Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 — 7A

T E A M S T A T S

 

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
53.0
15.0

First Downs/Game
23.0
15.3

Rush Yards/Game
197.7
140.0

 Yards/Rush
4.9
3.6

 Rushing TDs
9
2

Passing Yards/Game
254.3
156.0

 Completion %
65.9%
45.6%

 Yards/Pass
8.4
5.9

 Passing TDs
8
3

 Interceptions
1
2

Offensive Plays/Game
70.7
65.0

Total Offense
452.0
296.0

3rd-down Conversions
48.8%
10.5%

4th-down Conversions
75.0%
37.5%

Sacks/Game
3.7
1.7

Kick return average
19.0
19.5

Punt return average
22.9
17.5

Punting average
41.2
35.8

Field Goals-Attempts
4-6
1-4

Fumbles/Lost
4/1
6/2

Penalty Yards/Game
31.3
60.7

Time of Poss
31:18
28:42

I N D I V I D U A L S

PASSING

Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT

Speight
51
80
686
8
1

O’Korn
5
7
32
0
0

Morris
4
4
45
0
0

TOTALS
60
91
763
8
1

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

C. Evans
21
157
7.5
43
2

Smith, D.
27
152
5.6
42
1

Isaac
22
76
3.5
12
1

Higdon
13
64
4.9
19
1

McDoom
5
55
11.0
19
0

Chesson
5
36
7.2
17
1

Peppers
2
24
12.0
17
0

Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0

Hill
7
15
2.1
4
3

Morris
1
14
14.0
14
0

Crawford
1
11
11.0
11
0

O’Korn
3
7
2.3
3
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
8
-26
-3.2
3
0

TOTALS
121
593
4.9
43
9

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Darboh
10
204
20.4
45
4

Butt
15
192
12.8
25
3

Chesson
7
127
18.1
35
0

Perry
2
66
33.0
54
1

Hill
5
32
6.4
9
0

Ways
1
22
22.0
22
0

Isaac
1
21
21.0
21
0

McDoom
3
20
6.7
8
0

Crawford
1
18
18.0
18
0

Hirsch
1
15
15.0
15
0

Poggi
3
13
4.3
8
0

Jocz
1
12
12.0
12
0

McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0

Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0

Evans
2
5
2.5
3
0

Smith, D.
4
0
0.0
8
0

TOTALS
60
763
12.7
54
8

 

PUNT RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Peppers
8
173
21.6
54
1

Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0

Perry
0
6
--
6
1

TOTALS
9
206
22.9
54
2

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

Peppers
2
81
40.5
55
0

Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0

Hill, K.
2
5
2.5
5
0

TOTALS
6
114
19.0
55
0

KICKOFFS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB

Allen
21
1354
64.5
12

Foug
7
403
57.6
2

TOTALS
20
1243
62.2
10

PUNTING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg

Allen
10
412
41.2
55

TOTALS
10
412
41.2
55

FIELD GOALS

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

Allen
4-6 66.7% 0-0
1-1
3-4
0-1 0-0 39

DEFENSE

Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU

Peppers
19
9
28
9.5
2.5
-

Gedeon
8
17
25
4.0
2.0
-

McCray
10
9
19
4.5
2.5
3

Thomas
8
8
16
-
-
1

Winovich
4
11
15
3.0
1.5
-

Gary
5
8
13
3.5
1.0
-

Hill, D.
6
5
11
2.0
-
1

Glasgow, R.
-
11
11
1.0
0.5
-

Wormley
4
5
9
1.5
1.0
-

Godin
3
6
9
1.0
-
-

Clark
6
3
9
-
-
2

Stribling
3
5
8
-
-
1

Kinnel
4
3
7
-
-
-

Bush
2
3
5
-
-
-

Hurst
2
3
5
1.0
1.0
-

Watson
2
3
5
-
-
-

Wroblewski
-
3
3
-
-
-

Glasgow, J.
3
-
3
-
-
-

Marshall, L.
1
2
3
-
-
-

Uche
1
2
3
-
-
-

Dwumfour
2
-
2
1.0
-
-

Jones
1
1
2
-
-
-

Allen
1
1
2
-
-
-

Charlton
-
2
2
-
-
-

Hudson
2
-
2
-
-
-

Pearson
1
-
1
-
-
-

McDoom
1
-
1
-
-
-

Crawford
-
1
1
-
-
-

Smith, D.
1
-
1
-
-
-

Miller
-
1
1
-
-
-

Hill, L.
-
-
-
-
-
1

TOTALS
100
122
222 32.0 11.0
9

2016 SCHEDULE

HAWAII (1-3)

W, 63-3 (1-0)

UCF (1-2)
COLORADO (2-1)
PENN ST. (2-1)

3:30, Michigan Stadium, ABC

WISCONSIN (3-0)

3:30, Michigan Stadium

at RUTGERS (2-1)

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

ILLINOIS (1-2)

3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium

at MICH. ST. (2-0)

East Lansing, Mich.

