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

