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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 18, 2017
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Michigan’s defense knows
its identity. The same can’t
be said for the offense, and
that’s becoming a problem.
» SportsMonday Column
Page 2B
The arrival
Donovan Peoples-Jones
finally had his moment,
returning a punt for 79
yards and scoring the first
touchdown of his career.
» Page 4B
One week later, and the boos
rained down once again.
Yikes.
This time, they came in the
third quarter after a failed
draw play on 3rd-and-goal from
the eight-yard line. Air Force
signaled it was blitzing, and
it did, stuffing Ty Isaac in the
backfield. Michigan’s offense
trotted off the field, Quinn
Nordin and the field goal unit
trotted onto it and the crowd
expressed its displeasure.
It was that type of day for the
seventh-ranked
Wolverines,
who struggled to a 29-13 win
over the Falcons.
The spread was 23 points.
Michigan,
though,
certainly
proved that Las Vegas is no
expert — thanks to occasionally
sloppy execution by the offense.
What could have seemed
like an outlier compared to
previous
seasons
has
now
become a very real trend. The
Wolverines have entered the
red zone 10 times this year, and
have only one touchdown to
show for it. Saturday, Michigan
had the ball in the red zone
four times. And while it didn’t
exit completely empty-handed,
kicking four field goals, the lack
of touchdowns kept Air Force
in the game.
Michigan
outgained
the
Falcons, 359 to 232. But that
didn’t matter as much when the
Wolverines were putting only
three on the board instead of
seven.
The
Falcons
—
true
to
their reputation and riding a
seven-game
winning
streak
— performed admirably. With
their flexbone offense, they
ground away at the Wolverines.
Several
nifty
plays,
good
decision-making
from
their
quarterback, Arion Worthman,
and stout defense helped Air
Force stay close with Michigan.
“We knew they were going
to be fundamentally sound and
really smart players, which
obviously
they
were,”
said
redshirt
junior
quarterback
Wilton Speight, who completed
14-of-23 passes for 169 yards.
“They were doing a really good
job of disguising coverages,
disguising blitzes. Oftentimes
in the red zone they’d show one
thing until the last second and
then they’d bring another look
or they’d bring the house.
“We were making in-game
adjustments. I was talking to
Coach Pep (Hamilton) on the
phone a lot, talking with Coach
Harbaugh as well. Just trying
to adjust on the fly like they
were doing the entire game.”
The
Wolverines
came
out
of
the
gate
determined
to
throw,
beginning their
opening
drive
with
three
consecutive
passes.
Their
first run play
nearly resulted
in a touchdown
when
Isaac
made
a
nifty
cut
and
rumbled down
the
sideline
before stepping
out of bounds.
The drive eventually sputtered
at Air Force’s 17-yard line, and
Nordin knocked in the first of a
record-tying five field goals.
After Air Force was forced to
punt, Michigan seemed on its
way to moving the ball down
the field again. Sophomore
running back Chris Evans,
though, fumbled on the ensuing
possession, and the Falcons tied
the game with a 37-yard field
goal from Luke Strebel after a
glacial 12-play, 24-yard drive
that took 6:13 off the clock.
The Wolverines
used
a
pair
of
explosive plays —
a 37-yard screen
pass to freshman
receiver Donovan
Peoples-Jones
and
a
30-yard
catch-and-
run
by
redshirt
sophomore
tight
end Zach Gentry
— to move down
the field on their
third
drive.
But
the red zone issues
continued,
and
Michigan
was
forced to turn to
Nordin
for
his
second field goal.
The Falcons would counter
quickly. They marched down
the field, gaining 42 yards,
before
their
own
offense
faltered in opposing territory —
apparently the theme of the day
on both sides — and Strebel hit
a 50-yarder.
A poor punt by Air Force did
give Michigan enviable field
position on its final possession
of the half. But it ended with a
familiar sight: Nordin and the
field goal unit trotting out for
a 49-yarder that gave Michigan
an uncomfortable three-point
lead headed into halftime.
It appeared the Wolverines
were ready to pull away at
the start of the third quarter.
Peoples-Jones
zig-zagged
his way past Air Force’s punt
coverage unit for a 79-yard
touchdown.
“My punt return team did a
great job of blocking,” Peoples-
Jones said, “and they made my
job very easy.”
The
Falcons
countered
quickly,
though.
After
attempting only two passes up
until that point, they caught
the
Wolverines’
secondary
off guard and connected on a
64-yard touchdown strike to
Ronald Cleveland.
Michigan’s
next
two
possessions
began
on
Air
Force’s side of the field —
and both resulted in Nordin
celebrating with his teammates
after his third and fourth field
goals.
After a 12-play, 73-yard drive,
the Falcons seemed poised to
make things interesting by
cutting it to a one-score game.
But the Wolverines kept Air
Force out of the end zone and
then caught a break when
Strebel missed a 29-yard field
goal wide left, preserving their
tenuous nine-point lead. And
with just over a minute left,
the offense finally iced the
game when junior running back
Karan Higdon bounced a run
outside and took it 36 yards to
the house.
The 16-point win seemed to
be another unsettling effort
from a team with serious
postseason
expectations.
Yet Jim Harbaugh remained
unfazed after the game, saying
that he is “happy” with the
offense thus far — with the
offensive line, the running
backs and his quarterback.
Happiness aside, a continued
inability to score touchdowns
in the red zone could prove
disastrous for Michigan.
But Harbaugh doesn’t think
that’ll remain the case for much
longer.
“Our team is moving the ball,
that’s a fact,” Harbaugh said. “I
think the red zone touchdowns
will come.”
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
Our team is
moving the
ball, that’s a
fact. I think
the red zone
touchdowns
will come.
DREAD
ZONE
Michigan 29
Air Force 13
Quinn Nordin had a good day. His offense did not. The Wolverines failed to convert any of their four red zone
opportunities into touchdowns Saturday afternoon, as yet another nonconference game presented an unexpected test.
EVAN AARON/Daily