MARYLAND (3-0)

Michigan Stadium

at IOWA (2-1)

8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa

INDIANA (2-0)

Michigan Stadium

at OHIO ST. (3-0)

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) W, 45-28 (3-0)

Harbaugh keeps opponents guessing

It’s 
clear 
by 
now 
that 

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh 
is always looking for even the 
slightest edge on his opponent. 
As early as his first spring 
practice at Michigan, he talked 
about trying to get one mile per 
hour faster, one percent better.

That 
competitive 
drive 

spreads to his game plans, where 
the one thing opponents can 
expect is the unexpected.

The 
Wolverines 
picked 

redshirt 
sophomore 
Wilton 

Speight to start at quarterback 
in Week 1 and stuck with him 
for the first two games until the 
outcome was well in hand.

Then, on the third play from 

scrimmage 
Saturday 
against 

Colorado, Harbaugh inserted 
third-string quarterback Shane 
Morris for a single play, with 
redshirt sophomore linebacker 
Jabrill Peppers at running back 
— and used Morris as the lead 
blocker on Peppers’ 7-yard carry.

Why? The short answer is 

because he could, just to throw 
off the Buffaloes’ strategy.

“I think people expected us 

maybe that we might rotate 
quarterbacks in the first game, 
but we didn’t, or the second 
game, so (I) didn’t think they’d 
be expecting it as much the third 
game,” Harbaugh said. “There’s 
some things that Shane does 
well, some things that (backup) 
John O’Korn does well. We 
wanted to highlight them and 
give them a chance to do some of 
those things.”

A few moments later in 

the 
first 
quarter, 
Harbaugh 

reached up his sleeve again. On 
Michigan’s third series of the 
game, the Wolverines already 
trailed 
Colorado, 
14-0, 
and 

faced second-and-10 on the 
Buffaloes’ 48-yard line. Perhaps 
because Speight was still feeling 

a hit from the previous drive, 
Harbaugh put in O’Korn at 
quarterback for one play. O’Korn 
handed off to fullback Khalid 
Hill and then jogged off the field.

Even after playing 17 ball 

carriers and 16 pass catchers 
this season, Michigan’s coach 
still has more in his bag of tricks.

“We 
always 
have 
those 

options going forward, and it’s 
good for your opponent to know 
that you have those options 
going forward,” Harbaugh said. 
“(I) like them to think that all 
things are possible.”

Michigan’s 
next 
opponent 

— Penn State, which visits 
Michigan Stadium on Saturday 
— must now account for all 
of 
them 
in 
its 
game-week 

preparation.

Harbaugh often tries to throw 

curveballs leading up to games. 
In each of his two years at 
Michigan, he did not announce 
a starting quarterback until the 
first snap of the season opener, 
and he said he expected his 
opponent to do the same. This 
year, he has not yet released a 
depth chart before any of the 
four games.

And then game day comes, 

and he always seems to have 
an extra wrinkle — like, for 
instance, using a third-string 
quarterback as a lead blocker.

“I’ve never seen a team switch 

three quarterbacks in during 
a game,” said redshirt junior 
defensive tackle Maurice Hurst. 
“That’s different. I’ve seen two 
quarterback systems — I’ve 
never seen three, and especially 
one lead blocking for one of our 
plays.

“But it’s interesting. I like his 

methods. I like what he does. It’s 
really cool to watch to see how 
our offense executes at times. 
It’s really unique, and I don’t 
think a lot of people are doing it 
like we are.”

Most of Harbaugh’s alterations 

require 
corresponding 

adjustments. 
If 
he 
changes 

running backs, the opponent 
must prepare for different plays. 
If he changes formations — 
which he does on almost every 
play — the opponent must put 
in new personnel. If he changes 
defenses, the opponent must 
block differently or run plays 
differently.

“It’s hard to prepare against 

because there’s such a wide 
variety of things, so you have to 
predict each week what’s going 
to happen almost, like, ‘All right, 
they did this, but I could easily 
see them doing this this week 
versus us,’” Hurst said. “And 
there’s stuff that we obviously 
haven’t shown yet, and stuff that 
the offense hasn’t shown yet, so 
it’s just confusing for a team. It’s 
something they have to prepare 
for every week.”

On offense, the Wolverines 

can play any one of four running 

backs, five wide receivers, three 
tight ends and two fullbacks. On 
defense, Harbaugh has chosen 
a defensive coordinator whose 
tendencies seem to match his 
own — the players say that Don 
Brown, nicknamed “Dr. Blitz,” 
can deploy a new blitz seemingly 
every third down.

In 
the 
coming 
weeks, 

Michigan could roll out even 
more 
tricks. 
Peppers, 
who 

can play almost anywhere on 
the field, still has not played 
significant 
offensive 
snaps 

(which he did not do until the 
Michigan State game in Week 7 
last season). Senior cornerback 
Jourdan Lewis could return as 
soon as this week and be another 
two-way player. And Harbaugh 
could have any number of other 
gimmicks in mind to fluster 
opponents.

“We’ll probably install 15 or 

20 different new plays a week 
or have some different twists to 

plays that we already run,” said 
senior tight end Jake Butt. “But 
that’s all just to make sure that 
we will succeed on Saturdays.”

