Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 4, 2016— 7
Speight continues to grow, evaluate his options
T E A M S T A T S
MICH
OPP
Points/Game
44.4
12.4
First Downs/Game
23.0
13.2
Rush Yards/Game
209.8
112.2
Yards/Rush
4.9
3.3
Rushing TDs
16
2
Passing Yards/Game
234.2
135.4
Completion %
63.9%
46.6%
Yards/Pass
7.4
5.2
Passing TDs
10
5
Interceptions
2
6
Offensive Plays/Game
74.4
60.6
Total Offense
444.0
247.6
3rd-down Conversions
47.2
15.4
4th-down Conversions
62.5%
41.7%
Sacks/Game
4.0
1.8
Kick return average
15.5
19.9
Punt return average
21.5
13.0
Punting average
43.4
37.4
Field Goals-Attempts
4-9
2-5
Fumbles/Lost
4/1
8/3
Penalty Yards/Game
43.8
45.0
Time of Poss
33:05
26:55
I N D I V I D U A L S
PASSING
Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT
Speight
92
146
1094
10
2
O’Korn
5
8
32
0
0
Morris
4
4
45
0
0
TOTALS
101
158
1171
10
2
RUSHING
Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Smith, D.
56
325
5.8
42
2
Evans
37
247
6.7
43
3
Isaac
41
198
4.8
25
2
Higdon
22
145
6.6
40
3
McDoom
7
56
8.0
19
0
Chesson
7
44
6.3
17
1
Peppers
2
24
12.0
17
0
Hill
11
19
1.7
4
5
Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0
Morris
2
16
8.0
14
0
Crawford
2
11
5.5
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
TEAM
3
-4
-1.3
0
0
Allen
1
-11
-11.0
0
0
Speight
15
-47
-3.1
9
0
TOTALS
214
1049
4.9
43
16
RECEIVING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Darboh
23
335
14.6
46
5
Butt
22
265
12.0
25
3
Chesson
13
197
15.2
35
0
Perry
6
114
19.0
54
1
Hill
6
47
7.8
15
0
Poggi
5
33
6.6
15
0
Evans
4
28
7.0
14
0
Smith
9
25
2.8
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
Jocz
1
12
12.0
12
0
McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0
Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0
Asiasi
1
3
3.0
3
1
TOTALS
101
1171
11.6
54
10
PUNT RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
12
246
20.5
54
1
Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0
Perry
0
6
--
6
1
TOTALS
13
279
21.5
54
2
INTERCEPTION RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Stribling
3
60
20.0
51
1
Hill, D.
1
27
27.0
27
1
McCray
1
22
22.0
22
0
Lewis
1
0
0.0
0
0
TOTALS
6
109
18.2
51
2
FUMBLE RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Hill, L.
1
9
9.0
9
0
TOTALS
1
9
9.0
9
0
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
3
95
31.7
55
0
Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0
Lewis
2
21
10.5
18
0
Hudson
1
6
6.0
6
0
Hill, K.
2
5
2.5
5
0
TOTALS
10
155
15.5
55
0
KICKOFFS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB
Allen
32
2066
64.6
19
Foug
7
403
57.6
2
TOTALS
39
2469
63.3
21
PUNTING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg
Allen
18
782
43.4
56
TOTALS
18
782
43.4
56
FIELD GOALS
Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg
Allen
4-8 50.0% 0-0
1-1
3-5 0-2 0-0 39
Tice
0-1 0.0% 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0
LEADING TACKLERS
Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU
Gedeon
13
31
44
6.0
2.0
1
Peppers
24
11
35
9.5
2.5
-
Thomas
18
11
29
-
-
1
McCray
13
15
28
4.5
2.5
4
Winovich
4
15
19
4.0
2.0
-
Gary
6
11
17
4.5
1.0
-
Glasgow, R.
2
15
17
1.5
1.0
1
Godin
8
8
16
1.5
1.0
-
Wormley
7
9
16
4.5
4.0
-
Hill
8
7
15
2.0
1
Hurst
6
8
14
4.0
2.0
-
Stribling
4
6
10
0.5
-
5
Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3
Kinnel
5
3
8
-
-
-
Charlton
1
6
7
2.5
2.0
-
Watson
4
3
7
-
-
-
Lewis
6
-
6
1.0
-
2
Bush
2
3
5
-
-
-
Glasgow, J.
