T E A M S T A T S

 

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
42.3
10.9

First Downs/Game
22.8
13.5

Rush Yards/Game
235.3
108.6

 Yards/Rush
5.2
3.0

 Rushing TDs
39
4

Passing Yards/Game
215.8
137.0

 Completion %
62.2%
44.2%

 Yards/Pass
8.0
5.6

 Passing TDs
17
9

 Interceptions
4
11

Offensive Plays/Game
71.9
60.5

Total Offense
451.1
245.6

3rd-down Conversions
43.8%
21.1%

4th-down Conversions
64.7%
34.8%

Sacks/Game
3.3
1.5

Kick return average
17.3
21.0

Punt return average
16.0
7.6

Punting average
41.8
37.9

Field Goals-Attempts
14-19
7-13

Fumbles/Lost
12/4
13/5

Penalty Yards/Game
45.2
43.0

Time of Poss
33:06
26:54

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
20
34
173
2
0

Morris
4
5
45
0
0

TOTALS
184
296
2374
17
4

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Smith, D.
144
750
5.2
42
10

Evans
74
547
7.4
57
3

Isaac
74
417
5.6
53
5

Higdon
65
417
6.4
45
6

Peppers
23
163
7.1
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

O’Korn
12
31
2.6
30
0

Morris
3
19
6.3
14
0

Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0

Crawford
3
15
5.0
11
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
11
-16
-1.5
0
0

Speight
26
-36
-1.4
10
1

TOTALS
495 2588
5.2
63
39

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Darboh
44
758
17.2
46
6

Butt
38
460
12.1
37
4

Chesson
29
458
15.8
40
2

Perry
9
134
14.9
54
1

Hill
13
97
7.5
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

Isaac
2
42
21.0
21
0

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

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
184
2374 12.9
56
17

 

PUNT RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Peppers
20
305
15.2
54
1

Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0

Evans
1
15
15.0
15
0

Perry
0
6
--
6
1

TOTALS
22
353
16.0
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
9
216
24.0
55
0

Lewis
4
42
10.5
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
73
4681
64.1
41

Foug
8
460
57.5
2

Tice
3
189
63.0
0

TOTALS
84
5330
63.5
43

PUNTING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg

Allen
39
1629
41.8
56

TOTALS
39
1629
41.8
56

FIELD GOALS

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

Allen
14-18 77.8% 0-0 8-8 4-6
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
63
94
13.5
3.5
2

Peppers
43
22
65
16.0
4.0
-

McCray
30
33
63
11.5
3.5
5

Thomas
32
27
59
-
-
7

Hill, D.
29
11
40
3.5
-
3

Glasgow, R.
13
24
37
8.0
3.0
1

Wormley
16
18
34
8.0
5.0
-

Winovich
10
23
33
8.5
5.0
-

Hurst
17
13
30
9.0
3.0
-

Charlton
11
18
29
8.0
6.0
1

Gary
10
16
26
5.0
1.0
-

Godin
10
14
24
2.0
1.0
-

Stribling
14
9
23
1.0
-
11

Lewis
14
5
19
2.5
-
10

Kinnel
10
6
16
1.0
-
-

Glasgow, J.
7
4
11
-
-
-

Watson
6
5
11
-
-
-

Bush
6
5
11
0.5
-
-

Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3

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
-
-
-

Mone
1
6
7
-
-
-

TOTALS
352 366 718
102
36
45

2016 SCHEDULE

HAWAII (5-7)

W, 63-3 (1-0)

UCF (6-5)
COLORADO (9-2)
PENN ST. (9-2)
WISCONSIN (9-2) at RUTGERS (2-9)
ILLINOIS (3-8)
at MICH. ST. (3-8) MARYLAND (5-6)
at IOWA (7-4)
INDIANA (5-6)
at OHIO ST. (10-1)

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)

Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, November 23, 2016 — 7A

W 20-10 (10-1)

Peppers, Samuel could decide ‘The Game’

As the world waits to hear 

whether Wilton Speight or John 
O’Korn will start at quarterback 
for 
Michigan 
against 
Ohio 

State, there is a good possibility 
Saturday’s game will be decided 
by something other than who’s 
under center.

To 
have 
a 
chance, 
the 

Wolverines 
will 
need 
more 

out of the quarterback than 
they got against Indiana, when 
O’Korn completed just seven of 
16 passes for 59 yards. But the 
more compelling battle will be 
between Jabrill Peppers and 
Curtis Samuel.

Both are do-it-all players for 

their respective teams, with 
Samuel a versatile force on the 
Buckeyes’ offense and Peppers 
roaming the entire field for 
Michigan. Both would have 
darkhorse cases for the Heisman 
Trophy if Louisville’s Lamar 
Jackson had not all but wrapped 
up the award already. And with 
Peppers expected to see heavy 
time on offense in a must-win 
game for the Wolverines, there 
could be times on Saturday 
where they seem to be locked in a 
hyper-athletic call and response.

There’s even a good possibility 

they could match up against each 
other directly. Peppers works 
as a linebacker, nickelback and 
safety on defense, which means 
he could be tasked with covering 
Samuel out of the backfield or 
split out. And if he does, he’ll be 
responsible for mitigating the 
constant threat Samuel poses.

“People just, they lose their 

technique, they forget about 
their technique … when they’re 
looking at a great athlete,” said 
senior 
cornerback 
Jourdan 

Lewis. “They just throw it out 
the window and just like, ‘Let 
me get this guy covered,’ and not 
think about their technique. So 

that’s really one of the reasons 
he’s one of the best, because he’s 
so athletic and he can get in and 
out of his break so fast.”

Through 11 games this season, 

Samuel has been used heavily 
as both a running back and a 
receiver. He has 84 rushes for 650 
yards, seven touchdowns and a 
staggering 7.7 yards per carry. He 
also has 61 catches for 790 yards 
and seven touchdowns, each of 
which would lead Michigan’s 
entire team.

While those numbers are no 

doubt intimidating, there is a 
silver lining buried in them. If 
the Wolverines can find a way 
to slow down Samuel — easily 
the most dangerous playmaker 
they have faced this season — 
they would be in great position 
to win. Lewis said he expects to 
cover Samuel some on Saturday, 

which is a good indication 
Michigan will throw everything 
it has at him. And that could 
include Peppers.

“I’ve been watching Curtis 

for a while,” Peppers said. “ … 
Phenomenal athlete, strong guy, 
great hands. But you go into it like 
you go (into covering) anybody 
else. Line up. Be fundamental. 
Trust your technique and let 
your athleticism make the plays.”

Peppers should have an outsize 

impact on the game himself. His 
defensive numbers are not as 
gaudy as they were early in the 
season, when he jockeyed for the 
national lead in tackles for loss, 
but he still boasts an impressive 
15 on the year.

And while shutting down 

Samuel would be an invaluable 
contribution, 
Peppers 
will 

likely also need to make an 

impact on offense.

After 
a 
massive 
breakout 

game against Rutgers, teams 
have keyed in on Peppers when 
he’s been in the game. It hasn’t 
been effective enough to stifle 
him completely, but he has seen 
a slight decrease in big plays over 
the second half of the season.

It would be natural to assume 

Michigan was saving Peppers’ 
energy for this week. But he’s 
never 
had 
a 
reputation 
as 

someone with limited energy.

“There was one situation last 

spring ball during our four-hour 
practices when Coach Harbaugh 
first got here where we were all 
beat up, exhausted after a four-
hour practice,” said senior tight 
end Jake Butt, “and it was like 
the middle of spring ball, so it was 
when it was really starting to hit 
us, and we were in a full padded 

practice. It was about the three-
hour mark and Jabrill returned 
a punt during a punt drill, 
returned it like 40 yards, and 
then when he was jogging back to 
go return another one he did like 
a cartwheel, back handspring, 
backflip 360 in full pads.

“I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t 

even believe you just did that.’ ”

Those are the stories legends 

are made of, but in a matter 
of days, Peppers will likely 
meet someone who can match 
him. For every big hit or shifty 
return by Peppers, it will be 
just as important to stop a long 
run by Samuel.

In a game that has Big 

Ten, 
national 
and 
maybe 

even 
Heisman 
implications, 

those stars will loom large. 
As Peppers and Samuel go, so 
could The Game.

Michigan ready to empty playbook at Ohio State

Senior 
running 
back 

De’Veon Smith may have been 
exaggerating when he described 
the No. 3 Michigan football team’s 
playbook as being a foot thick and 
2,000 pages long on Tuesday 
night, but there’s no questioning 
that coach Jim Harbaugh’s bag of 
tricks is a deep one.

This 
season 
alone, 
the 

Wolverines have lined up 10 
men behind the ball in the 
now-famous “train” formation, 
run 
the 
read 
option 
with 

redshirt sophomore linebacker 
Jabrill Peppers as a wildcat 
quarterback, brought in third-
string 
quarterback 
Shane 

Morris for the sole purpose of 
being a lead blocker and called 
for a two-point conversion from 
holder Garrett Moores.

But now the long-awaited 

matchup with No. 2 Ohio State 
is on deck, and Peppers hinted 
that fans might not have seen 
anything yet.

“Typically, teams save some 

defensive schemes, offensive 
schemes, special teams schemes 
for 
some 
games,” 
he 
said 

Tuesday. “This one’s for all the 
marbles, so everything we’ve 
got, we’re gonna throw at ’em.”

On the Big Ten’s weekly 

coaches 
teleconference, 

Harbaugh was asked about how 
much preparation throughout 
the year is focused specifically 
on Ohio State, and he kept his 
answer simple: “A lot.”

The Wolverines install new 

plays and modify old ones on a 
weekly basis, depending on the 
coaches’ game plan for their 
opponent. The offense has been 
especially fluid — the four-man 
running back rotation seems to 
have no solid formula except 
for Smith getting a plurality 

of the carries, and many of 
Michigan’s role players have 
seen their usage vary widely 
from week to week.

Some weeks, the offense has 

relied heavily on jet sweeps to 
freshman wide receiver Eddie 
McDoom. Other weeks, the 
quarterback fakes the sweep 
and lets McDoom get open on 
short routes. And sometimes, 
like last week against Indiana, 
the 
Wolverines 
don’t 
use 

McDoom at all.

For obvious reasons, none 

of Michigan’s players delved 
into anything specific they had 
planned for the Buckeyes. Even 

Peppers, one of the offense’s 
main 
wild 
cards, 
merely 

laughed when asked if there was 
anything new in store for him 
this week.

“I guess we’ve gotta see,” he 

said.

According to Peppers, the 

Wolverines are expecting the 
same thing from Ohio State. 
With weapons like quarterback 
J.T. Barrett (whose legs are as 
dangerous as his arm), freshman 
Mike 
Weber 
and 
versatile 

H-back Curtis Samuel under 
the tutelage of an experienced 
coaching staff, the Buckeyes are 
sure to have a few tricks up their 

sleeves as well.

Michigan has seen firsthand 

how a few big plays can change 
a game. A 45-yard touchdown 
from fifth-year senior receiver 
Amara Darboh and a one-
handed 
interception 
from 

senior 
cornerback 
Jourdan 

Lewis — both of which came in 
the fourth quarter — handed the 
Wolverines a 14-7 victory over 
No. 6 Wisconsin. And in a loss 
to Iowa, Michigan held a 10-0 
lead before a safety and some 
big gains on short passes let the 
Hawkeyes get back in the game.

“When our number is called, 

we know they have a talented 

secondary, (but) we know we 
have the players to make plays,” 
Darboh said. “When the ball’s in 
the air, I think it’s on us to go up 
and make the play.”

Especially 
if 
redshirt 

sophomore quarterback Wilton 
Speight turns out to be healthy 
enough to play, creating a few 
more highlight-reel moments 
could be the difference on 
Saturday. And if that means the 
Wolverines have to go deep into 
their vast library of plays, that’s 
what they’ll do.

“Hopefully we run all of 

them,” Smith said. “Every single 
one of them.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Senior running back De’Veon Smith hopes the Wolverines break out all of their tricks for his last game against Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus.

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers has been electrifying all season, but he might face a playmaker this Saturday who can match him in Curtis Samuel.

MAX BULTMAN

Managing Sports Editor

