6A — Thursday, November 17, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

T E A M S T A T S

 

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
44.5
11.0

First Downs/Game
23.6
13.3

Rush Yards/Game
236.3
113.1

 Yards/Rush
5.3
3.1

 Rushing TDs
37
3

Passing Yards/Game
231.5
131.6

 Completion %
63.2%
43.9%

 Yards/Pass
8.3
5.5

 Passing TDs
17
9

 Interceptions
4
11

Offensive Plays/Game
72.5
59.9

Total Offense
467.8
244.7

3rd-down Conversions
46.5%
19.7%

4th-down Conversions
61.5%
34.8%

Sacks/Game
3.3
1.4

Kick return average
17.8
21.0

Punt return average
18.0
8.1

Punting average
41.9
39.0

Field Goals-Attempts
12-17
6-12

Fumbles/Lost
10/4
12/5

Penalty Yards/Game
45.7
43.8

Time of Poss
32:59
27:01

I N D I V I D U A L S T A T S

PASSING

Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT

Speight
160
257
2156
15
4

O’Korn
13
18
114
2
0

Morris
4
5
45
0
0

TOTALS
177
280
2315
17
4

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Smith, D.
121
592
4.9
42
8

Evans
65
508
7.8
57
3

Higdon
61
415
6.8
45
6

Isaac
69
411
6.0
53
5

Peppers
21
161
7.7
63
3

McDoom
15
154
10.3
33
0

Chesson
9
47
5.2
17
1

Henderson
5
37
7.4
13
1

Hill, K.
22
36
1.6
4
9

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
26
-36
-1.4
10
1

TOTALS
445 2363
5.3
63
37

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Darboh
43
746
17.3
46
6

Butt
38
460
12.1
37
4

Chesson
27
446
16.5
40
2

Perry
7
124
17.7
54
1

Hill
12
93
7.8
15
1

Evans
6
87
14.5
56
0

McDoom
5
59
11.8
33
0

Poggi
6
45
7.5
15
0

Crawford
3
43
14.3
18
1

Smith, D.
11
38
3.5
17
0

Wheatley
2
27
13.5
21
1

Ways
2
24
12.0
22
0

Henderson
1
23
23.0
23
0

Isaac
1
21
21.0
21
0

Asiasi
2
18
9.0
15
1

Hirsch
1
15
15.0
15
0

Jocz
1
12
12.0
12
0

Harris
2
11
5.5
7
0

McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0

Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0

Johnson, N.
1
4
4.0
4
0

Peppers
2
3
1.5
5
0

TOTALS
177
2315
13.1
56
17

 

PUNT RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Peppers
16
276
17.2
54
1

Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0

Evans
1
15
15.0
15
0

Perry
0
6
--
6
1

TOTALS
18
324
18.0
54
2

INTERCEPTION RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Stribling
4
60
15.0
51
1

Hill, D.
3
36
12.0
27
1

McCray
1
22
22.0
22
0

Thomas
1
4
4.0
4
0

Lewis
2
0
0.0
0
0

TOTALS
11
122
11.1
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
8
198
24.8
55
0

Lewis
3
34
11.3
18
0

Hill, K.
3
28
9.3
13
0

Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0

Evans
1
26
26.0
26
0

Hudson
1
6
6.0
6
0

TOTALS
18
320
17.8
55
0

KICKOFFS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB

Allen
68
4356
64.1
36

Foug
8
460
57.5
2

Tice
3
189
63.0
0

TOTALS
79
5005
63.4
38

PUNTING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg

Allen
33
1382
41.9
56

TOTALS
27
1138
42.1
56

FIELD GOALS

Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg

Allen
12-16 75.0% 0-0 7-7
3-5
1-3
1-1
51

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
31
53
84
13.0
3.5
2

Peppers
38
21
59
14.0 4.0
-

McCray
27
29
56
9.5
3.5
4

Thomas
29
21
50
-
-
6

Hill, D.
29
11
40
3.5
-
3

Winovich
9
23
32
7.5
4.0
-

Wormley
14
16
30
7.5
5.0
-

Glasgow
8
22
30
5.0
2.0
1

Hurst
16
12
28
8.5
3.0
-

Gary
10
15
25
5.0
1.0
-

Charlton
10
14
24
5.5
5.0
-

Godin
9
14
23
2.0
1.0
-

Lewis
13
5
18
2.5
-
7

Stribling
10
8
18
1.0
-
9

Kinnel
10
4
14
1.0
-
-

Watson
6
5
11
-
-
-

Bush
6
5
11
0.5
-
-

Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3

Glasgow, J.
7
4
11
-
-
-

Metellus
6
2
8
1.0
1.0
-

Hudson
3
5
8
0.5
-
1

Furbush
3
5
8
1.0
-
-

Pearson
2
5
7
-
-
-

TOTALS
325 328 653
90
33
37

2016 SCHEDULE

HAWAII (4-7)

W, 63-3 (1-0)

UCF (6-4)
COLORADO (8-2)
PENN ST. (8-2)
WISCONSIN (8-2) at RUTGERS (2-8)
ILLINOIS (3-7)
at MICH. ST. (3-7) MARYLAND (5-5)
at IOWA (6-4)
INDIANA (5-5)

3:30 Michigan Stadium

at OHIO ST. (9-1)

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) W, 59-3 (9-0)
L, 14-13 (9-1)

O’Korn has teammates’ confidence

In all likelihood, John O’Korn 

is now the starting quarterback 
of the Michigan football team.

That was a sentence a lot of 

fans expected to read before 
the first game of the season, 
before the emergence of redshirt 
sophomore 
Wilton 
Speight 

ultimately relegated O’Korn to a 
backup role.

But 
now, 
with 
Speight 

sustaining 
an 
unspecified 

shoulder injury in a loss to 
Iowa last week, the starting job 
appears to finally be in O’Korn’s 
hands.

For a team with College 

Football Playoff hopes — the 
third-ranked 
Wolverines 
(6-1 

Big Ten, 9-1 overall) still control 
their own destiny despite the loss 
— losing a starting quarterback 
with just two regular-season 
games 
remaining 
might 
be 

a cause for panic. O’Korn’s 
teammates, though, don’t seem 
to have that mindset.

“We’re gonna be running 

the same exact plays,” said 
senior tight end Jake Butt. 
“John’s been doing a great job 
understanding his role, and he’s 
been ready every single week 
and preparing every single week 
as if he were the starter. If his 
number is called, I’m confident — 
everyone’s confident — that John 
will be able to get this job done 
for us.”

It doesn’t seem to be blind 

confidence, either. Several of 
O’Korn’s teammates pointed to 
his methods of preparation and 
said they’re not expecting much 
of a drop-off.

That preparation started last 

season, when O’Korn had to 
sit out a year after transferring 
from 
Houston. 
He 
couldn’t 

play in games, but he was the 
quarterback of the scout team 
and earned scout player of the 
week honors several times.

Even after losing the job this 

year, O’Korn didn’t scale his 
preparation back. According to 
Butt, O’Korn likes to sit in the 
front row at meetings, is one of 
the first players to watch film and 
is one of the best note-takers on 
the team.

Though 
he 

hasn’t 
been 

calling 
the 

shots 
on 
the 

field, 
O’Korn 

has earned the 
respect 
of 
his 

teammates 
— 

including 
fifth-

year 
senior 

defensive 
lineman 
Chris 

Wormley, who said he wishes he 
spent as much time preparing as 
O’Korn did.

“John’s done a great job all 

year of being a leader, whether 
(he’s) playing or not,” Wormley 
said. “He’s still a leader in my 
eyes, at least. He watches film 
after practice probably more 

than 
anybody 

I’ve ever seen at 
the college level, 
which is weird 
for 
somebody 

that isn’t asked 
to play as much 
as he does. ... 
But 
with 
him 

doing that for 
the 
last 
two, 

three 
months, 

it’s gonna help 

him out big time if he’s starting 
on Saturday.”

O’Korn won’t have Speight’s 

10 games of preparation under 
his belt, but he does have one 
extra tool to help him out: his 
feet.

Standing two inches shorter 

and 30 pounds lighter than 
Speight, O’Korn has a proven 
ability 
to 
move 
around 
in 

the pocket and even pull off 
designed runs — as evidenced 
by his performance in this year’s 
Spring Game, where he tallied 28 
rushing yards and a touchdown.

“You see Wilton try and 

scramble and it looks like it 
hurts,” Wormley said. “But for 
O’Korn, he’s a little shiftier, a 
little faster and more athletic. 
He’s got a great arm, so I’m 
excited to see what he can do 
too.”

The rest of the team seems 

quietly confident, as well — 
according to running backs coach 
Tyrone Wheatley, it’s “plug and 
play.” Wheatley confessed that in 
practice, he’s usually zoned in on 
his own position group, but he’s 
noticed no peripheral difference 
under center.

For Michigan to accomplish 

its lofty goals — starting with 
beating Indiana on Saturday 
and winning a possible playoff-
deciding matchup at No. 2 Ohio 
State after that — it will need 
those differences to be as muted 
as O’Korn’s teammates expect 
them to be.

“O’Korn is gonna do well — 

you don’t look at it as a drop-off, 
you don’t look at it as anything 
different,” Wheatley said. “It’s 
the next guy in. Game normal.”

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Redshirt junior quarterback John O’Korn may be thrust into action on Saturday if redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight is unable to play.

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

“We’re gonna 

be running 
the same 

exact plays.”

Wolverines look back on chaotic finishes

Chris Wormley had been in the 

situation before. He looked, then 
took a deep breath. And then he 
had one thought: Get off the field.

Iowa’s Keith Duncan had just 

kicked a game-winning 33-yard 
field goal as time expired, and then 
came the Hawkeye fans streaming 
onto the field. Wormley knew he 
wouldn’t want to be caught up in 
that chaos.

And as he hurried off the field 

— his only prerogative to get to 
the locker room quickly — an Iowa 
fan accidentally collided with the 
6-foot-6, 
302-pound 
defensive 

lineman and flew backward to the 
turf.

“I was heading for the locker 

room after that loss, so I wasn’t 
thinking too much about who was 
in my way, who’s not in my way,” 
Wormley said Tuesday. “I hope 
he’s doing OK.”

It looked like a scary moment 

at first, but Wormley said he 
feels better about it now that he 
knows the fan is OK. The fifth-
year senior even joked that he’d be 
willing to be the “poster child” for 
a brochure at every game called 
“Field Storming 101” that taught 
fans how to avoid injury.

The fact is, Wormley has been 

through plenty of moments like 
Saturday’s, though that was the 
first iteration in the past two 
years that induced a rush of fans 
from the seats. In that span, the 
Wolverines have played in four 
games decided on the final play, 
winning two (at Minnesota last 
Oct. 31 and at Indiana last Nov. 14) 
and losing two (versus Michigan 
State last Oct. 17 and at Iowa on 
Saturday).

“It wasn’t the greatest feeling 

I’ve ever had, I would say that,” 
said redshirt sophomore tight 
end Ian Bunting about Saturday. 
“I kind of just walked off the field 

quickly to avoid as many people 
as I could. It was just … it sucks 
to lose. It’s never good to lose. 
Especially when you’ve won all 
your games this season other than 
that one.”

The 
most 
famous 
crucial 

play of the four, of course, was 
last year’s muffed punt snap 
against Michigan State, which 
the Spartans returned for a 
touchdown and a 27-23 victory. 
That time, a full crowd of 111,740 
watched in shock as the game 
changed and the visiting players 
piled on each other in the end 
zone with no time left.

Michigan followed that up with 

last-second escapes in two of the 
next three weeks. At Minnesota, 
the Wolverines trailed for most of 

the second half and lost starting 
quarterback Jake Rudock to an 
injury. But then-backup Wilton 
Speight stepped in and threw 
a go-ahead touchdown to Jehu 
Chesson with 4:57 left and added 
a two-point conversion that put 
his team up by three.

The Golden Gophers marched 

down the field on a 13-play, 
74-yard drive and landed inside 
the 1-yard line. There, Michigan’s 
defense stuffed a quarterback 
sneak as time expired, a play that 
— like the others — many watched 
with bated breath.

“I guess just everything’s out 

of your control at that point,” 
said redshirt junior defensive 
tackle Maurice Hurst. “… There’s 
nothing you can really do. You 

really (don’t) want to just have to 
have that feeling that you wish 
you could have done more. … 
That’d be terrible if you felt like 
you could have done a little bit 
more to change the outcome of 
the game.”

Yet 
the 
Wolverines 
found 

themselves in a similar position 
two weeks later at Indiana. 
Depleted on the defensive line 
and facing an up-tempo spread 
offense, they again trailed in the 
fourth quarter before forcing 
overtime on a touchdown pass 
from Rudock to Chesson with 
two seconds left. In the second 
overtime, safety Delano Hill 
broke up a fourth-down pass to 
preserve the victory and bring his 
teammates rushing onto the field 

to celebrate.

Michigan had coasted in seven 

of its first nine wins this year by 
at least 17 points, and Saturday 
was the latest drama it had faced 
in a game all season. This time, 
the Wolverines ended up on the 
wrong end of it. They have seen 
both sides enough to know that it 
makes for a nerve-racking finish 
in either case.

“It depends on what side you 

end up on,” Bunting said with a 
wry smile. “If you end up on the 
side that we were on last week, it’s 
disappointing and it’s frustrating. 
But that’s football, and it’s gonna 
happen. That’s what we sign up 
for. We sign up for, when we come 
to Michigan, to play in games like 
that and to win games like that.”

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Fifth-year senior defensive end Chris Wormley has seen more than his fair share of last-second finishes in his career, including Saturday at Iowa.

JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