This week, Harbaugh matches 

up against an opponent that will 
have the same goal of keeping 
its opponent off balance. The 
Nittany Lions have unveiled a 
no-huddle spread offense this 
season to try to jumpstart their 
productivity, 
one 
Michigan 

hasn’t seen before.

And 
while 
Harbaugh 

acknowledged 
the 
difficulty 

of stopping such an attack, he 
hinted that he might have some 
changes in place as well.

“Those are real options for us, 

to change things up,” Harbaugh 
said. “You like to do that. You 
don’t like to just go out and 
show the same alignment and 
assignments 
and 
techniques 

game after game after game. 
You can count on changes, 
adjustments being made.”

JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh likes his opponents to think “all things are possible” when they play Michigan.

Chesson not satisfied with performance

After lighting up Central 

Florida for a combined 195 
receiving 
yards 
and 
two 

touchdowns in their second 
game of the season, Michigan 
fifth-year senior wide receivers 
Amara 
Darboh 
and 
Jehu 

Chesson looked right on their 
way to becoming the best pass-
catching duo in the Big Ten.

But it was a different story 

Saturday 
against 
Colorado. 

Chesson finished the game with 
no catches, and Darboh had just 
two. Each managed to score 
touchdowns using their feet — 
Chesson turning on the jets for a 
17-yard end-around and Darboh 
riding some great blocks to turn 
a dump-off pass into a 45-yard 
score — but both struggled 
to 
find 
success 
downfield 

against the Buffaloes’ talented 
cornerbacks.

“Offensively, they tested us,” 

Chesson said. “They blitzed 
us really good. Also in the 
secondary, they tested us. But 
we didn’t respond as well as I’d 
like us to respond, and I think I 
can speak for the other leader of 
the receivers, Darboh.”

Colorado 
cornerback 

Chidobe Awuzie was a known 
threat 
coming 
in, 
but 
the 

added bonus of strong play 
from 
fellow 
defensive 
back 

Ahkello 
Witherspoon 
helped 

the Buffaloes shut down the 
Wolverines’ downfield attack 
for most of the game. Darboh’s 
touchdown and sophomore wide 
receiver Grant Perry’s 54-yard 
reception in the third quarter 
were the two longest passes of 
the day for Michigan, and both 
receivers did the bulk of their 
work after the catch.

Luckily for Michigan, redshirt 

sophomore quarterback Wilton 
Speight had a reliable safety net: 
senior All-American tight end 

Jake Butt.

After taking a number of 

hits early on, including a strip 
sack that led to a defensive 
touchdown for the Buffaloes, a 
rattled Speight was finally able 
to recover in the second quarter 
by targeting Butt on short passes 
that ultimately set up two 
touchdown drives.

Butt later downplayed his role 

in the momentum swing, saying 
that the offense was simply 
taking the opportunities the 
opposing defense gave it.

“That’s 
just 
kind 
of 
the 

way the shots were called on 
Saturday,” Butt said. “I don’t 
look at it like we were trying 
to get me the ball to spark the 
team — we were just calling 

the plays and I guess I would 
just pop open and Wilton just 
kind of found me underneath. … 
It’s always good when you can 
help your quarterback get into 
rhythm a little bit, especially 
when he’s getting hit or guys 
aren’t getting open as much as 
they would have liked.”

The Wolverines have the 

luxury of multiple weapons on 
offense if players are having 
an off day, and Speight has said 
previously that he would trust 
any one of his three favorite 
targets in a one-on-one matchup, 
no matter who is playing in the 
secondary. Chesson knows he 
still has that trust, but neither he 
nor Darboh were satisfied with 
their 
personal 
performances 

Saturday.

It wasn’t so much an issue 

of Michigan’s receivers being 
unable to create separation, he 
said, but rather not doing their 
part to make plays in single 
coverage.

“See ball, get ball,” Chesson 

said. 
“It’s 
frustrating 
for 

(Speight), I know, when he 
trusts us to make a play and 
we don’t make a play. It’s also 
frustrating for us, but whenever 
we get the opportunity when 
it’s a one-on-one or whatever it 
is, when the ball’s up in the air, 
that’s the mentality you have to 
have.”

The 
Wolverines’ 
concern 

at the receiver position can’t 
be very high — Darboh and 

Chesson were the third-best 
receiving in the Big Ten last 
year in terms of yardage, and 
that was with Chesson not really 
taking off until the second half 
of the season.

Still, Michigan will need all 

of its receivers — not just Butt 
— to be firing on all cylinders 
against tougher opponents down 
the road, and that fact isn’t lost 
on Chesson. In fact, he’s glad 
there’s still room for the offense 
to develop.

“You don’t want to say this 

is the best it can be, right?” 
he said. “Because if it is, you 
have lots of games to go. ... It’s 
growing, it’s gonna continue to 
grow, and we have no option but 
to get better.”

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Fifth-year senior receiver Jehu Chesson had zero catches against Colorado, the first time since he was shutout against Ohio State in Nov. 2014.