3
1
4
-
-
-
Hudson
2
2
4
-
-
-
TOTALS
154
182
336
47
20
19
2016 SCHEDULE
HAWAII (2-3)
W, 63-3 (1-0)
UCF (3-2)
COLORADO (4-1)
PENN ST. (3-2)
WISCONSIN (4-1) at RUTGERS (2-3)
7 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.
ILLINOIS (1-3)
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
at MICH. ST. (2-2)
East Lansing, Mich.
MARYLAND (4-0)
Michigan Stadium
at IOWA (3-2)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
INDIANA (3-1)
Michigan Stadium
at OHIO ST. (4-0)
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) W, 49-10 (4-0)
There are some risks that
Wilton Speight needs to avoid.
Others, the redshirt sophomore
quarterback
explains,
aren’t
really risks at all.
The Michigan football team’s
first-year starter has thrown
10 touchdowns and just two
interceptions this season, with
one of the picks coming in a
crucial game against then-No. 8
Wisconsin on Saturday.
Speight’s mistake came on the
Wolverines’ first series of the
third quarter, when he threw
into coverage for an interception
that the Badgers’ Derrick Tindal
returned 46 yards into Michigan
territory. That’s the kind of
gamble Speight has to resist.
“If I had just changed the
channel, I would have seen an
open receiver to his left,” he said
Monday. “But when there’s a guy
here, and a guy there, and a guy
behind (senior tight end Jake
Butt), that’s the fine line I need
to walk.”
But in the fourth quarter,
Speight lined up in a similar
formation,
with
fifth-year
senior wide receivers Amara
Darboh and Jehu Chesson split
to either side, Butt on the line of
scrimmage and redshirt junior
Ty Isaac the lone setback.
Speight faked the handoff
to Isaac and again looked over
the middle for his first option,
Butt, who was swarmed by
linebackers and safeties. That
time, Speight shifted his eyes to
the left to find Darboh in one-
on-one coverage with Tindal on
the outside.
Many
consider
the
deep
pass to be a risky play, but in
cases like that, Speight doesn’t.
He dropped back and lofted
a perfect throw where only
Darboh could get it — a longer
attempt, but a far safer one
nonetheless.
“When there’s a one-on-one
deep shot, I’ve got two of the
best receivers in the country,
so that’s not really a fine line,”
Speight said. “That’s give them
a chance, give them the best ball
I can and they’ll make me look
good.”
Speight
said
he’s
getting
better at walking that line
between taking shots and giving
his team a chance to achieve
the best outcome on every play.
A completion downfield is the
ideal option. If it’s an incomplete
pass, that’s OK, too. But Speight
knows he has to avoid turnovers
like the one Saturday.
To do so, he has been good at
scanning the field to search for
the receiver in the best position.
He had success Saturday by
shifting from Butt to Darboh,
and the week before against
Penn State, he threw a 3-yard
touchdown pass to freshman
tight end Devin Asiasi on a play
designed for Chesson.
“You
rarely
have
plays
throughout the game that always
go to your first read, your main
read,” Speight said. “You gotta
just have it be second nature.
You say, ‘OK, he’s not there,
now where do my eyes go? Now
where do my eyes go?’ Coach
(Jim) Harbaugh always says you
gotta change the channel as fast
as possible, and if you don’t see
your main read open, you’ve got
to find number two, three and
sometimes four.”
Harbaugh is pleased with
that tendency, complimenting
Speight’s decision-making even
on a day when the quarterback
threw his second interception.
“It’s
beyond
his
years,”
Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s
been a real positive. Talked about
it the other day, his decision
making and going through the
film. He’s making good decisions
— the right decisions.”
Speight also sees points for
improvement from Saturday’s
game, ones that may not be
apparent on first glance. He ended
up with only one interception
but nearly threw more, once
throwing into coverage when he
could have thrown shorter to an
open receiver.
And even if there is no
check-down, if the running
back is engaged in blocking,
Speight always has the option of
throwing the ball away.
“There’s one I just chucked
deep as basically an incomplete,”
Speight said. “I saw Darboh
was double-covered, Jake was
covered like a glove, but I didn’t
have any check-downs. So there’s
no point in running around and
possibly taking a sack when I can
just airmail it and just move onto
the next play.”
All of those in-play decisions
have come easier to Speight
as he has worked more with
Harbaugh,
passing
game
coordinator Jedd Fisch and
their offense, and perhaps that’s
part of the reason Michigan’s
passing game is further along
statistically than it was a year
ago. Much of that improvement
has come from developing the
relationship between Speight
and his coaches.
