2B — September 19, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
Michigan’s comeback answers the call
T

he question wasn’t 
finished when Wilton 
Speight cut it off.

Standing 

in the Crisler 
Center media 
room for a 
postgame 
press 
conference, 
Speight had 
his elbow 
and shoulder 
wrapped 
after an 
especially 
tough game.

“Is this a team,” a reporter 

started, “that, two years ago, or 
even last year, would have been 
equipped to fight through —”

“Fold?” Speight asked.
A few hours earlier, Speight 

and his team had gone down 
14-0, and then 21-7, in the first 
quarter against Colorado. By 
the start of the second quarter, 
the Buffaloes had the ball, the 
momentum and 110,000 fans 
sweating for the first time this 
season.

The pressure was all 

on Michigan, and Speight 
pinpointed the question of that 
moment perfectly. Would the 
Wolverines fold? Already?

The previous nine times 

Michigan trailed by 14 or more, 
the answer was yes. In fact, 
the last time the Wolverines 
came back from a deficit of 14 
was September 2013, against 
Connecticut.

The tension that elicited was 

palpable in the student section 
Saturday. It spilled over into 
vocal frustration. But it didn’t 
turn into full-on panic. Trailing 
21-7 in the second quarter, 
fans wondered aloud “what is 
happening?” and “what the f*** 
was that?”

Senior Mitch Trost was in 

the thick of the crowd as it 
unfolded, and he captured the 
sentiment as well as anyone.

“We’ve all been hoping for 

something better, so we’re all 
expecting better,” Trost said. 
“And then when (Colorado went 
up early), we’re all like, (we) 
don’t want to be reminded of 
the Hoke years.”

But, Trost added, “I still 

have hope.”

It was still 21-7 as Trost 

spoke. He insisted he wouldn’t 
resign to defeat until the 
Wolverines had lost. As 
tempting as it could have 
been to turn pessimistic, 
he wouldn’t. But he had to 
concede, “I didn’t think they’d 
come out swinging so hard.”

Minutes later, the Buffaloes 

lined up to punt. One voice 

yelled out, “Block this punt, 
let’s do it!” And they did, sort of. 
Colorado punter Alex Kinney 
fired it too low 
and deflected 
it off one of his 
own players. 
But the effect 
was the same. 
Michigan took 
possession at 
the Buffaloes’ 
38-yard line, 
and fans 
continued 
willing the 
team down the field.

“Booty, booty, booty,” one 

yelled, just before Speight found 
senior tight end Jake Butt for 

21 yards. On the next play, 
fifth-year senior receiver Jehu 
Chesson ran the ball into the 

end zone on a 
sweep.

By now, you 

know the rest. 
Michigan 
added a field 
goal and then 
took the lead 
on a 45-yard 
touchdown 
reception by 
fifth-year 
senior Amara 

Darboh. Colorado briefly 
regained control at the start 
of the third quarter, scoring 
on a 70-yard touchdown pass, 

but it was all Wolverines from 
then on. After trailing at one 
point by 14, Michigan won, 
45-28, providing an answer to 
the question in Speight’s press 
conference.

“That’s just from this 

coaching staff coming in and 
building a callus,” Speight 
later explained. “Coach always 
talks about building a callus 
and being tough, and we didn’t 
really let it faze us. I never 
really said, ‘Oh wow, we’re 
down by (14).’ Like, ‘Oh gosh, 
these guys are giving us a good 
game.’ It was just, ‘This is fun. 
This is an opportunity to be in 
a game.’

“The first two we played 

weren’t that fun come the 
fourth quarter, because it was 
already over.”

Be it the team or the fans, 

there’s no doubt Harbaugh has 
instilled a confidence in the 
last 19 months. It’s a confidence 
born from expectations, and at 
this point, for this team, that’s 
not a bad thing.

Around the country, many 

of the nation’s top teams 
have been tested early. No. 5 
Clemson was held close by Troy 
last week. No. 6 Houston was in 
a tough one against Cincinnati 
before it pulled away late 
Saturday, and No. 1 Alabama 
needed a big comeback to beat 
Ole Miss.

Like those teams, Michigan 

passed the test and survived, 
and it now enters Big Ten play 
undefeated.

To be fair, the Buffaloes 

aren’t at the level of the Rebels, 
and they further exposed 
the Wolverines’ deep-play 
weakness. They forced Speight 
into his worst game of the 
season. But as Butt was quick 
to point out after the game, 
the season wasn’t going to be a 
fairytale from start to finish.

Now on the cusp of Big 

Ten play, the tests aren’t 
stopping anytime soon. Eight 
of the Wolverines’ next nine 
opponents are ranked higher 
than Colorado in Bill Connelly’s 
S&P+ ratings this week. 
Michigan tops those ratings, 
a sign that this is a team that’s 
come a long way since two or 
three years ago.

It proved that with 

Saturday’s comeback. The 
Wolverines didn’t fold. They 
punched back and they stood on 
their callus.

Now, they’ll see how long it 

can hold.

Bultman can be reached at 

bultmanm@umich.edu and 

on Twitter @m_bultman.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight, like his team, recovered from a disastrous first quarter and responded with a 45-28 win against Colorado.

“Coach always 

talks about 

building a callus 
and being tough.”

MAX
BULTMAN

WOMEN’S ROWING
‘M’ cruises by Eastern Michigan

By LANEY BYLER 

Daily Sports Writer

BELLEVILLE 
– 
Around 

9:40 
Sunday 
morning, 
a 

group 
of 
Michigan 
and 

Eastern Michigan fans had 
bunched around the outside of 
Michigan’s boathouse. A few 
of them had edged out to the 
lake and were well into a quiet 
game of fetch in the water with 
a couple of dogs.

But at about 9:50, the voices 

of five different coxswains could 
be heard breaking the quiet — 
four of which belonged to the 
Michigan women’s rowing team.

The Wolverines began their 

season this past Saturday in an 
unscored workout scrimmage 
against Eastern Michigan at 
their home course on Belleville 
Lake. Michigan brought four 
different lineups, all eights, 
while the Eagles brought a 
single eight boat. The event was 
a head race, where the boats 

have a staggered start and the 
winner is gauged by time and 
not a finish line.

It 
was 
a 
non-scoring 

scrimmage, but the Wolverines 
dominated 
the 
event, 
even 

though they’ve had less than 
two weeks of practice. The 
2V8 finished first in every race, 
followed by either the 1V8 or 
3V8. Eastern Michigan finished 
last in every race except for the 
first, where it edged out the 
fourth Michigan boat by less 
than a second.

“I think it was really good 

because we didn’t really know 
how the Michigan boats would 
stack up against Eastern or how 
we would stack up against each 
other,” said senior starboard 
Sarah Hudnall, who was a 
member of the 2V8 crew. “It 
was really good to just go out 
and race.”

The Wolverines have been 

working on speed and updating 
their rhythm, and this race was a 

good chance for them to test where 
they are in a competitive setting.

“You could tell that everyone 

was working really hard,” Hudnall 
said. “We started in different 
orders every time, so it was a good 
chance to stay in good position — 
so if you were in the back, it was 
a good chance to try to get in the 
front, and if you were in the front 
it was a good opportunity to try to 
hold your spot.”

With just three additional 

races scheduled for the fall 
— Ohio State, Head of the 
Charles, and a novice-only race 
with Michigan State — this 
scrimmage puts the team in a 
good position to finish out its fall 
season in high standing.

“I thought it went good,” said 

Michigan coach Mark Rothstein. 
“I thought we did a pretty good 
job of applying what we learned 
in practice and I think that like 
every team we have a lot to work 
on, but I like what I’ve seen from 
this team so far.”

Michigan can thank 
its defense for win

O

ut of the rush of an 
announced crowd 
of 110,042 to leave 

Michigan 
Stadium 
after the 
game 
Saturday 
night, many 
of them 
having 
watched 
fourth-
quarter 
football for 
the first time 
this season, a lone voice made 
itself heard:

“Thank goodness for the 

defense.”

