Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 — 7A

T E A M S T A T S

 

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
57.0
8.5

First Downs/Game
24.5
15.5

Rush Yards/Game
212.5
178.0

 Yards/Rush
5.3
4.3

 Rushing TDs
6
2

Passing Yards/Game
267.0
103.5

 Completion %
72.1
40.0

 Yards/Pass
8.8
4.6

 Passing TDs
7
0

 Interceptions
1
2

Offensive Plays/Game
70.5
64.0

Total Offense
479.5
281.5

3rd-down Conversions
60.0%
12.0%

4th-down Conversions
75.0%
42.9%

Sacks/Game
3.5
1.0

Kick return average
8.2
17.2

Punt return average
18.5
12.0

Punting average
45.7
38.6

Field Goals-Attempts
3-3
1-3

Fumbles/Lost
2/0
5/2

Penalty Yards/Game
26.5
68.0

Time of Poss
31:10
28:50

I N D I V I D U A L S

PASSING

Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT

Speight
35
50
457
7
1

O’Korn
5
7
32
0
0

Morris
4
4
45
0
0

TOTALS
44
61
534
7
1

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

C. Evans
17
147
8.6
43
2

Smith, D.
16
65
4.1
17
0

Isaac
12
58
4.8
12
0

Higdon
12
56
4.7
19
1

McDoom
3
50
16.7
19
0

Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0

Morris
1
14
14.0
14
0

Hill
6
13
2.2
4
3

Crawford
1
11
11.0
11
0

Chesson
2
11
5.5
15
0

O’Korn
2
4
2.0
2
0

Hirsch
1
2
2.0
2
0

Beneducci
1
1
1.0
1
0

Hewlett
1
-1
-1.0
0
0

Allen
1
-11
-11.0
0
0

Speight
2
-12
-6.0
0
0

TOTALS
80
425
5.3
43
6

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Darboh
8
153
19.1
45
3

Chesson
7
127
18.1
35
0

Butt
8
105
13.1
25
3

Ways
1
22
22.0
22
0

McDoom
3
20
6.7
8
0

Crawford
1
18
18.0
18
0

Hill
3
16
5.3
7
0

Hirsch
1
15
15.0
15
0

Poggi
3
13
4.3
8
0

Jocz
1
12
12.0
12
0

Perry
1
12
12.0
12
1

McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0

Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0

Smith, D.
2
3
1.5
8
0

Evans
1
2
2.0
2
0

TOTALS
44
534
12.1
45
7

 

PUNT RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Peppers
4
74
18.5
35
0

TOTALS
4
74
18.5
35
0

INTERCEPTIONS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Stribling
1
51
51.0
51
1

Hill, D.
1
27
27.0
27
1

TOTALS
2
78
39.0
51
2

KICKOFF RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0

Hill, K.
2
5
2.5
5
0

TOTALS
4
33
8.3
15
0

KICKOFFS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB

Allen
13
840
64.6
8

Foug
7
403
57.6
2

TOTALS
20
1243
62.2
10

PUNTING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg

Allen
3
137
45.7
55

TOTALS
3
137
45.7
55

FIELD GOALS

Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg

Allen
3-3 100% 0-0
1-1
2-2 0-0 0-0 37

DEFENSE

Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU

Peppers
13
3
16
4.0
1.0
-

McCray
9
6
15
5.0
2.0
2

Winovich
4
7
11
1.0
1.0
-

Gedeon
3
7
10
3.0
1.5
-

Gary
4
5
9
2.5
0.5
-

Glasgow, R.
4
3
7
1.0
-
-

Thomas
5
2
7
-
-
-

Godin
3
3
6
-
-
-

Wormley
3
3
6
1.5
1.0
-

Kinnel
4
1
5
-
-
-

Watson
3
2
5
-
-
-

Clark
4
-
4
-
-
2

Stribling
3
1
4
-
-
-

Hill, D.
2
2
4
1.0
-
1

Bush
2
1
3
-
-
-

Wroblewski
-
3
3
-
-
-

Marshall
1
2
3
-
-
-

Glasgow, J.
3
-
3
-
-
-

Dwumfour
2
-
2
1.0
-
-

Hudson
2
-
2
-
-
-

Hurst
1
1
2
-
-
-

Allen
-
1
1
-
-
-

Smith, D.
1
-
1
-
-
-

Charlton
-
1
1
-
-
-

Pearson
1
-
1
-
-
-

Miller
1
-
1
-
-
-

Hill, L.
-
-
-
-
-
1

TOTALS
78
54
132 20.0 7.0
6

A P T O P 2 5 P O L L

1. Alabama (2-0)
14. Oklahoma (1-1)

2. Florida State (2-0)
15. Tennessee (2-0)

3. Ohio State (2-0)
16. Georgia (2-0)

4. Michigan (2-0)
17. Texas A&M (2-0)

5. Clemson (2-0)
18. Notre Dame (1-1)

6. Houston (2-0)
19. Ole Miss (1-1)

7. Stanford (1-0)
20. LSU (1-1)

8. Washington (2-0)
21. Baylor (2-0)

9. Wisconsin (2-0)
22. Oregon (2-0)

10. Louisville (2-0)
23. Florida (2-0)

11. Texas (2-0)
24. Arkansas (2-0)

12. Michigan St. (1-0)
25. Miami (2-0)

13. Iowa (2-0)

2016 SCHEDULE

HAWAII (1-2)

W, 63-3 (1-0)

UCF (1-1)
COLORADO (2-0)

3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium, BTN

PENN ST. (1-1)

Michigan Stadium

WISCONSIN (2-0)

Michigan Stadium

at RUTGERS (1-1)

7 or 8 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.

ILLINOIS (1-1)

3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium

at MICH. ST. (1-0)

East Lansing, Mich.

MARYLAND (2-0)

Michigan Stadium

at IOWA (2-0)

8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa

INDIANA (2-0)

Michigan Stadium

at OHIO ST. (2-0)

Columbus, Ohio

9/3
9/10
9/17
9/24
10/1
10/8
10/22
10/29
11/5
11/12
11/19
11/26

W, 51-14 (2-0)

O-Line faces growing expectations

By KELLY HALL 

Daily Sports Editor

All game long, you could see 

the discontent from fans: the 
Michigan football team wasn’t 
having 
success 
running 
the 

ball. Though the fourth-ranked 
Wolverines racked up nearly 120 
yards on the ground, it averaged 
just 2.9 yards per carry on 41 
rushing attempts — not the ratio 
it was looking for. Central Florida 
was jamming five to six Knights 
in the box throughout all four 
quarters, 
quieting 
Michigan’s 

rushing efforts.

Though the Wolverines still 

emerged victorious in a 51-14 
rout, some fans were upset with 
the running game, and a great 
deal of that blame was put on 
the offensive line. Fifth-year 
senior right tackle Kyle Kalis 
wasn’t too upset with the finger-
pointing, though. He’s grown 
used to it after hearing about it 
in previous years. 

“(The fans) gotta relax,” Kalis 

said. “They gotta relax. We’re fine. 
… Most fans don’t understand, 
they don’t really understand the 
game of football to the level that 
people who play it do. When they 
stack the box like that and they 
stop the run game, you don’t get 
mad as an O-lineman, you pass the 
ball because that’s just, scheme-
wise, that’s the only option you 
have. So that’s what we did.” 

Back in 2014, when Michigan 

finished 115th in FBS Total 
Offense rankings, the offensive 
line took a lot of the criticism 
for its 5-7 season. Thinking back 
to it now, Kalis still thinks the 
blame was misattributed, but he 
understands how fans easily grew 
frustrated with the offensive 
line and used it as a scapegoat. 
That criticism will remain as 
expectations grow for the highly 
touted Wolverines. 

