FootballSaturday, November 19, 2016
8
What to Watch For: O’Korn,
running back, defense, chaos
Home games have been a cake
walk for the No. 3 Michigan
football team this season — the
Wolverines are 7-0 at Michigan
Stadium, with only one win
coming by fewer than 17 points.
But after losing its first game
of the season at Iowa last week
and perhaps losing its starting
quarterback
for
the
season,
Michigan
(6-1
Big
Ten,
9-1
overall) enters its final home
game against Indiana (3-4, 5-5)
with a lot more questions than it
has had in a long time.
Here’s what to watch for on
Senior Day in Ann Arbor.
1. Is it John O’Korn time?
Redshirt
sophomore
quarterback
Wilton
Speight
suffered an unspecified shoulder
injury near the end of the game in
Iowa City — some reports claim it
was a broken collarbone, which
would sideline the Wolverines’
starter for the rest of the season.
In any case, Speight seems
unlikely to play on Saturday. His
likely replacement is redshirt
junior John O’Korn, a transfer
from Houston whom many fans
believed would win the starting
job before the season. Despite
being a backup all year, O’Korn
has earned a reputation among his
teammates for being a hard worker
and an avid film studier, and
Michigan says it isn’t expecting
much of a drop-off.
Because the Wolverines have
won so many blowouts, O’Korn
has been fortunate to see the
field in six games already this
season. He has been fairly sharp —
admittedly playing largely against
backup defenses — completing 13
of his 18 passes for 114 yards and
two touchdowns. One thing that
O’Korn hasn’t shown too much
of yet, though, is a quality that
sets up apart from Speight: his
mobility. If he can replicate some
of the success he had his freshman
year at Houston — 3,117 passing
yards and 104 rushing — Michigan
should be in good shape.
2. Which running back carries
the load?
Running backs coach Tyrone
Wheatley continues to rotate four
backs every week, and the result
keep changing. Senior De’Veon
Smith remains the go-to guy, and
Wheatley has made it clear he
trusts Smith the most. Wednesday,
Wheatley
cited
Smith’s
off-
the-ball talents (including pass
protection, experience and field
awareness) as qualities that set
him apart.
Smith has been up and down so
far in terms of statistics, though.
He ran for 114 yards and three
touchdowns
against
Maryland
two weeks ago, but the Hawkeyes
held him to just 28 yards on 12
carries last week. Shifty freshman
Chris Evans was the team’s
leading rusher with 52 yards and
is averaging 7.8 yards a carry this
year, but he hasn’t earned enough
trust to be a lead back yet.
Wheatley has proven all year
long that he’s willing to ride the
hot hand, but it’s anyone’s guess
which back will perform the best
against an opposing defense in any
given week.
3. Can the Wolverines’ defense
keep up?
Over the last few weeks, the
Wolverines have been sliced and
diced by screen passes, with Iowa
running back Akrum Wadley
and Maryland’s entire offense
finding tremendous success on
the
edge.
Michigan’s
defense
has had some uncharacteristic
tackling problems as well, further
exasperating those struggles.
Those challenges could come
to the forefront again this week,
as the Hoosiers’ up-tempo offense
has been known to give defenses
trouble.
The
Wolverines
are
no exception — last year, then-
running back Jordan Howard ran
all over an exhausted Michigan
defense for 238 yards and nearly
helped his team pull off an upset.
Michigan has one of the most
talented defensive fronts in the
country, but its conditioning is
sure to be tested this weekend.
4. Chaos.
Indiana is certainly not the
best team in the Big Ten, but it
may be the most unpredictable.
It currently sits right at .500,
one win from bowl eligibility,
but the Hoosiers have put up a
fight in losses against No. 2 Ohio
State, No. 8 Penn State and No. 18
Nebraska.
The
Wolverines
have
seen
Indiana’s “chaos team” potential
firsthand over the last few years,
but they have been fortunate
to come out on top every time.
Michigan
hasn’t
lost
to
the
Hoosiers since 1987, but games
like a 63-47 shootout in 2013 and
a 48-41 double-overtime thriller
last year have threatened that
streak.
With the Wolverines looking
more vulnerable than ever, the
seeds for more chaos this weekend
may already be planted.
Michigan, Indiana head into rematch of 48-41, double-overtime thriller last season in Bloomington
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Senior running back De’Veon Smith (4) had some trouble getting going Saturday against Iowa, but he’ll be back in the starting lineup this week against Indiana.
JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor