each of the previous two games. 
Hackenberg has the tools to burn 
them, but the secondary will be 
the best he has faced this season.

Edge: Michigan

Penn State rush offense vs. 

Michigan rush defense

Here, the Wolverines have the 

most to prove. Playing without 
redshirt junior defensive tackle 
Ryan Glasgow at Indiana last 
week, Michigan allowed 307 yards 
rushing on 55 attempts.

The Wolverines had to move 

up redshirt sophomore Maurice 
Hurst to play in Glasgow’s spot, 
and they faced depth issues 
behind Hurst. Redshirt junior 
defensive lineman Tom Strobel, 
now a two-way player, will see 
action there, as will others. Even 
without Glasgow, Michigan still 
boasts redshirt junior defensive 

linemen Willie Henry and Chris 
Wormley.

Penn State’s rushing attack 

doesn’t quite have the firepower 
of Indiana’s, and the Nittany 
Lions won’t test Michigan with 
any up-tempo offense, either. But 
running back Saquon Barkley is 
earning 6.3 yards per carry for 
a total of 836 along with seven 
touchdowns. There isn’t much 
behind him, and the sacks hurt 
Penn State’s rushing numbers. 
While the Nittany Lions rank 
just 98th in the country, the 
Wolverines will have to prove they 
can stop the run.

Edge: Michigan

Special teams

The Wolverines gave up another 

big play in the special teams game 
last week, this time a punt-return 
touchdown by Indiana’s Mitchell 

Paige. Other than that, though, the 
unit remains solid. Senior kicker 
Kenny Allen is now 14-for-18 on 
field goals, and fifth-year senior 
punter Blake O’Neill is averaging 
41.7 yards on 44 punts with just 
three touchbacks.

Penn State changed kickers 

midseason, from Joey Julius to 
Tyler Davis after Julius missed 
two extra points against Illinois 
on Oct. 31. Davis has been perfect 
since then.

The Nittany Lions also have 

two punters and no big-play threat 
in the return game like Michigan 
redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers.

Edge: Michigan

Intangibles

In some ways, Penn State has 

the edge here. The Nittany Lions 
are coming off a late-season bye 
week, playing at home on Senior 

Day and looking to avenge last 
season’s loss in Ann Arbor. 
Meanwhile, Michigan admitted 
to being fatigued at Indiana last 
week, will be playing without 
Glasgow again and is traveling 
on the road for the second 
straight game.

But 
then 
there 
are 
the 

circumstances: Penn State is 
all but eliminated from the 
Big Ten East race, save for the 
possibility of a wild end to the 
season that could result in a 
four-way tie. The Wolverines, 
on the other hand, need only a 
win and a Michigan State loss to 
play their archrival at home for 
the division title next week. For 
them, the stakes couldn’t be any 
bigger.

Edge: Michigan

Prediction: 
Michigan 
26, 

Penn State 24

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Jake Rudock enters Michigan’s game against Penn State coming off the two best games of his career.

‘M’ faces tough weekend

By MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

A year ago, the Michigan 

hockey team traveled to Boston 
University to take on the Terriers 
at the loud and rowdy Agganis 
Arena.

Though 
the 

Wolverines (5-1-
1) held an early 
lead, sparked by 
then-freshman 
defenseman 
Zach Werenski’s 
opening 
goal, 

they 
couldn’t 

fend off Boston 
University’s 
attack, 
giving 

up a score to 
forward 
Jack 

Eichel early in 
the third period and conceding 
the game-winner with just two 
minutes left in the game.

Thirteen months later, No. 12 

Michigan will travel back to face 
the 10th-ranked Terriers — an 
NCAA Finalist last season. 

Except this time, things aren’t 

exactly the same.

Between the two teams, a 

total of six players — including 
the 
Wolverines’ 
and 
Boston 

University’s top three and top two 
scorers from last year, respectively 
— have moved on to professional 
leagues.

But just because some of the 

talent is gone doesn’t mean the 
game is any less important.

The Terriers (5-3-2) present 

Michigan with its first real test 
of the season and will be the first 
top-10 team the Wolverines will 
face.

The Wolverines know that, and 

they’re bracing for the step up in 
competition.

“Intensity’s been pretty high,” 

said senior forward Boo Nieves. 

Last week, Michigan coasted 

to a 7-3 victory over Niagara that 

featured six different goal scorers. 
But despite the big win, Michigan 
coach Red Berenson was still 
disappointed with the three goals 
allowed and stressed that point 
throughout practice during the 
week.

“We need to make sure we’re 

taking care of things in our own 
end first,” Nieves said. “(Berenson) 
was happy that we had seven 
goals, but he also wasn’t too happy 
that we gave up three, and two 
of those goals were special-team 
goals that shouldn’t have gone in. “

On the other side of the ice, 

the Terriers come into the game 
without having lost in the last 
three weeks. In that span, they 
beat Northeastern twice and 
tied No. 1 Providence twice in a 
rematch of last season’s NCAA 
Championship game.

And while Eichel isn’t around 

to light the lamp anymore, Boston 
University still has loads of talent.

“When you go play (Boston 

University) with Jack Eichel, you 
always know when Jack Eichel is 
out there,” Werenski said. “This 
year, without him, it definitely 
crosses your mind that he isn’t out 
there. But they have freshmen like 
(forwards Jordan Greenway and 
Charlie McAvoy), who I played 
with at (the USA Hockey National 
Team Development Program) and 
are really good players.”

On the blue line, All-American 

defenseman Matt Grezlcyk and 
the rest of the defense will try to 
stop a Wolverine offense that is 
currently ranked second in the 
nation in goals per game.