On Sunday mornings, Speight
comes into the team’s facility to
look at the tape and the notes
Fisch left him from the night
before. By Monday, he’s already
focused on the next game, which
comes
against
Rutgers
this
week. After that one, he’ll once
again look at the throws he made
to the right receiver, and the
ones he didn’t, and he’ll start the
process over again.
JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight threw a 46-yard touchdown pass Saturday to beat Wisconsin, 14-7.
Harbaugh says quarterback’s decision-making abilities are ‘beyond his years,’ ‘a real positive’
Dominant D-Line proves self against Badgers
Saturday,
the
Michigan
football team’s defensive line
could
tell
that
Wisconsin’s
quarterback Alex Hornibrook
was struggling after getting
hit a few times. The redshirt
freshman was suffering from a
case of “happy feet.”
“Oh yeah, we actually talked
about that on the field,” fifth-
year senior defensive tackle
Matt Godin said Monday. “We
were like, ‘Oh, he’s starting to
flinch a little bit.’ Obviously
with
(defensive
coordinator
Don) Brown and all the blitzes
we throw at them and all of
the great pass rushers we have
on the edge, especially with
(defensive ends Chris Wormley
and Taco Charlton). But yeah,
we could definitely feel that he
was starting to get happy feet.”
So
far
this
season,
the
Wolverines’ defense has tallied
20 sacks, two of them coming
Saturday in a 14-7 victory over
the
eighth-ranked
Badgers.
Hornibrook also completed just
nine of 25 passes while the sacks
dropped his rushing total to
negative-16 yards.
The Wolverines also held
Wisconsin to just eight first
downs and 71 net yards rushing.
It’s hard to attribute this type of
domination to anything other
than a stout defensive line.
Now, after playing most of the
first month without Charlton
and
defensive
tackle
Bryan
Mone, an already successful unit
will get even better as the pair
is able to contribute more and
more.
“(The defensive line) has been
outstanding,”
said
Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh. “It’s been
a stalwart part of our football
team since I’ve been here and
before that as well. If a guy
goes in and comes back into
the lineup — I’m thinking of
Mo Hurst, Chris Wormley, Ryan
Glasgow, Taco Charlton — right
down the list, they play extremely
well. One guy’s out and another
steps up; it’s impressive. I think
(defensive line
coach)
Greg
Mattison does
an
incredible
job. Credit to
the youngsters,
the
players
themselves, for
their effort and
their talent.”
When
the
offense starts to struggle, as it
did on Saturday, it’s essential to
look to the defense to make plays,
and so far, it hasn’t cracked. The
Wolverines rank fifth nationally
in tackles for loss and fourth
nationally in sacks (first in the
Big Ten in both). Because of this,
Michigan has been able to hold
each of its first two conference
opponents to fewer than 200
yards.
Despite
going
up
against
a
powerful
Wisconsin
offensive line
that
boasted
some
big
players,
the
Wolverines
were still able to stay composed.
“Yeah,
there
were
some
big boys up front,” said senior
defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow
Saturday. “I think they were
averaging like 6-foot-6, 320 or
315 (pounds). We’re not quite
as big up front, but it all comes
down to technique and effort on
the D-line, and I think we played
hard, I think we played fast, and
I think we played with great
technique. All that credit goes to
Coach Mattison.
“When I looked to my left and
look to my right, I’d see guys
who’re in the program four or five
years and who really wanted this
game up front, so we accepted
the challenge and I think we did
a good job.”
Mone rejoined the defensive
line over the weekend, and
though he only played a few
snaps, his presence was felt.
Monday, Godin spoke of the
energy Mone brings to the unit.
Though Mone is just a redshirt
sophomore and sat out all last
season due to a broken ankle, he’s
a well-respected member of the
defensive line.
“There’s a lot of leaders on this
defense and a lot of playmakers,”
Glasgow said. “I think that’s the
biggest thing they bring. Taco
is an elite pass rusher. Bryan’s
one of the strongest kids I’ve
ever seen play a double team, do
anything on the football field.”
Now that the Wolverines have
the option of rotating players in
and out of the line with no more
injury troubles to fear, they will
be better prepared for their first
road game of the season.
“We have everyone back now,
healthy and ready to go, so it’s
great,” Godin said.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior Matt Godin (99) has 1.5 tackles for loss this season as part of a Michigan defense that is tied for the fourth most nationally with 46.
KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
“There’s a lot of
leaders on this
defense.”
W, 14-7 (5-0)