“Hopefully one day, the old 

stink will be gone,” Kalis said. “I 
think we’re doing a good job of 

trying to eliminate that, because 
it’s not there, I’m telling you.” 

The 
matchup 
with 
UCF 

proved that Michigan can handle 
pressure against the run by 
changing gears, and, if anything, 
it was good exposure for what 
may come later in the season. 

“As an offensive line, it’s nice, 

because even if we aren’t that 
successful in the run, just getting 
the practice at that, getting the 
practice to see that many guys in 
the box,” Kalis said. “Eventually, 
down the season, down the 
line, we may have to play a team 
that does it again to us in a dire 
situation when we have to run the 
ball, so we have to be prepared.” 

Throughout Saturday’s game, 

the Wolverines did what they 
needed to do and what they will 
need to do in the future when 

they can’t run the ball: they went 
through the air. 

Redshirt sophomore Wilton 

Speight threw for 312 yards and 
four 
touchdowns, 
including 

a 
45-yard 

touchdown 
pass to fifth-
year 
senior 

wide 
receiver 

Amara Darboh 
for his longest 
pass 
of 
the 

season. 

“Coach 

Harbaugh was 
actually talking 
about it the other day, about how 
he hasn’t had a quarterback who 
could complete the deep post 
route in like five or six years or 
something, on a consistent basis,” 
Kalis said. “Wilton, being able to 

complete those big passes this early 
on is a good thing for all of us.” 

Kalis 
thinks 
that 
Speight 

is doing a “hell of a job,” and 
when you couple that with the 

prolific 
wide 

receivers and 
the protection 
coming 
from 

the 
offensive 

line, Michigan 
has a winning 
recipe. 

On 
the 

offensive 
line 
itself, 

three 
fifth-

year senior starters (Kalis, Erik 
Magnuson 
and 
Ben 
Braden) 

have led the way with help from 
junior center Mason Cole and 
sophomore 
left 
tackle 
Grant 

Newsome. 
Competition 
from 

newcomers like freshmen Ben 
Bredeson and Michael Onwenu 
has made the group even hotter. 
Without a doubt, the offensive 
line is experiencing the most 
depth it has had in recent years. 

Finally, after playing with 

teams much less experienced 
than the 2016 Wolverines, Kalis is 
getting to see what it’s like to play 
for the No. 4 team in the nation, 
which is as high of an honor 
Michigan has seen since the 2007 
Rose Bowl. 

“A lot of guys might say, ‘The 

rankings don’t mean anything, 
we don’t care about the rankings,’ 
but no, we care about the 
rankings,” Kalis said. “We want 
to be the highest ranked as we 
can possibly be. The expectation 
is getting higher every week, so 
that’s the goal.”

Kinnel becoming a special teams ace

Sophomore safety 
tipped two game-
changing punts 
Saturday vs. UCF

By JAKE LOURIM 

Managing Sports Editor

Tyree Kinnel didn’t have 

to wait long for the moment 
he had anticipated. About 80 
seconds into Michigan’s game 
against 
Central 
Florida 
on 

Saturday, Kinnel lined up on 
the punt-block team — Grant 
Perry to his left, Brandon 
Watson to his right.

Kinnel knew one of the three 

was going to get a hand on the ball.

All 
week, 
Michigan 
had 

observed weaknesses to exploit 
in UCF’s punt team and saw an 
opportunity to strike early. Sure 
enough, with seven Wolverines 
against five Knights on the line 
of scrimmage, two UCF players 
leaked out to cover the punt. 
“We were bringing quite a few 
up the middle, and I knew they 
had overloaded a side,” Kinnel 
said.

Kinnel was the difference-

maker. 
Perry 
engaged 
with 

one member of the last line of 
blockers, and Watson took the 
other two. That freed space up 
the middle for Kinnel to lunge 
and tip the kick.

The altered punt traveled 

just 13 yards, but Michigan’s 
offense went three-and-out on 

the ensuing possession. So the 
defense forced another Knights 
punt, the Wolverines lined up in 
the same formation and Kinnel 
got 
there 

again.

