FootballSaturday, October 7. 2017
6

Breakdown: Michigan State

Three. That’s how many

times football has been played
under the lights at Michigan
Stadium.

On
Saturday
night,
that

number will go up to four.

At 7:30 p.m., the No. 7

Michigan football team will
take on Michigan State in the
110th edition of the in-state
rivalry.

The Wolverines (1-0, Big

Ten, 4-0 overall) will face the
Spartans (1-0, 3-1) at Michigan
Stadium for the first time since
an
infamous
botched
punt

cost them a certain victory
in
2015.
While
Michigan

exacted revenge with a 32-23
win last year in East Lansing,
Michigan State’s 2-5 record
at the time somewhat marred
its significance. Though the
Spartans are still unranked,
it won’t be hard to see the
significance
of
the
game

Saturday.

Here’s how the two teams

match up:

Michigan pass offense vs

Michigan State pass defense

For
the
first
time
this

season,
fifth-year
senior

quarterback John O’Korn will
be leading the Wolverines out
of the tunnel and onto the field
at Michigan Stadium.

O’Korn has been handed

the
keys
to
the
offense

after redshirt junior Wilton
Speight’s
injury
against

Purdue,
and
he
has
been

lauded for his attitude both on
and off the field. He completed
18 of 26 passes for 270 yards
and a touchdown to topple the
Boilermakers on the road, and
he has had the bye week to
prepare for Michigan State.

The Spartans will provide

a stiff challenge in his first
start, though, as they rank
fifth
nationally
in
passing

efficiency defense and ninth in
passing yards allowed. While
O’Korn’s chemistry with his
receivers looked solid against
Purdue, Michigan State could
throw the unit for a loop.

Edge: Michigan State
Michigan run offense vs

Michigan State run defense

After falling behind fifth-

year senior Ty Isaac and junior
Karan
Higdon,
sophomore

running back Chris Evans had
his breakout game against the

Boilermakers, gaining 99 yards
on 14 carries and scoring two
touchdowns.

While Isaac is still expected

to be the starting back — he
leads the trio with an average
of 89 yards per game — Evans
will likely receive more carries
than he has in recent weeks.
The rotation has worked well
for Michigan a third of the
way through its season, so all
three backs should play a role
against Michigan State.

Though
impressive,
the

Spartans’ rush defense, which
ranks 16th nationally, isn’t
quite as strong as its pass
defense.
Linebackers
Chris

Frey and Joe Bachie will head
Michigan State’s efforts to
stop the Wolverines’ staunch
trio. But with three reliable
backs, Michigan should be able
to gain the advantage.

Edge: Michigan
Michigan
State
pass

offense vs Michigan pass
defense

When
it
comes
to
the

offense,
quarterback
Brian

Lewerke belongs in both of
the next two sections. On the
passing side, he has thrown
for 963 yards with a 63.2

completion
percentage
and

eight touchdowns.

His main target, receiver

Felton Davis, has caught 21
passes for 256 yards and four
touchdowns. No other wideout
has more than one score. Davis
will be expected to maintain
that trend, as Michigan State’s
passing game has the edge over
its run game.

For
Michigan,
the
rush

defense is the star of the show,
but the pass defense still
performs admirably. While the
secondary will face a unique
challenge against Lewerke’s
dual-threat nature, it seems
prepared to handle it.

Edge: Michigan
Michigan State run offense

vs Michigan run defense

Lewerke is the single player

most important to Michigan
State’s success, and not just

For in-game updates
Follow @Kevin_M_Santo, @tedjanes7,
@orion_sang and @betelhem_ashame
on Twitter during
Saturday’s game.

T E A M S T A T S

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
31.5
13.5

First Downs/Game
19
11.5

Rush Yards/Game
184.3
69.3

Yards/Rush
4.3
2.2

Rushing TDs
5
1

Passing Yards/Game
223
134

Completion %
58.7
41.0

Yards/Pass
8.2
5.1

Passing TDs
4
3

Interceptions
3
3

Offensive Plays/Game
70.3
57.5

Total Offense
407.3
203.3

3rd-down Conversions
35.5%
19.3%

4th-down Conversions
100%
50%

Sacks/Game
4.5
3.0

Kick return average
17.6
15.9

Punt return average
13.5
2.8

Punting average
37.6
41.6

Field Goals-Attempts
11-13
4-7

Fumbles/Lost
6/4
10/4

Penalty Yards/Game
63
46.5

Time of Poss
33:18
26:42

I N D I V I D U A L S

PASSING

Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT

Speight
44
81
581
3
2

O’Korn
19
27
307
1
1

TOTALS
29
55
439
3
2

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Isaac
57
356
6.2
53
1

Evans
47
220
4.7
49
2

Peoples-Jones
1
44
44
44
0

Higdon
33
136
4.1
36
2

Hill
4
10
2.5
4
0

McDoom
3
10
3.3
5
0

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Perry
13
163
12.5
33
1

Black
11
149
13.6
46
1

Crawford
7
99
14.1
43
1

Eubanks
2
61
30.5
48
0

Gentry
6
119
19.8
36
1

McKeon
10
120
12.0
30
0

Wheatley
1
7
7.0
7
0

DEFENSE

Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU

Kinnel
12
7
19
2.5
1.0
2

Bush
20
13
33
5.5
4.5
4

Hudson
8
9
17
3.5
2.5
3

McCray
13
13
26
4.5
2.5
1

Hurst
6
10
16
2.0
-
-

Gary
5
11
16
2.5
1.0
-

Metellus
7
7
14
-
-
1

Winovich
11
13
24
7.5
5.5
-

Hill
6
2
8
2.0
-
3

Furbush
2
8
10
0.5
-
1

Thomas
3
1
4
0.5
-
-

Schoenle
3
1
4
-
-
-

Solomon
1
3
4
0.5
-
-

Watson
1
2
3
0.5
-
3

Uche
2
-
2
1.0
1.0
-

Marshall
1
1
2
-
-
-

Kemp
1
-
1
-
-
-

Long
3
4
7
1.0
-
1.0

St-Juste
1
-
1
-
-
-

Glasgow
-
1
1
-
-
1.0

Gil
-
1
1
-
-
-

Mason
1
-
1
-
-
-

Wroblewski
2
2
4
-
-
-

A P T O P 2 5 P O L L

1. Alabama
14. USC

2. Clemson
15. Oklahoma State

3. Oklahoma
16. Virginia Tech

4. Penn State
17. Louisville

5. Georgia
18. South Florida

6.Washington
19. San Diego State

7. Michigan
20. Utah

8. TCU
21. Florida

9. Wisconsin
21. Notre Dame

10.Ohio State
23.West Virginia

11. Washington State
24. NC State

12. Auburn
25. Central Florida

13. Miami
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is facing Michigan State for the third time in his career, and this year’s matchup will mark the first night game in the rivalry’s history.

See BREAKDOWN, Page 7

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor