FootballSaturday, September 24, 2016
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second on Penn State’s team — and
he has seen two plays of offense
all season. The Nittany Lions
kept him in check last season, but
he’s always a threat to make a big
play. If that weren’t enough, the
Wolverines have also tipped two
punts and blocked a third and
returned it for a touchdown in the
past two weeks.
Penn State’s special teams
have been routinely successful
this year, with kicker Tyler
Davis hitting all of his five field-
goal attempts with a long of 40
yards. Kickoff specialist Joey
Julius has 16 touchbacks in 21
tries as he tries to limit Peppers’
opportunities. Outside of one
59-yard punt return, the Nittany
Lions haven’t broken many big
plays in the return game.
The only hiccup lately on a
terrific Michigan unit that ranks
second in the country in special
teams efficiency was the kicking
game against Colorado. Senior
kicker Kenny Allen missed two of
his three field-goal tries, from 37
and 44 yards.
But again: The Wolverines have
Jabrill Peppers on their team.
Edge: Michigan
Intangibles
The Big Ten season kicks
off
Saturday,
starting
the
title chase for these two East
division opponents. For now, the
championship is a more realistic
goal for the Wolverines, who will
be fired up to start the conference
season off right. They’ll also have
home-field advantage for the
fourth straight week.
On the other side of the ball,
Penn State fought back from its
first loss with a 34-27 victory
against Temple last week, and
the Nittany Lions will be trying
to avenge a home defeat against
Michigan last season.
The biggest intangible, though,
may be the players returning for
the Wolverines, especially Lewis.
The senior is one of the emotional
leaders of the team, and besides
being able to shut down the
opponent’s
best
receiver,
he
also brings a mental edge to the
defense. His teammates admit
his trash talk on the field fires
them up.
Edge: Michigan
Prediction: Michigan 37, Penn
State 20
BREAKDOWN
From Page 7B
What to watch for on Saturday
With non-conference play over,
the No. 4 Michigan football team’s
road is about to get tougher. Coming
off a 45-28 win over Colorado last
week, the Wolverines will open Big
Ten play when they host Penn State
at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
The
teams
find
themselves
in very different places, with
Michigan in the national title
picture and the Nittany Lions out
to re-establish their position as a
contender in the Big Ten East.
Here’s what to watch for when
Penn State and Michigan kick off:
1. The injury report:
Saturday could mark the return
of some of the Wolverines’ top
defensive playmakers. While the
status
of
redshirt
sophomore
defensive
tackle
Bryan
Mone
remains unclear, Harbaugh has
publicly conveyed his belief that
senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis
and senior defensive end Taco
Charlton could return to the lineup.
Lewis has not yet played this
season, missing the first three
games with a nagging injury that
has affected his back, quadricep
and
hamstring.
Coaches
and
teammates have said Lewis has
been his usual swaggering self in
practice and on the sidelines, and if
he can carry that over to the playing
field, he could boost a secondary
that, while highly graded early on,
has given up a handful of big plays.
Charlton
went
down
in
Michigan’s opener with an ankle
injury, but his potential coming
into the season has many excited
for what might happen upon his
return. Playing on the edge of a
line that includes fifth-year seniors
Ryan Glasgow and Chris Wormley,
Charlton would bring even more
veteran presence to one of the Big
Ten’s best units.
2. Will Penn State punt to
Peppers?
Could you blame them if they
didn’t? Peppers scored his first
career punt return touchdown
last week against Colorado, and he
currently leads the nation in total
punt return yards with 173.
After a 2015 season that saw him
come within one or two missed
tackles of the end zone multiple
times, Peppers has now broken
through. What happens next will
be interesting to watch.
Michigan
special
teams
coordinator Chris Partridge said
Wednesday that if teams do stop
kicking to Peppers, the Wolverines’
field position would be “incredible.”
How teams choose to weigh the
balance between the field position
battle and avoiding the potential for
a massive play is hard to predict, and
it becomes even more complicated
when you factor in Michigan’s
success in punt blocking.
Through
three
games,
the
Wolverines have affected at least
four punts. So when teams are
deciding how to approach Peppers,
their focus also has to be on simply
getting the punt off.
3. Will Speight bounce back?
After he took a huge hit in the first
quarter against Colorado, Speight
was noticeably less potent than in
his first two games. The Wolverines
still salvaged a strong day on offense,
but Michigan will want its starter
back in form for Big Ten play.
There was no word on whether
Speight is still feeling the effects of
that sack, but he did say after the
game he had never been hit like that.
Part of the issue could have been
the Buffaloes’ defensive backs,
who were roundly praised by the
Wolverines this week. Fifth-year
senior receivers Jehu Chesson and
Amara Darboh were held largely
in check — though each scored a
touchdown — and will be looking
for a bounce-back showing as well.
But they’ll need Speight to
get them the ball, and if his
performance
lags,
Michigan’s
offense could be in a little trouble.
4. The big play:
It’s possible that it’s entirely too
early to pinpoint this as a serious
weakness, but for two straight
games, Michigan has been burned
on a handful of big plays.
Against Central Florida, it was
on the ground. Against Colorado,
it was through the air. Against
Penn
State,
Michigan
would
benefit from shoring those issues
up. Lewis and Charlton returning
would likely help, but even the
best teams in the country can find
themselves in trouble if they can’t
contain the big plays.
Penn State’s spread offense
should give the Wolverines a
familiar up-tempo look from their
past two contests. If they can adjust
off of their miscues from those
games, Michigan can finally let its
defense shine.
Speight looks for rebound performance, Michigan’s defense tries to limit big plays
MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers returned his first punt for a touchdown last week against Colorado and will attempt to give Penn State similar headaches.