This time, 

the punt went 
27 yards, and 
Michigan 
took over in 
UCF territory 
and 
scored 

on 
each 
of 

its next six 
possessions. 
Whatever 
may have happened without 
that edge in field position, it 
was clear Kinnel’s fingertips 
changed the game.

The sophomore safety from 

Wayne, Ohio, has been close 
before. Last year, Kinnel nearly 
blocked a punt against Ohio 
State 
in 
the 
regular-season 

finale, 
only 

to 
draw 

a 
flag 
for 

roughing the 
kicker 
and 

extend 
the 

drive. 
The 

Buckeyes 
scored 
the 

first 
points 

of the game 
four 
plays 

later 
and 

went on to win 42-13.

“(This time,) Coach just told 

me, ‘Don’t go after it, just go get 
it,’ ” Kinnel said. “And if you’re 
taught the right way, you’ll go 
get it.”

By now, Kinnel is familiar 

with fine lines. He knows the 
difference 
between 
blocking 

punts and coming close, between 
seeing the field and standing 
on the sidelines, even between 
winning programs and losing 
programs.

Kinnel’s senior year of high 

school was the infamous 2014 
season, 
in 
which 
Michigan 

finished 5-7 and ousted coach 
Brady Hoke, to whom Kinnel 
committed. 
Unlike 
several 

other recruits, Kinnel honored 
his commitment and started 
attending Michigan last fall.

Since then, he has fought to 

see the field. He was a standout 
on offense and defense in high 
school, but never played special 
teams. Only when he arrived in 
Ann Arbor did he see the unit as 
his path onto the field.

“It’s just attitude and effort 

when it comes to special teams,” 
Kinnel said. “It’s about knowing 
who wants it more, knowing it’s 
a key factor in the game.”

He 
learned 
that 
lesson 

from 
former 
special 
teams 

coordinator John Baxter, who 

spent one season at Michigan 
last year before returning to 
Southern 
California. 
Many 

regard Baxter as one of the 
top special teams coaches in 
the country, citing his track 
record of blocked kicks. But the 
Wolverines didn’t connect on 
any last season before tipping 
two punts and two field-goal 
attempts Saturday.

“The schemes aren’t really 

much different,” Kinnel said. 
“I think we’re just giving more 
effort.”

Just more than a year after 

trying special teams for the first 
time, Kinnel now sees that job as 
his role on the team, certainly a 
vital one Saturday.

As for defense, Kinnel has 

made 
progress 
there, 
too, 

seeing time as a reserve safety 
behind seniors Delano Hill and 
Dymonte Thomas. To a coaching 
staff that values every effort, his 
success in the punting game has 
to be of value.

“I don’t think it goes ignored,” 

Kinnel said. “(I) ended up 
getting special teams player of 
the week, so they like it. It’s a 
coaches’ thing, how that goes.”

For the time being, Kinnel 

still wants more on special 
teams. He thinks he may soon 
be able to fully block a kick, 
getting a hand on it instead of 
just a fingertip. The punt block is 
one of the fastest plays in sports, 
where 
milliseconds 
separate 

an altered kick and a perfectly 
executed one.

But 
in 
many 
aspects, 

Kinnel has learned to trust his 
preparation. He knew the punt 
block unit could break through 
Saturday, and it did. And in 2014, 
he knew Michigan’s fortunes 
would change, and they did.

“In high school, when they 

were struggling, I think I always 
wanted to be here,” Kinnel said. 
“I think things were going to 
change regardless.”

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel (left) is one of Michigan’s biggest contributors on special teams.

“It’s just attitude 
and effort when 

it comes to 

special teams.”

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Fifth-year senior guard Kyle Kalis (67) is pleased with the offensive line’s progress despite a down week statistically against Central Florida on Saturday.

“Hopefully 
one day, the 
old stink will 

be gone.”

