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.

