8A — Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
T E A M S T A T S
MICH
OPP
Points/Game
46.6
11.6
First Downs/Game
23.9
12.1
Rush Yards/Game
249.0
111.1
Yards/Rush
5.4
3.3
Rushing TDs
31
3
Passing Yards/Game
228.1
120.1
Completion %
63.9%
41.7%
Yards/Pass
8.0
5.0
Passing TDs
14
8
Interceptions
3
8
Offensive Plays/Game
74.8
58.1
Total Offense
477.1
231.2
3rd-down Conversions
47.7%
15.5%
4th-down Conversions
66.7%
35.3%
Sacks/Game
3.4
1.4
Kick return average
17.2
20.7
Punt return average
17.9
8.8
Punting average
42.1
38.1
Field Goals-Attempts
9-14
3-7
Fumbles/Lost
8/3
12/5
Penalty Yards/Game
43.4
46.0
Time of Poss
33:48
26:13
I N D I V I D U A L S T A T S
PASSING
Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT
Speight
130
207
1691
13
3
O’Korn
11
15
89
1
0
Morris
4
5
45
0
0
TOTALS
145
227
1825
14
3
RUSHING
Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Smith, D.
90
450
5.0
42
5
Evans
53
424
8.0
57
3
Higdon
53
403
7.6
45
6
Isaac
66
348
5.3
34
4
McDoom
12
138
11.5
33
0
Peppers
15
131
8.7
63
3
Chesson
9
47
5.2
17
1
Hill
19
33
1.7
4
8
Henderson
4
29
7.2
13
1
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
10
-15
-1.5
0
0
Speight
19
-49
-2.6
10
0
TOTALS
371
1992
5.4
63
31
RECEIVING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Darboh
38
664
17.5
46
5
Butt
29
345
11.9
26
4
Chesson
20
304
15.2
35
1
Perry
6
114
19.0
54
1
Hill
10
75
7.5
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
Asiasi
2
18
9.0
15
1
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
Johnson, N.
1
4
4.0
4
0
Peppers
2
3
1.5
5
0
TOTALS
145
1825
12.6
54
14
PUNT RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
15
257
17.1
54
1
Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0
Evans
1
15
15.0
15
0
Perry
0
6
--
6
1
TOTALS
17
305
17.9
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
2
0
0.0
0
0
TOTALS
8
113
14.1
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
6
168
28.0
55
0
Lewis
3
34
11.3
18
0
Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0
Hudson
1
6
6.0
6
0
Hill, K.
2
5
2.5
5
0
TOTALS
14
241
17.2
55
0
KICKOFFS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB
Allen
53
3392
64.0
28
Foug
8
460
57.5
2
Tice
3
189
63.0
0
TOTALS
64
4041
63.1
30
PUNTING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg
Allen
27
1138
42.1
56
TOTALS
27
1138
42.1
56
FIELD GOALS
Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg
Allen
9-13 69.2% 0-0 5-5 3-5
1-3 0-0 45
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
22
39
61
8.5
3.0
2
Peppers
31
17
48
12.5
3.5
-
McCray
18
25
43
8.0
3.5
4
Thomas
18
16
34
-
-
4
Hill, D.
20
10
30
2.0
-
2
Winovich
6
20
26
5.5
2.0
-
Glasgow, R.
5
21
26
4.0
1.0
1
Wormley
9
13
22
5.5
4.0
-
Gary
7
15
22
5.0
1.0
-
Hurst
9
11
20
6.5
3.0
-
Godin
7
13
20
2.0
1.0
-
Charlton
7
12
19
4.5
4.0
-
Lewis
11
5
16
2.5
-
3
Stribling
7
8
15
1.0
-
7
Kinnel
6
4
10
-
-
-
Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3
Watson
6
4
10
-
-
-
Metellus
6
2
8
1.0
1.0
-
Glasgow, J.
5
3
8
-
-
-
Hudson
3
5
8
0.5
-
1
Bush
3
5
8
0.5
-
-
Pearson
2
4
6
-
-
-
TOTALS
232 280 512
71
27
28
2016 SCHEDULE
HAWAII (4-5)
W, 63-3 (1-0)
UCF (4-4)
COLORADO (6-2)
PENN ST. (6-2)
WISCONSIN (6-2) at RUTGERS (2-6)
ILLINOIS (2-6)
at MICH. ST. (2-6) MARYLAND (5-3)
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
at IOWA (5-3)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
INDIANA (4-4)
Michigan Stadium
at OHIO ST. (7-1)
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) W, 32-23 (8-0)
Michigan turns to Bens to carry O-line’s left side
One of the Bens on the left
side of Michigan’s offensive
line is a fifth-year senior, and
the other is a true freshman,
but the similarities between
them outweigh the differences.
Ben Braden, a fifth-year
senior from Rockford, Mich.,
will make his 32nd career start
on the Wolverines’ offensive
line
this
weekend
against
Maryland. Ben Bredeson, a
true freshman from Hartland,
Wisc., will likely make his
fourth.
The two lived next to each
other for the duration of fall
camp, and now they play next
to each other, Braden at left
tackle, Bredeson at left guard.
In addition to their dorm this
summer and their first name,
they also share a meeting room,
a heritage from the Upper
Midwest and a love of hockey.
Michigan made the change
during its bye week to start both
of them against Illinois on Oct.
22 and against Michigan State
on Saturday. After starting left
tackle Grant Newsome suffered
a season-ending knee injury Oct.
1, the Wolverines gave redshirt
sophomore
Juwann
Bushell-
Beatty the nod at that position
the next week against Rutgers.
They also started Bredeson
in place of Braden — who has
battled injuries for most of the
season — at left guard.
Michigan then emerged from
its bye week in a new alignment,
starting Braden at left tackle
for the first time in his career.
It was not a drastic change, nor
did it respond to a significant
need. But when the Wolverines
tested different arrangements
during their week off, they
found success with Braden and
Bredeson on the left side, and
so the two Bens it was.
“We were constantly fluid,
changing things up all the
time,” Bredeson said. “You
just have to stay ready, and
that’s what I did. That’s what
everyone on the line does. We
all have to be ready to go when
our number gets called.”
That wasn’t always the case.
Michigan started the same
five offensive linemen in the
same five spots for all 13 games
last season. Newsome, who
occasionally played as a sixth
offensive lineman, was the only
other one to play significant
snaps.
This year, the Wolverines
have
used
four
different
combinations, with all of the
changes coming on the left
side. Part of the fluctuation is
because of Newsome’s injury,
and another part is depth
— Michigan did not have
Bredeson last year, and Bushell-
Beatty played sparingly until
last month.
The unit also appears to
be more versatile this season.
Junior
center
Mason
Cole
started at left tackle for two
years. Bredeson often draws
comparisons to him for his
ability to move around. And
until Braden went in at left
tackle during the bye week, he
had not practiced there since
fall camp.
Among Michigan’s group,
Bredeson steps into a group
with three fifth-year seniors
and another three-year starter
in Cole. He seems to have built
a particularly strong rapport
with Braden.
When he first spoke to
media in late September before
the Wisconsin game, he said
Braden had mentored him “a lot
more than you can imagine.”
The two also room together in
the team hotel the night before
each game.
“He’s helped me with plays,
protections, pregame tests, life,
basically everything,” Bredeson
said in September. “… He has
gone far out of his way to help
me, mentally and physically,
with the game.”
Braden
gives
similarly
complimentary remarks about
Bredeson, who backed him
up at left guard before both
cracked the starting lineup and
who appears to be the future of
the offensive line.
“Bredeson’s a good kid,”
Braden said. “He works really
hard. Smart guy, great attitude,
great character. … I’ve really
enjoyed getting to know him,
and I definitely see myself
growing with our friendship
even
when
I’m
not
here
anymore.”
As
for
the
roommate
assignment
that
sparked
a
particularly close friendship,
Bredeson isn’t sure how that
came about.
“I couldn’t tell you,” he said.
“They just decided to make
it confusing and put the two
guys with the closest names
together.”
JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Ben Braden and freshman offensive lineman Ben Bredeson (74) have settled into their positions on the left side of the line.
Cole plays through sickness for standout game
Monday,
Michigan
coach
Jim Harbaugh said that his
youngsters would have to start
drinking more whole milk. He
wasn’t talking about his growing
children, though.
Instead, it was his response
to senior tight end Jake Butt
and junior center Mason Cole,
who were battling sicknesses
last week. Both were still able to
see the field and had a hand in
defeating Michigan State, 32-23,
and Cole even received high
praise from Harbaugh.
“Mason Cole, there’s a guy,”
Harbaugh said. “And I’ve always
said this, too, but (I) experienced
playing some of my best games
with
a
temperature.
There’s
something that makes you focus
more during a game. Mason was
our offensive lineman of the
week. I thought he had the best
performance of our offensive
line.”
Harbaugh
also
suggested
doing more push-ups and using
hand sanitizer to combat illness,
though Cole’s sickness didn’t
seem to have much of a negative
impact on his game.
While he doesn’t necessarily
agree with Harbaugh’s belief that
being sick can set up for a great
game, he understands where his
coach is coming from.
“I can see what he’s saying,”
Cole said. “When you’re not
feeling right, you just focus on
you. You kind of put everything
else aside and you have to focus
on you 100 percent to do your
job.”
Nothing was going to detract
from playing his in-state rival,
and at no point did he anticipate
being absent from the Michigan
State game.
“(My illness) really wasn’t that
big of a deal,” Cole said. “There’s
not much that can take you away
from playing in that kind of an
environment. You’ve gotta go
there and perform and in that
rivalry game and you just gotta do
what you gotta do. It wasn’t bad —
it wasn’t as bad as people made it
sound.”
He attributed his illness to the
changing seasons and said that
people everywhere are working
through the same thing. Luckily
for the Wolverines, Cole is back
to feeling healthy. He may have
been physically unavailable for
practice last week, but he said
that he was there mentally.
As
a
three-year
starter,
Cole’s absence would be felt
immediately. After two years at
left tackle, Cole switched to the
center position, which is a role
he feels completely comfortable
in. Despite spending more time
at tackle, he now likes playing at
center more.
Cole held Michigan State’s
star defensive lineman Malik
McDowell — who leads the
Spartans
with
seven
tackles
for loss on the season — to just
two tackles last weekend. Cole
thought he played fairly well,
despite missing some practice.
The rest of his team wasn’t quite
there though.
Michigan’s offense was prolific
in the first half, scoring 27 points,
but production slowed in the
second. One of the offense’s most
disappointing
performances
came during the fourth quarter,
when Michigan went 2-for-7
on third down and had just 16
rushing yards.
“I think you’d like to see us go
out there and see us get a few first
downs and close out the game,
but we didn’t,” Cole said. “But our
defense came up big, our special
teams came up big … they saved
us, but it’s a team effort, and they
covered us that time.”
Regardless of the changes that
are occurring on the offensive
line — with sophomore Grant
Newsome out for the season and
freshman Ben Bredeson earning a
starting role — Cole has emerged
as Michigan’s rock up in the
middle.
“I mean, he’s moving people
and getting his job done down
after down, playing low and
fast and physical,” Harbaugh
said. “He’s really developing
as a center, there’s no question
about it. … (I) feel great that this
is his position. He is an ideal,
prototypical center and doing
a great job. Just gotta boost his
immune system.”
KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Junior center Mason Cole played through an unspecified illness when the Wolverines beat Michigan State, 32-23, at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.