Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 — 7A
T E A M S T A T S
MICH
OPP
Points/Game
48.7
10.0
First Downs/Game
23.9
10.6
Rush Yards/Game
257.1
96.0
Yards/Rush
5.5
2.9
Rushing TDs
28
2
Passing Yards/Game
225.9
111.0
Completion %
63.9%
40.9%
Yards/Pass
7.8
4.7
Passing TDs
14
6
Interceptions
2
7
Offensive Plays/Game
75.9
56.4
Total Offense
483.0
207.0
3rd-down Conversions
48.5%
13.0%
4th-down Conversions
63.6%
38.5%
Sacks/Game
3.6
1.6
Kick return average
17.8
20.6
Punt return average
18.6
10.0
Punting average
42.3
37.9
Field Goals-Attempts
6-11
2-5
Fumbles/Lost
8/3
11/5
Penalty Yards/Game
40.7
44.4
Time of Poss
34:18
25:42
I N D I V I D U A L S T A T S
PASSING
Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT
Speight
114
182
1447
13
2
O’Korn
11
15
89
1
0
Morris
4
5
45
0
0
TOTALS
129
202
1581
14
2
RUSHING
Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Evans
49
416
8.5
57
3
Smith, D.
79
412
5.2
42
2
Higdon
43
359
8.3
45
6
Isaac
63
332
5.3
34
4
Peppers
10
107
10.7
63
2
McDoom
10
85
8.5
19
0
Chesson
8
49
6.1
17
1
Henderson
4
29
7.3
13
1
Hill
15
25
1.7
4
8
Morris
3
19
6.3
14
0
Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0
Crawford
3
15
5.0
11
0
O’Korn
6
12
2.0
3
0
Hirsch
1
2
2.0
2
0
Wilson
1
1
1.0
1
0
Beneducci
1
1
1.0
1
0
Hewlett
2
-1
-0.5
0
0
Gedeon
1
-2
-2.0
0
0
Allen
1
-11
-11.0
0
0
TEAM
9
-13
-1.4
0
0
Speight
15
-47
-3.1
9
0
TOTALS
270
1530
5.7
63
25
RECEIVING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Darboh
30
499
16.6
46
5
Butt
26
310
11.9
25
4
Chesson
18
275
15.3
35
1
Perry
6
114
19.0
54
1
Hill
9
73
8.1
15
1
McDoom
4
53
13.3
33
0
Poggi
5
33
6.6
15
0
Evans
4
28
7.0
14
0
Wheatley
2
27
13.5
21
1
Ways
2
24
12.0
22
0
Henderson
1
23
23.0
23
0
Smith, D.
10
21
2.1
9
0
Isaac
1
21
21.0
21
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
Harris
1
7
7.0
7
0
Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0
Peppers
1
5
5.0
5
0
Johnson, N.
1
4
4.0
4
0
Asiasi
1
3
3.0
3
1
TOTALS
129
1581
12.3
54
14
PUNT RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
14
249
17.8
54
1
Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0
Evans
1
15
15.0
15
0
Perry
0
6
--
6
1
TOTALS
16
297
18.6
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
Thomas
1
4
4.0
4
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
5
153
30.6
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
12
213
17.8
55
0
KICKOFFS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB
Allen
47
3007
64.0
25
Foug
8
460
57.5
2
Tice
3
189
63.0
0
TOTALS
58
3656
63.0
27
PUNTING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg
Allen
24
1016
42.3
56
TOTALS
24
1016
42.3
56
FIELD GOALS
Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg
Allen
6-10 50.0% 0-0 3-3
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
21
35
56
9.0
3.0
2
Peppers
27
13
40
10.0
2.5
-
McCray
14
21
35
5.5
2.5
4
Thomas
18
15
33
-
-
4
Winovich
6
18
24
5.5
2.0
-
Glasgow, R.
3
20
23
3.0
1.0
1
Wormley
9
13
22
5.5
4.0
-
Gary
7
14
21
5.0
1.0
-
Hill, D.
