2B — September 18, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
An identity crisis
K
aran Higdon paused for
a moment when he was
asked the question.
If you had to sum up your
offense in one word, one sentence,
how would you describe it right
now?
The
Wolverines’
sophomore
running
back had just
scored the
Michigan
football
team’s sole
offensive
touchdown
in a 29-13
victory over Air Force that
was far closer than the score
indicated.
It was a rough day at the office
for the offense, which entered
the red zone four times and
didn’t come away with a single
touchdown. It’s not an anomaly,
either. The Wolverines have
converted on only one of their
10 red zone opportunities this
season.
Higdon’s 36-yard rush — a
break to the outside that turned
into a foot race to the end zone
with just over a minute left in
the game — was the singular
exclamation point.
And yet, it’s not really the
discrepancies in production
between Michigan’s offensive
and defensive units that are the
problem.
So: If you had to sum up your
offense in one word, one sentence,
how would you describe it right
now?
“Courageous,” Higdon
finally said. “Our offense is very
courageous. Don’t give up and
we won’t be denied, no matter
what happens in a game. And I
think we believe in each other,
we have faith in each other
and we know that we’re gonna
come around and make things
happen.”
But those things haven’t
happened yet.
Later, Higdon admitted that
Michigan shot itself in the foot
on multiple occasions. It did.
He admitted that the
Wolverines need to get back to
the drawing board. They do.
And he admitted that the
Wolverines’ offensive unit is
still searching for its identity.
Undoubtedly.
Higdon has an idealistic vision
of what Michigan’s offense could
be. He said the Wolverines have
shown flashes of it, and he’s not
wrong.
The first score against Florida,
which ended in a 46-yard
touchdown pass to freshman
receiver Tarik Black, was a flash.
The opening drive against
Cincinnati, which ended in
43-yard touchdown pass to
sophomore receiver Kekoa
Crawford, was a flash.
And the multiple touchdown
rushes by fifth-year senior Ty
Isaac that have been called back?
Those are flashes, too.
On Saturday, Higdon looked to
the future, painting a picture of
what his unit’s identity could be.
“I think we’re great,” he said.
“I think we’re physical. I think
we know ourselves, we’re gonna
play hard, we’re determined and
we won’t be denied.”
The problem is that they have
been denied plenty of times. The
flashes don’t create an identity,
and the Wolverines are still in
need of one.
I don’t mean to suggest that
Michigan should be perfect
already. But we still don’t know
what makes Michigan’s offense,
well, Michigan’s offense.
That’s a problem. Michigan
has a playoff-caliber defense,
and right now, it looks like its
offense might waste it.
The Wolverines’ young
defensive unit attacked Air
Force’s triple option, and barring
the Falcons’ 64-yard touchdown
pass in the third quarter, they
were successful.
Through three games,
Michigan is allowing an average
of 14.7 points, 82.3 rushing yards
and 125.7 passing yards. The
Wolverines have surrendered
just two touchdowns, while
scoring three of their own.
On Saturday, sophomore
linebacker Devin Bush Jr. said
the defensive unit is starting
to reveal “who we are, who we
want to be.” Taken at face value,
it would appear Michigan’s
offense and defense are each
progressing simultaneously.
But it’s in the subtle
statements that it becomes clear
the Wolverines’ defense is miles
ahead of their counterpart.
When you’re stuffing them on
the run like that, do you feel like
nobody can run the ball on you
guys?
“Nobody can run the ball on
us,” he said. “Nobody.”
And again.
You mentioned their offense
being almost annoying to face,
does that make it more fun to
blow a play up when you do get a
chance to do that?
“Just to stop what they love to
do,” he said. “It’s always a good
feeling.”
And again.
Is that the identity of this team,
the defense helping the offense
along?
“Yeah, that’s how it should
be,” he said. “Championship.
Let’s get it.”
It’s Bush’s unbridled
confidence that makes this much
clear: The defense knows who it
is. They are confident, with the
appropriate touch of arrogance.
They find pleasure in ruining
another team’s Saturday. They
know — and are not intimidated
by — the likelihood that, as of
Saturday night, this team will go
as far as the defense can take it.
There’s nothing wrong with
that collective identity — a team
that thrives on the defensive end
while its offense does enough.
Plenty of championship-caliber
programs have succeeded
under the same model. You
don’t need to look further than
when Jim Harbaugh was in the
NFL with San Francisco. From
2011 to 2013, the 49ers went to
two conference championships
and a Super Bowl with Colin
Kaepernick or Alex Smith as
their quarterback. Their defense
ranked fourth, third and fifth in
the NFL.
The NFL is a low-scoring
league. Comparatively, each
of last year’s College Football
Playoff contenders averaged at
least 38 points. The Wolverines
don’t need to be that, but they
certainly need to be better.
But right now, Michigan’s
offense doesn’t know what to
hang its hat on. And the time to
play catch up is over.
Santo can be reached at
kmsanto@umich.edu or on
Twitter @Kevin_M_Santo.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Kekoa Crawford dropped Wilton Speight’s best pass of the day in the fourth quarter, capping off a rough offensive day for Michigan.
KEVIN
SANTO
Looking down the road
I
imagine Purdue fans were
smiling if they found
themselves watching
the Michigan football team’s
matchup with Air Force.
Sure, the seventh-ranked
Wolverines won, 29-13, and
remained
undefeated,
but they had
to endure
another
unsettling
afternoon.
Barely
beating a
so-called
‘inferior’
opponent
doesn’t bode
well when three top-10 teams
remain on the schedule.
The Big Ten season starts
away at Purdue next weekend,
and the Boilermakers have
plenty of reasons to be
optimistic about their chances of
upending Michigan.
After all, the Wolverines have
been the ones struggling. Their
upcoming opponents have not.
Purdue (1-1) handled No.
14 Louisville well on opening
weekend, losing by only a
touchdown. The week after that,
the Boilermakers whooped Ohio,
44-21.
Just up the road, Michigan
State is 2-0 with a pair of
comfortable wins.
Meanwhile, No. 5 Penn State
(2-0) is crushing every team
in its path. The Nittany Lions
won their first two games by
a combined score of 85-14. To
be fair, they played Akron and
Pittsburgh. To be fair again,
Michigan has played Cincinnati
and Air Force. Those four teams
aren’t much different.
In Madison, the 10th-ranked
Badgers (2-0) keep winning as
well.
And of course: No. 8 Ohio
State (1-1). If Michigan can’t
find a solution to its offensive
struggles, taking down
quarterback J.T. Barrett and
the Buckeyes at the end of the
season is not going to be easy.
The consequences of the Ohio
State game might not even
matter if the struggles keep
repeating.
Nonetheless, amidst all the
criticism, the coaches and
players have remained positive.
They don’t express much
concern in front of the media,
but in reality, there is concern to
be had.
Relying on the defense and
special teams isn’t going to get
them very far in conference play.
The team knows it, too.
“We know (the defense is)
top tier, and we know they’re
going to do their job,” said junior
running back Karan Higdon.
“We still got to do our job as an
offense. … We got to do our part
and not make it as hard on the
defense.”
Fixing the mistakes doesn’t
fall on one player, either.
Criticizing redshirt junior
quarterback Wilton Speight
would be easy, but it’s really the
entire offensive unit that has
struggled to produce.
They’re moving the ball
downfield well — Speight
threw for 169 yards and the
team gained 190 yards on the
ground — but when they get into
a scoring situation, something
isn’t clicking.
Michigan didn’t score an
offensive touchdown against Air
Force until there was a minute
left in the game.
It was the same story as last
week, the same struggle we
saw against Cincinnati. The
Wolverines have scored only one
touchdown on 10 red zone trips
this season.
Air Force handed Michigan
chances, too. Two botched punts
gave the Wolverines starting
field position in Air Force
territory, and both of those
times Michigan had to settle for
field goals.
They were the type of
scenarios that a great offense
would capitalize on, but
Michigan’s wasn’t up to the task.
“If you’ve ever been on a
football field, and one side might
not be going right, it’s easy to
point fingers,” said redshirt
junior defensive end Chase
Winovich. “Great teams don’t
do that, even if something isn’t
coming along as much as you
like.”
At the end of the day,
Michigan came out victorious,
and the Wolverines still hold a
perfect record. But after beating
Florida, it seemed like it would
be smooth sailing until a trip to
Happy Valley in late October.
The real test shouldn’t have
started until they played Penn
State.
Now it’s clear, the test
has already started, and the
Wolverines have managed to
escape back-to-back scares.
“If one guy makes a hiccup,
it can cost the whole offense,”
Higdon said.
When an entire offense has
the hiccups, though, it could
cost Michigan a win.
With the Big Ten season now
upon them, we’re about to find
out what really happens when
the Wolverines get punched in
the mouth.
Janes can be reached
at tedjanes@umich.edu or
on Twitter @tedjanes7.
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Eddie McDoom was part of a Michigan offense that had plenty to be frustrated about Saturday.
TED
JANES