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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Michigan prepares for Durkin, Maryland
The No. 3 Michigan football
team knocked off its in-state rival
last weekend for the first time in
four years, and
though the game
wasn’t
pretty,
the third-ranked
Wolverines
thoroughly
enjoyed it.
The struggling
Spartans (0-5 Big
Ten, 2-6 overall)
played
one
of
their best games
of
the
season,
outscoring
Michigan
14-5
in
the
fourth
quarter
and
outgaining
it
217-192
on
the
ground. It still wasn’t enough,
as the Wolverines escaped East
Lansing with the Paul Bunyan
Trophy, which now sits in Ann
Arbor, adorned with miniature
maize pants and a Michigan hat.
Still, many defensive players,
including
senior
cornerback
Jourdan
Lewis,
voiced
their
displeasure with the fact they
allowed the Spartans to get back
in the game. The Wolverines (5-0,
8-0) allowed themselves to enjoy
the rivalry win, but their goals
evidently aren’t stopping there.
With
hopes
of
a
Big
Ten
Championship and a spot in the
College Football Playoff very much
alive, Michigan still has work to be
done, starting Saturday when former
defensive coordinator DJ Durkin
returns to Ann Arbor as a first-year
head coach at Maryland (2-3, 5-3).
“I think he’s doing a fabulous
job, him and his entire staff and
team,” said Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh. “You can see the energy.
You see the strength. You see the
competitiveness and execution on
the field, et cetera. The flip side of
that is we know that this’ll be a big
game, a championship game. This
will be a real test for our club.”
Under Durkin last season, the
Wolverines’ defense posted three
straight shutouts and allowed the
fourth-fewest yards per game in
the country. This year, under new
defensive coordinator Don Brown,
that unit has improved to first in
that category as well as first in
points per game.
Though
his
position
group
struggled more than usual in
stopping the run last week, defensive
line coach Greg Mattison feels like
they’ve handled the regular-season
grind well enough to be ready for the
November stretch.
“There starts to become a wear-
and-tear, maybe, throughout that
long stretch,” he said. “But our head
coach is pretty smart. This isn’t his
first trip. He knows how to set up
practice and how to do things, and
Coach Brown knows exactly what
this defense needs.”
On the other side of the ball,
Michigan’s offense had perhaps
its best single-half performance of
the season against Michigan State,
starting with redshirt sophomore
quarterback
Wilton
Speight
answering a Spartan touchdown
drive with a 3:23 scoring drive
of his own. Speight continues to
improve week to week, and he has
thrown 13 touchdowns against just
three interceptions.
This week, the Wolverines have
the advantage of preparing for a
familiar defense. Beyond Harbaugh’s
relationship with Durkin, defensive
coordinator Andy Buh worked with
the pair at Stanford, and linebackers
coach Matt Barnes was a defensive
analyst for the Wolverines last year.
Though Harbaugh identified a
few schemes and a “hustle” that he
recognized on film, neither he nor
offensive coordinator Tim Drevno
are expecting preparation to be
easy. Drevno pointed out that Buh
is bringing his own flavor to his
new team, and no two defenses end
up looking the same.
“I think you always kind of build
your football team around what you
have personnel-wise and what they
do best to put them in successful
situations,” Drevno said. “You might
see something different out there
that caters to them to be successful.”
The Terrapins might not have
the pieces to pull off an upset,
though — star cornerback Will
Likely is lost for the season with a
torn ACL, and Maryland’s defense
is fresh off allowing 42 points at
Indiana. Last year, Michigan shut
out the Terrapins, 28-0, on the
road, and six of the Wolverines’
eight victories this year have been
by double digits.
As he has every week, Harbaugh
said Monday that this game will
be treated like a championship
game, but the 31-point underdog
Terrapins look like a long shot to
capture the title.
Wolverines welcome former defensive coordinator back to Ann Arbor for Saturday matchup at the Big House
JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight keeps improving as Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh leads him and the Wolverines into the home stretch.
Maryland at
Michigan
Matchup:
Maryland 5-3;
Michigan 8-0
When:
Saturday
3:30 P.M.
Where:
Michigan
Stadium
TV/Radio:
ESPN
GRANT HARDY/Daily