10
9
19
2.0
-
2
Hurst
9
10
19
6.5
3.0
-
Godin
7
12
19
2.0
1.0
-
Charlton
4
11
15
4.5
4.0
-
Stribling
4
6
10
0.5
-
7
Kinnel
6
4
10
-
-
-
Lewis
7
3
10
1.5
-
3
Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3
Hudson
3
5
8
0.5
-
1
Watson
4
4
8
-
-
-
Bush
2
5
7
0.5
-
-
Metellus
6
1
7
1.0
1.0
-
Glasgow, J.
4
2
6
-
-
-
Pearson
2
4
6
-
-
-
TOTALS
196 250 446
64
25
27
2016 SCHEDULE
HAWAII (4-4)
W, 63-3 (1-0)
UCF (4-3)
COLORADO (6-2)
PENN ST. (5-2)
WISCONSIN (5-2) at RUTGERS (2-6)
ILLINOIS (2-5)
at MICH. ST. (2-5)
Noon, East Lansing, Mich.
MARYLAND (5-2)
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
at IOWA (5-3)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
INDIANA (3-4)
Michigan Stadium
at OHIO ST. (6-1)
Noon, 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) W, 14-7 (5-0) W, 78-0 (6-0) W, 41-8 (7-0)
Lewis feeling fresh heading into East Lansing
Usually, this is the time of
year when bodies are aching.
The college football season
is more than halfway over, and
as the games get tougher, it
only makes sense that players
start to feel the effects. But for
Jourdan Lewis, this year has
been different.
“I was getting thrown at a lot
(last year), but it just seems like
they go at me every once in a
while now,” Lewis said Saturday.
“Probably just once a game.”
The
result
is
a
fresher
feeling at this time of year for
Michigan’s All-American senior
cornerback.
Lewis missed the season’s
first three games with an injury,
but the other reason he feels so
fresh right now is more about
what’s happened when he’s on
the field. After he said he was
targeted only one time against
the Fighting Illini, Lewis said
his body feels much better after
games now, and with decreased
snap-by-snap dependence, it’s
easy to understand why.
“The trainers came in and
joked with me a little bit (after
the Rutgers game),” Lewis said
Monday. “They told me, ‘I don’t
even know why you’re here,
man. You played a quarter and
a half.’ ”
Really, this benefit extends
to
the
Wolverines’
whole
secondary. Right now, Michigan
has had the fifth-fewest passes
attempted against it nationally
with 164. The first-ranked team,
Florida, has 140, but has also
played one fewer game.
That means that either no one
wants to throw at Michigan, or
no one has been able to — and
the answer is likely both.
When opponents have thrown
on the Wolverines, it hasn’t
exactly been a fruitful endeavor.
Michigan is allowing just a
40.9
completion
percentage
this season, second-lowest in
the country behind Florida.
The Wolverines have picked off
seven passes, which is one more
than the number of touchdown
passes they have allowed.
Somehow, those numbers are
even uglier against Michigan’s
cornerbacks. According to Pro
Football Focus College, opposing
passers
are
11-for-39
when
targeting
receivers
covered
by Lewis or senior cornerback
Channing Stribling. The two
have allowed a total of 131 yards
with zero touchdowns and have
racked up four interceptions.
And all of that is when
those quarterbacks can get
their throws off. For as little
as opponents decide to pass
against Michigan, there’s also
the matter of what happens
when they do.
The
Wolverines
have 25 sacks
through
seven
games,
and
that’s
to
say
nothing
of
plays
where
quarterbacks
are
forced
to
throw the ball
away or run out
of bounds. So while it’s easy
to point to Lewis’ dominance
in coverage as the reason his
targets
have
lowered,
the
cornerback
offered
another
explanation.
“I’m telling you,” Lewis said
Monday, “The defensive line
is so good, I
can’t even tell
you if that’s me,
really.”
Of
course,
it doesn’t hurt
to
have
two
corners as good
as
Lewis
and
Stribling.
Lewis’
success
has
been
well-
documented, but Stribling is
having a breakout season of his
own. He has three interceptions,
including
one
touchdown,
numbers that may soon make
quarterbacks think twice about
throwing his way, too.
And if they decide to go to
the other side again, Lewis is
ready for that, too. As it turns
out, covering receivers who
don’t get thrown to leaves
Lewis wondering when his few
chances will come.
“It’s not so much bored, it’s
just like anxious, you want to
know when your next play is
coming,” he explained. “Every
time you’re in there, it’s not so
much, ‘Oh my god, when are
they going to throw at me?’ I’m
just like, ‘Oh my god, this could
be it, this could be it.’ ”
But most of the time, it isn’t.
Nation’s best defense still trying to improve
When Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh was asked Monday
how his defense could improve,
he was stumped. Harbaugh
leads his team with the mantra
of improving every single day,
but it’s hard to imagine how the
defense could get much better.
“I
mean,
that’s
a
great
question,”
Harbaugh
said.
“They’re playing so good. We just
really have to give them a pat on
the back right now, but it’s not
time to take a victory lap. Just to
keep going at the same relentless,
intense pace that they’ve had
and approach that they’ve had to
every game, because we’re a little
over the halfway point. You don’t
want to take a victory lap, but you
do have to recognize that this
defense is playing great football.”
The second-ranked Wolverines
have allowed the fewest total
yards in the nation while ranking
first in passing defense and fourth
in rushing defense.
The latter irritates fifth-
year senior defensive end Chris
Wormley.
“When
you
look
at
the
different
categories,
we’re
(ranked No. 1) in a lot of them,
but we want to be (No. 1) in all of
them. I think we’re third in like
rushing defense, which kind of
pisses us off, but at the end of
the day, if we get wins, we’re
pretty happy.”
This week, Michigan will
travel to East Lansing to take
on a Spartan squad that has lost
its past five games. Michigan
prides itself on preparing for
each game the same way, and
this week will be no different for
the defense.
The
unit
generally
looks
at the opponents’ big plays
that can cause a swing in a
game when looking for areas
of
improvement,
and
after
Michigan
State
beat
the
Wolverines on an infamous
game-ending play last season,
Michigan is unlikely to overlook
the details.
After last week’s game, when
the Wolverines routed Illinois
41-8, the Fighting Illini’s fourth-
quarter
43-yard
touchdown
pass has been a point of focus.
“I guess when you look at the
film and you see what you can
do better, you look at the big
plays first,” Wormley said. “You
look at when they scored, and
you
see
what
we can do as a
defense
better
than what we
did on that play.
“But
at
the
end of the day,
like
you
said,
it’s hard to find
things
when
we’re doing so
well,
but
like
I said, there’s
always things to get better on.”
The
Wolverines
have
allowed just 70 points this
season, the fewest of any team
in the nation.
Part of that can
be
attributed
to the defense’s
overall age. Of
the 11 starters
on defense, nine
are seniors.
Fellow senior
Jake Butt isn’t
surprised
by
just how prolific
the defense has
been because he has seen its
work ethic and development
throughout the last four years.
The tight end has known for
months how good they would
be.
“I’m not dazzled, because I
knew how talented they were,”
Butt said. “I’m confident saying
they work as hard, if not harder,
than anyone in the country.
That started with this summer
and
through
this
summer
preparation. Those D-line guys
have had that mentality for as
long as I’ve been here. I’d say
that they’re the hardest working
group on the team and it shows
in how they play.”
Harbaugh on how top-ranked unit can be better: ‘That’s a great question. They’re playing so good’
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Fifth-year senior defensive end Chris Wormley and Michigan are focused on improvement, but it isn’t easy for a defense as strong as the Wolverines’.
KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
“We just really
have to give
them a pat on
the back.”
All-American cornerback’s lights-out defense has limited opposing throws coming in his direction
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis (26) has seen limited action because opponents have not often turned in his direction against Michigan’s defense.
MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
“It just seems
like they go at
me every once
in a while now.”