In 
between 
the 
pipes, 

Boston University will trot out 
netminder Connor LaCouvee. The 
sophomore goaltender is taking 
over for 2014-2015 Hockey East 
Second Team goaltender Matt 
O’Connor, who is also now in the 
professional ranks.

But even without Eichel at the 

opposite end of the ice, Michigan 
knows it can’t worry too much 
about the Terriers. The Wolverines 
need to worry about themselves.

 “At the same time, who knows, 

they could be even better without 
him,” Nieves said.” It really 
doesn’t matter about them. It’s 
more about us.”

ICE HOCKEY

Michigan at 
Boston U.

Matchup: 
Michigan 5-1-
1; BU 5-3-2

When: Friday 
6 P.M.; 
Saturday 
4 p.m.

Where: 
Agganis Arena

Xavier presents a new 
challenge for Michigan

Wolverines will 
look to eliminate 
inconsistencies of 

early season

By LEV FACHER 

Managing Editor

John 
Beilein, 
typically 

straight-laced, took a turn for 
the philosophical on Thursday. 
In the leadup to the No. 24 
Michigan men’s basketball team’s 
Friday-night clash with Xavier, 
he referenced a Muhammad Ali 
quote he felt 
represented 
his 
team’s 

early-season 
development:

It isn’t the 

mountains 
ahead to climb 
that wear you 
out, it’s the 
pebble in your 
shoe.

The pebble, 

Beilein 
said 

Thursday, 
is 
random 

inconsistency 
in games and in practice. Even 
if four players are crashing the 
boards for an offensive rebound, 
for example, there always seems 
to be one standing and watching.

“Or there’s one that doesn’t call 

out a screen,” Beilein said. “These 
are small things … we’ve got to 
get that pebble out of our shoe, 
because it’ll be hard to go where 
we want to as long as those things 
are lingering.”

More annoying to Beilein is 

the fact that there’s no single 
culprit — it’s a seemingly random 
rotation of players suffering from 
momentary mental lapses.

As 
Michigan’s 
season 

progresses, Beilein’s need to trim 
his 12-man rotation is becoming 
more pressing, and it’s the 
minutiae, in games or in practice, 
that could make the difference in 

what he says are “dead heats” at 
several positions.

For 
now, 
though, 
the 

undefined rotation might serve 
as an advantage. The Wolverines 
(2-0) have used four players 
— redshirt sophomore Mark 
Donnal, sophomore Ricky Doyle, 
redshirt freshman D.J. Wilson 
and freshman Moritz Wagner — 
at the ‘5’ spot, and all five might 
be needed against the Musketeers 
(2-0).

Xavier’s Jalen Reynolds, a 

Detroit native, is the biggest low-
post 
threat 

Michigan 
has 

faced so far, and 
a by-committee 
approach 
from the big 
men might be 
needed to stop 
him.

“Well, 
we 

have 
fouls 

to give there 
now,” 
Beilein 

said, noting that he’ll have no 
choice but to use all four players 
despite his desire to slim down 
the Wolverines’ rotation. “We’ll 
have to. That is just a very strong, 
experienced player, good athlete, 
(who’s) really going to be tough 
for any of our guys to defend.”

Though none of Michigan’s 

big men has more than a season 
of NCAA competition under his 
belt, Beilein said the concern 
with 
Reynolds 
goes 
beyond 

experience. 
It 
took 
former 

Michigan 
forward 
Jordan 

Morgan five years to become an 
‘elite defender,’ Beilein said, and 
even he would have his hands 
full against Reynolds.

It’s not just the low post 

that could give the Wolverines 
trouble. Michigan’s coaching 
staff 
has 
encouraged 
its 

shooters, 
including 
junior 

guard 
Derrick 
Walton 
Jr., 

senior guard Caris LeVert and 
redshirt 
sophomore 
guard 

Duncan Robinson, to be more 
aggressive 
in 
shooting 
off 

ball screens this season. But 
the 
Musketeers’ 
backcourt 

includes lengthy guards like 
6-foot-5 Edmond Sumner and 
6-foot-6 Trevon Bluiett, whose 
size could pose issues for the 
Wolverines as they look to 
take advantage of narrow open 
spaces around the perimeter.

“I just think you’ve got to be 

much more sound with your 
fundamentals,” 
Walton 
said, 

adding that Michigan has worked 
at getting players better looks 
off perimeter screens in recent 

practices. 
“(Shooting 
off 
the 
ball 

screen) 
has 

been preached 
since we all 
got here, to 
everybody 
(Beilein) 
has faith in 
to shoot the 
ball.”

The 

Wolverines’ 
smaller 
guards, 

however, 
could 
match 
up 

favorably against Xavier’s Myles 
Davis. If swingmen like LeVert 
and sophomore guard Aubrey 
Dawkins can take care of their 
opponent’s backcourt size, they 
could create openings for players 
like Walton and Albrecht to leave 
the 6-foot-2 Davis feeling kind of 
blue.

Beilein said he would wait 

until after Thursday’s practice 
to decide on a starting lineup for 
Michigan’s first legitimate test of 
the year. The Wolverines’ ninth-
year coach listed Doyle, Wilson, 
sophomore 
guard 
Kameron 

Chatman and junior forward 
Zak Irvin as being among a list 
of players he’s on the fence about 
starting.

Dawkins, LeVert and Walton 

all seem like safe bets to start, and 
while Beilein didn’t mention him 
specifically, Mark Donnal started 
in Michigan’s exhibition opener 
against Le Moyne and in both of 
its regular-season games to date.

Xavier at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Xavier 2-0; 
Michigan 2-0

When: Friday 
9 P.M.

Where: 
Crisler Arena

TV/Radio: 
BTN

“We’ve got to 
get that pebble 

out of our 

shoe.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