Yes indeed. If the Michigan 

football team’s defense hadn’t 
stepped up and sidelined 
Colorado’s red-hot offense 
for the final three quarters of 
Saturday’s game, the Wolverines 
very likely would have lost 
a shocker to the Buffaloes, 
derailing a promising early 
season. Instead, Michigan 
survived and advanced, 45-28, 
finishing a comfortable non-
conference schedule at 3-0.

It’s not often that a defense 

allowing 28 points in a game is an 
asset, especially one of Michigan’s 
standard. The unit began 
Saturday as the scapegoat, having 
allowed two easy touchdowns in 
the first three possessions. But 
Colorado missed a field goal on its 
next drive, and that was the only 
window the Wolverines needed. 
They kept firing fresh bullets, 
and the Buffaloes were all out of 
ammunition.

Once again, the defense set 

the tone for the comeback, with 
an assist from the special teams. 
Michigan’s first touchdown 
came on a blocked punt returned 
for a touchdown. Its second 
came when the defense — and 
another long punt return by 
Jabrill Peppers — created 
starting field position on 
Colorado’s 38-yard line, from 

which the offense needed just 
two plays to score.

That was another spark. After 

that, the Wolverines reached 
the red zone on their next 
four possessions, scoring two 
touchdowns and a field goal and 
building a lead they wouldn’t 
relinquish. But again, the 
defense started the run.

It’s more common for a high-

flying offense to put enough 
points on the board to keep 
scores close. But in Michigan’s 
case, the defense plays that role.

“I don’t think we’re ever out of 

the fight,” said fifth-year senior 
defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow. 
“…They played really hard, and 
hats off to them for that. But I 
think with our defense and the 
talent we have and how hard 
we play, I think we’re gonna 
overmatch them in the long run.”

Almost no offenses can keep 

Michigan at bay for an entire 
game. Last year, the Wolverines 
lost three games. Against Utah 
and Michigan State, their 
defense gave up 17 and 21 points, 
respectively, both of which 
should be few enough to win 
the game. Against Ohio State, 
it wasn’t as much a case of the 
Buckeyes wearing Michigan 
down as it was of them being a 
better team.

To beat Michigan’s defense, 

you have to play more than a 
quarter, and Colorado managed 
only one big play after that, a 
70-yard touchdown pass on a post 
route from Sefo Liufau to Shay 
Fields early in the third quarter.

“I think all the trick plays 

kind of caught us off guard at 
first, but once they used their 
bag of tricks and we settled into 
the game and we got to play our 
game, I think that’s when the 
tide turned,” Glasgow said.

On the next series, Liufau 

left the game with an injury, 
effectively ending the Buffaloes’ 
chances against the Wolverines’ 
defense.

Thus, Michigan found its 

escape, and it wasn’t much more 
than that. In the future, this 
game will sit in the record books 
as a harmless 17-point victory 
over another inferior opponent, 
and Saturday’s performance will 
be good enough.

But this is not the future. 

Today there is a more pressing 
problem, and that is that the 
Wolverines weren’t nearly ready 
to play at the outset. Colorado 
blitzed Michigan for 21 points 
in the first quarter, piling up 
yardage as it wished as the 
defense missed tackles left and 
right. Only after the Wolverines 
settled in did the talent 
advantage begin to matter.

“It was a fight,” said Michigan 

coach Jim Harbaugh. “They 
knew it was a fight. … Every 
football game that (has) ever 
been played, probably ever will 
be played, it’s a battle, seeing 
who the best players are in the 
football game.”

Those players Saturday were 

the Wolverines, and they fought 
long enough for it to come down 
to that. Next time, they know 
they may not be as fortunate.

“If you get in that situation, 

different time, different place, 
you never know if you can 
come back,” Glasgow said. 
“Coach Harbaugh gave us 
the advice last night: There’s 
always praise for the guy who 
gets backed into the corner 
and fights his way out, but the 
best way to fight your way out 
is never get backed into the 
corner. And we did today. We 
were lucky enough to come 
back. We played hard enough 
to come back. But we don’t 
want to find ourselves in that 
situation again this season.”

Now, Michigan is undefeated 

and moving on having survived 
a close call. For that, it has the 
defense to thank.

Lourim can be reached 

at jlourim@umich.edu and 

on Twitter @jakelourim.

FOOTBALL

JAKE
LOURIM

