Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, October 28, 2016 — 7

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)

‘M’ seeks to exorcise demons in East Lansing

Just 12 months ago, as an 

announced 
crowd 
of 
111,740 

filed out of Michigan Stadium 
in utter silence after one of the 
most shocking finishes in college 
football history, it would have 
been hard to imagine Michigan 
and Michigan State lining up 
again Saturday in their current 
positions only one year later.

The 
second-ranked 

Wolverines are 7-0 and in the 
driver’s seat in the Big Ten race, 
while the Spartans are 2-5 and 
three-touchdown 
underdogs. 

The Wolverines have the College 
Football Playoff in their sights. 
The Spartans have only a bowl 
berth to play for.

That, and an eighth win in nine 

years against Michigan.

Michigan 
coach 
Jim 

Harbaugh 
says 
nearly 
every 

week that the upcoming game 
is a championship game. This is 
the first one — though likely not 
the last — that really is. The two 
teams typically play for the de 
facto state championship. The 
Wolverines have not brought 
home the Paul Bunyan Trophy 
since 2012, an important factor 
even to those new to the rivalry.

“I can tell it’s Michigan State 

week — I know that,” said first-
year defensive coordinator Don 
Brown. 
“Obviously 
my 
first 

experience, so I’m kind of feeding 
off my guys. … It’s the same, for 
us, in terms of the preparation. 
I get a sense from our guys that 
it’s a little bit more important. 
There’s no question about it.”

More than just last year — 

when Michigan State picked up a 
fumbled punt snap and returned 
it for a game-winning touchdown 
on the last play — the Spartans 
have owned the edge lately. They 
outscored Michigan, 64-17, at 
home in 2013 and 2014, in two 
games Michigan’s players said 
were even more embarrassing 

than last year’s.

Michigan State coach Mark 

Dantonio is 7-2 in the game he 
has placed utmost importance 
on during his tenure, and with 
most of the Spartans’ season a 
disappointment to this point, they 
surely would love nothing more 
than to spoil the Wolverines’ 
season with a fifth straight home 
win in the series.

“I think they love beating us 

more than any other team in the 
country, and for fair reasons,” said 
fifth-year senior offensive tackle 
Erik Magnuson. “I remember 
it being hostile. … When you go 
there and all the fans are flipping 
you off and all that type of stuff 
when you’re pulling in, you kind 
of realize it’s a big deal.”

In the teams’ last meeting at 

Spartan Stadium, then-No. 8 
Michigan State pounded a reeling 
Michigan team, 35-11. Wolverines 
linebacker Joe Bolden drove 
a stake into the field before 
the game, and the Spartans 
responded by tacking on another 
touchdown late in the game. 
Michigan State went on to beat 
Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, and 
Michigan finished 5-7 and fired 
coach Brady Hoke.

It was hard to imagine then, 

or even after last year’s stunner, 
that the teams’ fortunes would 
reverse so quickly. Following the 
2015 loss, Michigan could only 
talk about how it would recover 
from that, how it would “put steel 
in the spine.”

“Coach Harbaugh also talked 

about, 
‘We’re 
gonna 
handle 

this better than any team could 
ever handle it,’” said senior 
cornerback Jourdan Lewis. “He 
was right — we just go on and play 
the remainder of our games, and 
looking to this year, we just try to 
go out there and execute in East 
Lansing.”

The Wolverines have lost only 

once since then, against Ohio 
State last November at Michigan 
Stadium. 
They 
watched 
the 

Spartans move on from that game 
to a Big Ten Championship and 
an appearance in the College 
Football Playoff, capping one of 
the most successful runs in school 
history. Even while focusing on 
the present, the Wolverines say 
they won’t forget about their 
struggles against their in-state 
rival.

“What we’ve got going now is 

special,” said redshirt sophomore 
quarterback Wilton Speight. “If 
we take our foot off the gas, that 
feeling will go away.”

Now, Michigan State is on 

an entirely different trajectory. 
The Spartans have lost five 
straight games, the first against 
Wisconsin on Sept. 24, the last 
at Maryland on Saturday. In 

between, they fell to Indiana in 
overtime and gave up 54 points to 
Northwestern. They have not yet 
found reliable quarterback play 
between Tyler O’Connor, Damion 
Terry and Brian Lewerke.

That’s a bad recipe against 

Michigan’s top-ranked defense, 
which has playmakers all over 
the field: fifth-year senior Chris 
Wormley 
and 
senior 
Taco 

Charlton (four sacks each) on 
the 
defensive 
line, 
redshirt 

sophomore Jabrill Peppers (10 
tackles for loss) at linebacker and 
the All-American Lewis in the 
secondary.

The Wolverines had all of 

those players in starring roles 
last season, when they appeared 
poised to exorcise their demons 

against Michigan State, end their 
losing streak in the series and 
gain the inside track to the Big 
Ten championship.

This year, the demons are 

back and all of those goals are 
still in play, but with higher 
stakes. For the first time since 
that 
“embarrassment” 
in 

2014, for the third time in four 
years, for the first time under 
Harbaugh, Michigan is heading 
up to East Lansing to try to win a 
championship game.

“That’s all I want to think 

about — I don’t want to think 
about the other way,” Magnuson 
said. “I can only imagine us 
driving home with Paul Bunyan 
on our side, because that’s what 
we’re going in there to do.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight will look to guide Michigan to its first win in East Lansing since 2007.

JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

What to watch for: Will Spartans throw at Lewis?

