Five things we learned:
Wolverines 51, UCF 14
By MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan football team
rolled to another blowout victory
Saturday,
trouncing
Central
Florida, 51-14.
And after our first week of
classes, we at the Daily were in the
mood to do some more learning in
the press box.
So that’s what we did. Here are
five things we learned from this
weekend.
1. Beware the big play.
Of the 275 rushing yards
Michigan allowed Saturday, 212
of those yards came on five plays.
That doesn’t make the number
any less significant — Michigan
has much better teams to play this
season that would happily take
five big plays — but it does give it a
different meaning.
Had the Wolverines given
up 275 rushing yards by getting
consistently pounded for 8-10
yards, that would be a sign of
systemic problems on the defense.
Instead, the stat can be chalked
up to either a handful of great
offensive
plays,
or
defensive
lapses.
UCF
broke
the
Michigan
contain more than defensive
coordinator Don Brown probably
would have liked, and against
quarterbacks like Ohio State’s JT
Barrett, that could be an issue.
But there’s a lot of football to be
played between now and then,
and there’s no reason to believe
Michigan can’t shore up some of
its big-play faults.
Still,
it’s
a
dent
in
the
Wolverines’ armor, and one they
would be wise to close up quickly.
2. The linebackers may be
better than we thought.
When
Michigan’s
entire
starting
linebacker
corps
graduated after last season, many
were
(justifiably)
concerned
with their replacements. But
through two games, the group has
answered its doubters.
Redshirt
junior
linebacker
Mike McCray was the Big Ten
Defensive Player of the Week in
Week 1, and he had another strong
game against the Knights with six
tackles, one and a half for loss, and
a forced fumble.
Senior Ben Gedeon combined
with freshman defensive end
Rashan Gary for a 12-yard sack,
and Jabrill Peppers continues to
be Jabrill Peppers. Against Hawaii
and UCF, that bunch was solid.
Soon, though, they will go up
against
stronger
competition
— possibly as soon as this week
but certainly by the start of the
October. McCray, Gedeon and
Peppers will be judged by how
they play in those games, not the
ones Michigan wins by 37.
But for now, there’s not much
to complain about. That’s a good
start.
3. Special teams will be OK
without John Baxter.
Four altered kicks alone make
a good special teams day. Add
in the fact that Jabrill Peppers
nearly returned another punt
for a touchdown and that the
Wolverines started five drives in
UCF territory, and it becomes a
great one.
After special teams coordinator
John
Baxter
departed
for
Southern
California
this
offseason, it was fair to wonder
whether Michigan’s special teams
— much improved last season —
would regress. Saturday should
quell some of those concerns.
Tyree Kinnel tipped two punts,
and Chris Wormley got his hands
on a pair of field goals, in what
was the best attacking day the
Wolverines’ special teams have
had in some time.
Only one of the kicks went down
as an official block — Wormley’s
first, in the first quarter — but
they all contributed to Michigan’s
dominance in the third phase. The
Wolverines won’t be able to do it
each week, but the more fear they
can put in kickers and punters, the
better off they’ll be.
4. Deep passes are a go.
It took Jake Rudock more
than half of last season to figure
out the deep passing game with
his receivers. Once he found his
touch, Rudock turned in one of the
best quarterback seasons in recent
school history, due in large part to
his success throwing downfield.
Two weeks into 2016, redshirt
junior quarterback Wilton Speight
seems to have already found that
stroke.
Speight linked up for big gains
with each of his top three targets
— senior tight end Jake Butt and
fifth-year senior receivers Amara
Darboh and Jehu Chesson —
including a 45-yard touchdown to
Darboh in the first quarter.
Getting the deep ball to work
consistently would be huge for the
Wolverines, who have arguably
the most receiving depth of
anyone in the Big Ten.
5. Bold Prediction: Khalid
Hill gets two more touchdowns
next week.
A year ago, predicting Hill to
get any rushing touchdown would
be bold. Now, he has more on the
season than any other Wolverine.
Since his conversion from tight
end, Hill has shown high value
in short-yardage situations. That
value will be highlighted against
a Colorado team that should be
significantly better than either
team Michigan has faced thus far.
The Wolverines will score, but
they’ll have to work for it, and
that’s when fullbacks make their
name.
FOOTBALL
‘M’ routs UC Riverside
By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Editor
At halftime of Friday’s match
against UC Riverside, Michigan
women’s soccer coach Greg Ryan
recognized
his
team’s
offensive
system
wasn’t matching up with the
Highlanders. He felt his team
wasn’t
playing
aggressively
enough, and made the proper
adjustment heading into the final
half.
For the last 45 minutes, the
adjustment paid off.
In the 59th minute, Abby
Kastroll cradled the ball on
the flank, and the sophomore
midfielder used her unmatched
speed to take the ball along the
right side. With enough space
to create a scoring opportunity,
she crossed the ball in front of
the mouth of the goal — past
three defenders — to sophomore
forward
Reilly
Martin,
who
kicked the ball through the legs of
goalkeeper Alanna Guzman.
There were plenty more goals
to come for the Wolverines (4-1-
1) in their 4-0 shutout of UC
Riverside at U-M Soccer Stadium.
In Michigan’s second straight
shutout, the game boiled down
to amplified offensive pressure,
playing the ball forward and
keeping the Highlanders on their
heels in the second half.
“(In the) first half, UC Riverside
came out really strong,” Kastroll
said. “We came in the second half,
changed our tactics and just went
at them and it ended up working
out for us. We realized that goal-
scoring opportunities weren’t just
going to come, we had to work for
them.”
With
one
goal
on
the
scoreboard, it took until the 81st
minute for the second — the first
of a three-goal flurry that came in
the final 10 minutes of regulation.
After the ball flew over her head
and began rolling toward the goal,
Kastroll sprinted onto it, put one
touch on the ball and rocketed it
into the net from 18 yards out.
Whether she was weaving in
and out of defenders, winning
loose balls or challenging the
goalkeeper on every potential
goal-scoring opportunity, Kastroll
made her presence felt all over the
field, all night. It was only a matter
of time until one of her shots fell.
“I like just to go hard because
it’s just pretty motivating for
the team,” Kastroll said. “Some
people react to someone yelling at
them (to) do better or encouraging
them, I just like to go into a tackle
to get the team going.”
Four
minutes
later,
senior
midfielder Jessica Heifetz scored
her first goal of the season off a
corner kick, when she launched
the ball through the legs of
Guzman off a short bounce. Soon
after, junior midfielder Rubina
Veerakone served the ball into the
box, and freshman forward Grace
Salvino got a piece of it before it
went in for her first career goal.
In the second half, UC Riverside
rarely made it past midfield, and
Michigan’s defense limited the
Highlanders to only one shot —
three for the game. With a five-
woman back line captained by
redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Sarah Jackson, the Wolverines
outmatched and outnumbered
their opponent.
“I think we just put them
on their back foot with all the
pressure,” Ryan said. “No goals
against Ole Miss, no goals against
Notre Dame, no goals again
tonight. Defensively they’re doing
a great job. ”
Friday’s match marked the end
of
Michigan’s
non-conference
slate, which means the Wolverines
are inching even closer to their
primary goal of winning a Big Ten
championship. But Michigan is
not letting its guard down.
“We’re definitely not content
going into the Big Ten play,”
Kastroll said. “We’re hungry for
more.”
UC RIVERSIDE
MICHIGAN
0
4
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Greg Ryan used an adjustment to spark the Michigan women’s soccer team in its 4-0 win over UC Riverside.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
September 12, 2016 — 3B