FootballSaturday, September 17, 2016
8
What to Watch For: Secondary,
Michigan run game, miracles
By KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
As the No. 4 Michigan football
team gets ready for its third
straight
game
at
Michigan
Stadium, the preparation will
be slightly different this time
around. The Wolverines (2-0)
were heavy favorites over both
Hawaii and Central Florida, and
though they’re still a 20-point
favorite
over
Colorado,
the
margin is significantly smaller
than the ones they have had in
prior weeks.
Michigan
coasted
against
Hawaii, winning by 60 points,
and was challenged slightly more
by Central Florida the following
week but still ran away with a
51-14 victory. Now, the Buffaloes
pose the Wolverines’ first real
threat of the season.
Here’s what to watch for on
Saturday:
1. How does Michigan’s
secondary hold up against
talented receivers?
Secondary coach Mike Zordich
has a lot of talent in their group, and
it has shown in the first two games.
Against Hawaii, senior safety
Delano Hill and senior cornerback
Channing Stribling each recorded
pick-sixes, and the following week,
sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel
showed his athleticism on special
teams by getting a hand on two
different punts.
Though the secondary has
excelled so far this season,
Zordich knows that Colorado will
put up more of a battle.
“They’re better receivers and
the quarterback is a much better
quarterback,” Zordich said. “He’s
a guy that actually has time to
throw, and he’s got three or four
good guys to throw to.”
The secondary fared well in
each game, despite the most
talented member of the group
missing both. Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh said that senior
cornerback Jourdan Lewis sat
out against UCF due to an injury
different from the one that kept
him out of the Hawaii game,
which doesn’t bode well for
Lewis. As of Wednesday, he was
still working with the trainer,
but anything could happen come
Saturday.
2. Which part of the offense
will the Buffaloes target?
Much to the fanbase’s chagrin,
Michigan’s
running
game
sputtered
against
UCF.
The
Knights loaded the box with five
to six players at all times, forcing
the Wolverines to go through the
air. Redshirt sophomore Wilton
Speight ultimately was able to
get the job done, throwing for
312 yards and four touchdowns,
proving that Michigan’s offense
can succeed either way.
But
Saturday’s
game
will
provide
a
tougher
test
for
the offense and could expose
potential weak points. Colorado
was able to stifle Colorado State
and Idaho State’s attack, holding
each team to a touchdown apiece
an average of 2.7 yards per play.
Its opponents were also only
able to convert on third down 23
percent of the time, and though
Michigan’s
a
much
different
competitor
than
what
the
Buffaloes have seen so far, the
numbers speak for themselves.
3. Running game concern?
If the running game still
struggles despite less pressure in
the box, it may actually be time
for fans to start worrying.
Michigan averaged just 2.9 yards
per carry against UCF, but had
no such trouble against Hawaii.
Led by true freshman running
back Chris Evans, the Wolverines
opened the season by rushing for
306 yards on 39 attempts.
Tuesday,
fifth-year
senior
offensive lineman Kyle Kalis
told fans to calm down about the
running game, and Wednesday,
running backs coach Tyrone
Wheatley echoed the sentiment.
He was flattered that the Knights
took notice of the running game
enough to load the box like
that, taking it to mean that the
Wolverines
have
nothing
to
worry about.
4. Will “Miracle at Michigan”
memories be refreshed?
Though this will be just the
fifth meeting between Michigan
and Colorado, a great deal of
history surrounds the matchup.
In
1994,
the
“Miracle
at
Michigan”
stunned
a
near-
empty Big House. The Buffaloes
scored two touchdowns in the
final 2:16 of the game, with the
final score coming on a 64-yard
Hail Mary pass to end the game.
The Colorado receiver, Michael
Westbrook, was a Detroit native,
and that made things sting even
more for Wheatley, who was a
running back for the Wolverines
at the time.
“(I don’t want to talk about it)
because I was there and I was
on the sideline and I thought we
had the game won,” Wheatley
said. “To have a Detroit native
come in the freakin’ building
and steal one from us and go
back to Colorado wasn’t a great
feeling.”
The Buffaloes definitely haven’t
forgotten it, and they won’t
on Saturday, either — they’ve
already announced that they
will be wearing 1994 throwback
uniforms this weekend.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Freshman running back Chris Evans and Michigan’s ground game look to recapture the success they had against Hawaii in the season opener, when they rushed for 306 yards.