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.