The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, October 12, 2017 — 5A
ACROSS
1 Part of BYOB
and MYOB
4 Band name with
a lightning bolt
slash
8 Unlike a couch
potato
14 T’ai __
15 Afrikaans
speaker
16 9Lives mascot
17 *What may put a
fire in the belly?
19 Makes room on,
as a schedule
20 Window part
21 Mother of Pollux
23 She plays
Crawford in FX’s
“Feud”
24 *Commuter
entertainment
source
27 Regards with
surprise
30 Sped
31 Botch
32 Miracle-__
33 One teaspoon,
e.g.
37 Sponsor’s array
38 *Slick trick
42 Pampering place
43 Lets hit them
45 Pi follower
46 Heroism
48 In-land link?
50 Leopardlike cats
52 *Pre-release
programs
56 Not right
57 Commuter’s
expense
58 Staff symbol
62 Metaphorical
state of agitation
64 What young
people may sow
... and what’s
literally hidden in
the answers to
starred clues
66 Like most
Chaplin films
67 “Uh-huh”
68 By way of
69 Gives a heads-up
70 Drag racing gp.
71 Prompt a
correction
DOWN
1 “Draft Dodger
Rag” folk singer
2 Stop on the trail
3 Quibbles
4 “Defending
Liberty, Pursuing
Justice” org.
5 Might’ve
6 Con man’s forte
7 Set of beliefs
8 “The Walking
Dead” channel
9 Nab
10 Pressure-__
11 Like two-time
Oscar-winning
director Asghar
Farhadi
12 Late summer
sign
13 Steel city near
Cologne
18 Bit
22 Orbit City pooch
25 Starting
26 One in a cel
block
27 FBI guy
28 Assistant
29 “Wanna hear a
secret?”
32 ’60s-’70s Pontiac
34 City that hosts an
annual
Norwegian Wood
music festival
35 Blind __
36 Elephant
flappers
39 Singer Guthrie
40 Golf club part
41 Even once
44 Cutting-edge
horror film?
47 Olds compact
49 Approval
50 Wide-eyed and
wise-looking
51 Telemarketer
52 Light wood
53 It’s often
distributed in
cc’s
54 Sir or sri
55 Haul to the shop
59 Nesting site
60 Ado
61 Nicholas II was
the last one
63 Some NFL
blockers
65 Raiders’ org.?
By J. Michael McHugh
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/12/17
10/12/17
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, October 12, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
The Michigan football team is fourth in the Big Ten East after this weekend, trailing Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State in the standings.
Big Ten Breakdown: Four teams left undefeated in conference play
No. 9 Ohio State
Last result: W, 62-14 versus
Maryland
Top performer: Quarterback
J.T. Barrett — 261 yards, three
touchdowns
Next opponent: At Nebraska
No. 3 Penn State
Last
result:
W,
31-7
at
Northwestern
Top performer: Running back
Saquon Barkley — 16 carries, 75
yards, two touchdowns
Next opponent: BYE
No. 21 Michigan State
Last
result:
W,
14-10
at
Michigan
Top performer: Quarterback
Brian Lewerke — 94 passing
yards, one touchdown, 61 rushing
yards, one touchdown
Next opponent: At Minnesota
No. 17 Michigan
Last result: L, 14-10 versus
Michigan State
Top
performer:
Defensive
tackle Maurice Hurst — 10 tackles,
3.5 tackles for loss
Next opponent: At Indiana
Maryland
Last result: L, 62-14 at Ohio
State
Top performer: Running back
Ty Johnson — six kick returns for
189 yards and a touchdown
Next opponent: Northwestern
Rutgers
Last result: L, 56-0 at Ohio
State (Sept. 30)
Top performer: Punter Ryan
Anderson — nine punts, 46.7
yards per punt
Next opponent: Illinois
Indiana
Last result: W, 27-0 versus
Charleston Southern
Top performer: Wide Receiver
Taysir Mack — seven catches, 111
yards, two touchdowns
Next
opponent:
No.
17
Michigan
No. 7 Wisconsin
Last
result:
W,
38-17
at
Nebraska
Top performer: Running back
Jonathan Taylor — 249 rushing
yards, two touchdowns
Next opponent: Purdue
Nebraska
Last result: L, 38-17 versus
Wisconsin
Top
performer:
Wide
receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. —
four receptions, 115 yards, one
touchdown
Next opponent: Ohio State
Purdue
Last result: W, 31-17 versus
Minnesota
Top performer: Quarterback
Elijah Sindelar — 248 yards, one
touchdown
Next opponent: at No. 7
Wisconsin
Iowa
Last result: W, 45-16 versus
Illinois
Top performer: Quarterback
Nathan Stanley — 247 yards, three
touchdowns, one interception
Next opponent: BYE
Minnesota
Last result: L,
31-17 at Purdue
Top
performer:
Linebacker
Thomas Barber —
ten total tackles,
eight solo, 0.5 sacks
and 1.5 tackles for
loss
Next opponent:
Michigan State
Northwestern
Last result: L,
31-7 versus Penn
State
Top
performer:
Quarterback Matt
Alviti
—
three
carries, 20 yards,
one touchdown
Next opponent:
At Maryland
Illinois
Last result: L, 16-45 at Iowa
Top performer: Running back
Mike Epstein — seven catches for
83 yards
Next opponent: Rutgers
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
Defensive line steps into driver’s seat for top-ranked unit
In order to replace all but
one starter from last year’s
defensive unit, the No. 17
Michigan football team went
through a heated competition
at nearly every position.
