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September 25, 2017 - Image 8

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4:10 P.M.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE

A public lecture and reception. For more information call 734.615.6667.

2B — September 25, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

Five Things We Learned: ‘M’ proves it can close out games

There’s no debate. Over the

past few seasons, Michigan
has struggled to finish off
opponents. Devastating losses
to Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio
State and Florida State have all
come because the Wolverines
weren’t able to hold onto a late
lead.

Purdue may not be on the

level of any of those teams. But
Jim Harbaugh still believes he
may have learned a valuable
lesson about this team: it can
close out games.

“They can win in the late

rounds,” Harbaugh said after
Saturday’s 28-10 win over the

Boilermakers. “That’s a great
thing to learn about your ball
club. You never know quite
what the character is of the
team, and things get tough. A
lot of people start (looking) for
alternatives. Our guys dug deep
and finished them off.”

Here are five (other) things

we learned from the win:

1. Offensive line struggles

Michigan’s
issues
in

pass protection were made
painstakingly clear Saturday.
Purdue entered the game with
one sack on the season and left
it having sacked Wilton Speight
and John O’Korn four times.

There may not have been

a more sobering image than
Speight lying motionless on
the turf after one particularly
nasty hit in the first quarter.
Quite simply, Michigan needs
to do a better job of protecting
its quarterbacks.

The Wolverines didn’t find

success running the ball until
late in the game either, and
even then, they finished with
just 139 yards on 44 carries. All
in all, it was a fairly pedestrian
day for the offensive line.

2. Michigan’s corners have
been better than expected

Cornerbacks
coach
Mike

Zordich’s candid — and blunt
— remarks earlier this summer
about his position group seem to
have worked. The Boilermakers
scuffled to 159 passing yards on
30 attempts — completing just
43 percent of their passes — and
a large chunk of those yards
came on gimmick plays such
as a wide receiver pass, tunnel
screens and throwbacks.

Purdue was unable to find

any success when it tested
Michigan
downfield,
as

sophomore cornerbacks David
Long and Lavert Hill had
fantastic
days
in
coverage.

Long, in particular, stood out;
he
had
several
impressive

plays where he was in perfect
position.

This was a position group

that many pointed to as a
possible weakness before the
season
started.
Saturday’s

performance was yet another
sign that the corners are in
lockstep with the rest of the
defense, which now ranks No. 1
in the nation with an average of
203.3 yards allowed per game.

3. Replacing Tarik Black

may require more than one

player

Led
by
John
O’Korn,

Michigan aired the ball out
against
Purdue’s
secondary,

throwing for 284 yards — on 9.2
yards per attempt — with one
touchdown, a 12-yard catch-
and-run to redshirt sophomore
tight end Zach Gentry in the

first quarter. Gentry had three
catches for 48 yards on the day;
his battery mate, sophomore
tight end Sean McKeon, led the
team with five catches for 82
yards.

Neither
possesses
the

same type of ability as Black,
Michigan’s
second-leading

receiver on the season who may
miss the rest of the year with
a broken foot. Yet both — in
addition to junior receiver Grant
Perry and redshirt freshman
receiver Nate Schoenle, who
tallied a combined 5 catches for
68 yards — made up just fine for
Black’s absence Saturday.

Michigan may not have a

single player on the roster
who can currently replicate
Black’s skillset. Until it finds an
individual who can, it’ll take a
group effort to do so.

4. Chris Evans isn’t going

away

It would’ve been easy to

count
out
the
sophomore

running back after the first
three games of the year. After
all, he had lost his starting job

after only one game, and his
replacement, fifth-year senior
Ty Isaac, had rushed for an
impressive 336 yards entering
Saturday.

But Isaac, who left last

week’s game injured, looked
ineffective
against
Purdue,

taking 10 carries for just 20
yards
while
struggling
in

pass protection. Junior Karan
Higdon didn’t do much better,
rushing for 31 yards on 10
carries and fumbling on a
screen pass.

So Evans took advantage.

He received the most carries
and was the most productive
back, running 14 times for 97
yards with two touchdowns.
His late 49-yard touchdown
scamper was an exclamation
point on what was an excellent
day, his best of the season, and
showed that Evans definitely
has more to say when it comes
to the ongoing competition for
carries.

5. BOLD PREDICTION:

John O’Korn has reopened

the quarterback competition

Harbaugh
said
after
the

game
that
he
thinks
the

injury
Speight
suffered
is

a “soft tissue” problem and
not anything structural; his
status going forward, though,
remains unclear. But even if
Speight returns quickly, O’Korn
may have done well enough
Saturday to earn more snaps.
When Harbaugh was asked
whether O’Korn’s performance
warranted another look at the
quarterback competition, he
appeared to laugh it off. Yet his
answer — though a deflection —
was still telling.

“He played great,” Harbaugh

said. “He really did. John
played a heck of a ball game,
and we’re happy for him. Like
I said before, thought he came
into the game seeing things
really well right off the bat.”

In the season opener against

Florida, Harbaugh elected to
insert O’Korn into the game
to give Speight a chance to
calm
down
after
throwing

two
consecutive
pick-sixes.

After Saturday, it may not take
that much going forward for
Harbaugh to play O’Korn.

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore running back Chris Evans led Michigan’s backfield with 14 carries, 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Take a knee

M

y job is to write about
Michigan sports, but my
identity is as an African-

American woman.

After a week in which my own

University saw racist messages
written on residence hall doors and
yelled at a
rally outside
the Union,
the President
of the United
States spent
the weekend
criticizing
NFL players
for exercising
their First
Amendment
right to kneel
during the National Anthem. He
called out NBA players in a separate
yet similar fashion, but I’m going to
focus on the NFL for now because,
at this pace, these bi-weekly
columns could become an ongoing
series on the social issues raised by
sports.

Today, the country’s focus

turned to race and the hidden
politics of identity.

It’s a concept that has been

ignored at every turn. While sports
are held up as a gold standard — a
setting where people from every
spectrum of society can come
together for a few hours and share
in the experience of a melting pot
of emotions — there is a darker
undercurrent inherent to their
reverence in this country.

Between the white lines, players

are seen as a collective, showered
by a single spotlight. As long as the
players are wearing uniforms that
match those of the fans cheering
for them from the stands or their
couches, they are all part of the
same team.

All of their successes are

celebrated, and all of their failures
are mourned. Together.

That tradition of unity is

strongest before the whistle is even
blown. When the National Anthem
is played or performed, a chorus of
people stand as one to honor the

country they love and the citizens
who risk their lives to protect it.

That’s why when Colin

Kaepernick decided to take a knee
last year — to take a stand against
social injustice — the chorus of
voices began to split. Some praised
his name while others defaced
it. Some understood his message
while others distorted it. Some
followed his lead while others
rebuked it.

Kaepernick, now unemployed

by the NFL, put his job on the line
because he put his identity first.
In the realm of sports, that’s a
controversial stance. It shouldn’t be.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh

has become a vocal advocate of
his former quarterback, and he
maintained that role Saturday at
Purdue. Asked if he agreed with the
President’s stance, Harbaugh made
his position explicitly clear.

“No, I don’t agree with the

President,” Harbaugh said.

“That’s ridiculous. Check the
Constitution.”

The First Amendment explicitly

gives all U.S. citizens the right to
freedom of speech and the right to
peaceful assembly. The backlash
facing Kaepernick shows that both
of those rights have come under
heavy fire.

In choosing to focus public

discourse on a problem that has
plagued the country since long
before the current president took
office, Kaepernick has pushed
himself and his fellow NFL players
into uncharted waters.

They have had a tough decision

to make every Sunday since he
first touched his knee to the turf.
Kaepernick made his a year ago,
and he no longer has a job because
of it. Now, his colleagues have to
decide whether or not they should
stand with him by kneeling as well.

According to the President, NFL

players who want the “privilege” of

making millions of dollars should
stand for the National Anthem.
Otherwise, the owners should
employ his signature line to take
away said privilege.

The NFL is a majority African-

American league. For the President
to call NFL players who are
protesting injustices toward their
social group “sons of b------,” while
deeming the participants of the alt-
right rally in Charlottesville “very
fine people,” speaks volumes about
race and society in this day and age.

Athletes are seen as entertainers,

and fans give them a stage to put on
a show. In exchange for the ability
to play a sport for a living, athletes
are seen as beholden to the desires
of the consumers who spend their
hard-earned money to support
them. They are told to be grateful
for what they have, and are seen
as spoiled when they voice their
discontent.

The owners — whose

multibillion-dollar empires are
also sustained by these consumers
— are in the same boat, but they
notably don’t face the same wave
of criticism. It’s just as notable that
not one owner is Black.

The argument that athletes

should stick to sports is not only
detrimental for its demeaning
nature. Its underlying notion
devalues athletes as individuals,
deeming them undeserving of the
ability to speak their minds about
issues pertinent to their lives. Their
identity off the field is determined
to be irrelevant.

So on Sunday, in response to the

President’s comments, many NFL
players brought their identity with
them on the field.

Dozens of athletes from teams

across the country knelt in silent
protest, while three entire teams
decided to stay in their locker
rooms during the anthem. Many
owners defended their players in

official press releases, and some
even took the field to participate in
protests alongside their teams.

While that could be a sign of

progress, photos spread on social
media told an alternate tale. Of the
players choosing to take a knee, not
many were White. And Kaepernick
is still nowhere to be seen on a
football sideline.

In the press box at Purdue’s Ross-

Ade Stadium, my fellow football
beat writers and I happened to still
be sitting as the National Anthem
was set to begin. Another media
member looked at us and asked if
we were pulling a Kaepernick.

We weren’t, and as we hurried

to stand up, I hesitated for a split
second. I could have kept sitting, or
even kneeled myself. All I would be
risking is disconcerting looks from
media members who I likely won’t
ever see again after graduation.

My job at a student-run college

newspaper is safe, but I stood up
anyway. Every time I have since
Kaepernick lost his job, I’d be lying
if I said I didn’t feel conflicted about
it.

The National Anthem is a

fundamental tradition of our
country, and I would prefer if
everyone stood and saluted the
American flag. But taking a knee
now means that inequality in our
society is a serious issue that needs
to be addressed, and that is a cause
I wholeheartedly support.

The First Amendment is a

fundamental element of our
country as well, and Kaepernick
should not have been punished for
exercising his.

Kaepernick started a

conversation about the intrinsic
link between race and sports. After
the President’s pointed remarks,
that conversation has reached a
tipping point, and two clear sides
have emerged.

Take a stand with the President

or take a knee with Kaepernick.

Ashame can be reached at

ashabete@umich.edu or on

Twitter @betelhem_ashame.

BETELHEM
ASHAME

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

The President of the United States called out NFL players for kneeling during the National Anthem, but their larger point about society is too important to ignore.

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

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