The No. 2 Michigan football 

team’s matchup with Michigan 
State 
in 
East 
Lansing 
this 

weekend won’t be the top-10 
showdown some fans thought it 
might be before the season, but 
that certainly doesn’t mean it 
won’t be worth watching.

It’s cliché to say that records 

are thrown out the window in 
rivalry games, but this rivalry 
in particular has proven that to 
be true. From the “Clockgate” 
game of 2001 to Braylon Edwards’ 
three-touchdown 
performance 

in 2004 to Chad Henne’s fouth-
quarter comeback in 2007 to 
Blake O’Neill’s dropped punt 
last season, the Wolverines and 
the Spartans have proven that 
anything can happen when they 
face off.

It might be unrealistic to 

expect much drama this year, 
though — behind the nation’s top 
defense, Michigan (4-0 Big Ten, 
7-0 overall) has its sights set on 
the College Football Playoff, while 
Michigan State (0-4, 2-5) has 
dropped five games in a row for 
the first time since 1991. Despite 
being on the road, the Wolverines 
are favored by more than three 
touchdowns, one of the largest 
spreads in the rivalry’s recent 
history.

The Spartans may not have the 

pieces to turn Saturday’s game 
into another instant classic, but 
here are a few things to watch for 
when the in-state rivals square 
off.

1. Who wins the battle in the 

trenches?

There have been plenty of 

flashy moments throughout the 
rivalry, but nearly every game 
has been won on the ground. The 
team with the most rushing yards 
has won 42 of the last 46 meetings, 

making the battle in the trenches 
extremely important. Michigan 
State has won seven of the last 
eight 
meetings 
between 
the 

teams, in large part because of its 
talented offensive and defensive 
lines. The low point for Michigan 
came in 2013, when the Spartans 
sacked 
quarterback 
Devin 

Gardner seven times and left the 
Wolverines with a program-low 
negative-48 rushing yards.

This year, though, the roles 

could be reversed. Michigan State 
lost three offensive linemen and 
defensive end Shilique Calhoun 
to the NFL Draft in April, while 
Michigan boasts two of the 
most experienced offensive and 
defensive lines in the country. 
The Spartans still have plenty 
of talent on their roster, starting 
with a potential first-round draft 
pick in defensive lineman Malik 
McDowell, but they haven’t 
produced so far this season. 
They’ll need to take a huge step 
forward to stop the Wolverines.

2. 
Will 
Michigan 
State 

quarterbacks throw at Jourdan 
Lewis?

Partially due to Michigan’s 

outstanding pass defense and 
partially due to Lewis’ All-
American reputation, the senior 
cornerback has only been targeted 
about once a game since returning 
from injury. Lewis admitted he’s 
a little frustrated by the light 
workload, but he’s feeling as fresh 
as he’s ever felt this late in a season 
before.

Last 
year, 
though, 
the 

Spartans were one of the rare 
teams to repeatedly go after 
Lewis. 
Quarterback 
Connor 

Cook 
targeted 
Lewis’ 
man, 

wide receiver Aaron Burbridge, 
19 times throughout the game. 
Lewis and Burbridge essentially 
battled to a draw — Burbridge had 
nine receptions for 132 yards, but 
Lewis had seven tackles and six 

pass breakups.

Things might be different this 

year, though, with both Cook and 
Burbridge in the NFL. Michigan 
State 
has 
struggled 
to 
get 

consistent play from quarterbacks 
Tyler 
O’Connor 
and 
Brian 

Lewerke, but it does boast talented 
wide receivers like R.J. Shelton 
and Donnie Corley. We’ll find out 
Saturday if coach Mark Dantonio 
trusts any of those players enough 
to challenge Lewis again.

3. How will the Wolverines 

use Jabrill Peppers?

Peppers has played over a dozen 

positions this season, but the 
redshirt sophomore linebacker 
has hinted that he has a few more 
tricks up his sleeve that Michigan 
hasn’t shown yet. His minutes on 
offense have drastically increased 
since Big Ten play started — he 

has seen consistent reps at wildcat 
quarterback or running back, 
both early in the game and when 
the score has already gotten out of 
hand.

Illinois did a surprisingly 

good job holding Peppers in 
check last week, as he picked up 
just nine yards on five carries. 
Most of his plays were obvious 
designed runs, though, and it’s 
likely that Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh will be a little more 
creative this week. Peppers says 
he can throw the ball 65 yards — 
will we see him attempt a pass 
this weekend? Will he score a 
touchdown on a trick play we 
haven’t seen yet? Will he kick a 
45-yard field goal?

All possibilities are on the table. 

Except probably that last one.

4. Will Harbaugh run up the 

score if Michigan leads big?

Harbaugh has already shown 

that he has no mercy in blowouts 
— the Wolverines inexplicably 
went for two at Rutgers to run 
the score to 29-0. Though he 
has shown nothing but respect 
for Dantonio this week, praising 
the job he has done at Michigan 
State, Harbaugh might have a 
chance to make a statement if 
things get out of hand Saturday 
afternoon.

Given the way that last year’s 

game ended — with Dantonio 
being captured on video asking 
fans 
at 
Michigan 
Stadium, 

“Where’d all those Wolverines 
go?” after the victory — and the 
fact that Dantonio offered some 
veiled criticisms of Harbaugh’s 
satellite camps over the summer, 
let’s just say we wouldn’t be 
surprised if Harbaugh fired one 
of his infamous “shots over the 
bow.”

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis has not been thrown at much this season, but he has made his impact felt.