As the Wolverines’ 2017
season now approaches its
sixth week, that competition
is still in full swing. But rather
than at each specific position,
the competition has moved
between the position groups.
The
defensive
line,
linebackers
and
secondary
have all played a role in
Michigan
becoming
the
No. 1 overall defense in the
country in their own unique
ways. From putting pressure
on opposing quarterbacks to
stopping power run games to
neutralizing fluid pass attacks,
each specific unit has come
into its own despite replacing
so many components of last
year’s team.
Up until the Michigan State
game, the linebacker core had
a pretty tight hold on the top
spot.
Fifth-year
senior
Mike
McCray, the sole returning
starter, has led the unit to
even greater heights in his
final season as a Wolverine.
He recorded a career-high 11
tackles as well as two tackles-
for-loss against Air Force en
route to a spot in the Big Ten
Defensive Team of the Week.
McCray has partnered with
sophomore Devin Bush Jr., who
has emerged as a consistent
threat against both opposing
running and passing games.
He has racked up 41 tackles,
six tackles-for-loss, five sacks
and four pass breakups in just
five games this season. Last
week, Bush was added to the
Chuck Bednarik Award watch
list, which honors the best
defensive player in the nation.
The unit has also received
standout contributions from
sophomore
Khaleke
Hudson,
who
now
occupies
the VIPER role
made
famous
by
former
Wolverine
Jabrill Peppers.
Hudson
made
his first career
interception
against
Air
Force, along with five tackles
and a career-high three pass
breakups.
Just
two
other
Michigan players have a pick
to their names.
The defensive line has given
the linebackers a run for their
money, though. And against
the Spartans, the D-line made
its
strongest
case yet.
The
trio
of
fifth-year tackle
Maurice Hurst,
redshirt junior
end
Chase
Winovich
and
sophomore end
Rashan
Gary
had
arguably
their
best
performance
of
the
season
individually
and collectively despite the
loss.
Defensive
line
coach
Greg Mattison took the time
Wednesday to praise each of
the three for their respective
performances on Saturday.
In his breakout game of the
year, Hurst tallied 10 tackles
with a whopping
3.5 for loss in
the middle.
“(He)
had
a
really
good
ball
game,”
Mattison
said.
“(He)
has
done
some
really,
really
good
things.
Obviously,
as
a senior, in big
games, you want to play your
best. He’s been practicing that
way to do it, and I was happy
for him.
“He’s
capable
of
doing
that a lot this year. He’s very
explosive. The thing I’m proud
of is that he’s been a good
leader and he’s worked very,
very hard. And
the
guys
look
up to him and
you want guys
like that to have
the reward of
playing
like
that.”
Winovich,
who was another
midseason
addition
to
the
Bednarik
Award watch list after earning
Walter Camp Defensive Player
of the Week honors, made
nine
tackles
and
notched
one quarterback hit from the
outside.
“There was a play in that
Michigan State game — when
he broke the run,” Mattison
said. “(He) ran around the
entire defense and ended up
making the tackle 50 yards
downfield. And there were
secondary guys running as
hard as they could.
“It’s just Chase’s burning
desire to be the best he can be.”
Gary, who — along with
Hurst — had already been
named
to
the
Bednarik
Award watch list, recorded
eight
tackles
and
another
quarterback hit from the edge.
“I’m very proud of Rashan
because he continues to try
to work on his technique and
continues to try to do what
the defense asks him to do,”
Mattison
said.
“And
great
things are going to happen
because of that.
“He’s right down the middle
of a tight end, whereas you see
(Hurst) is shaded on a guard,
you see the nose is shaded
on a guard and (Winovich)
is shaded on a tackle, so you
already
have
the
edge.
…
Some guys at some programs
would complain about that.
He doesn’t. He just plays the
defense like it’s supposed to be
played.”
While Mattison lauded his
unit, linebackers coach Chris
Partridge
expressed
less
enthusiasm about his.
“We were okay — not our
best performance — but again,
(we) didn’t do things to win the
game.”
Almost halfway through the
2017 season, the two position
groups are still battling it out
on a weekly basis. Though
the defensive line has now
stepped into the driver’s seat,
the ongoing competition has
ultimately
helped
lead
the
defense to the top spot overall.
Against Michigan State, the Wolverines’ front three made their claim for the best position group
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst shined on the defensive line against the Spartans, along with linemates Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
You want guys
like that to have
the reward of
playing like that
It’s just (his)
burning desire
to be the best
he can be