2B — October 30, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A glimpse of the future
M
ichigan fans finally got
what they asked for.
For weeks now, they
have been calling for the future.
It started with a loss to
Michigan State, as the upset
eliminated any margin for error
and
catalyzed
visions of
grandeur
for 2018.
The idea of
forsaking
this season
in the name
of playing
those that
would
benefit from experience before
next year suddenly became
appealing.
And after the Wolverines were
thrashed in State College, that
same plea became deafening.
It was there that the idea finally
gained some weight. After all, no
two-loss team has ever made the
College Football Playoff. A Big Ten
championship was reduced to a
hope of a miracle.
Still, Jim Harbaugh said
nothing to suggest that Michigan
was suddenly looking to the
future with no focus on the
present season. Last Monday, he
said his team needed to respond
to the blowout loss. And his
press conference made it appear
as if John O’Korn was still the
Wolverines’ starting quarterback.
So, we knew this day would
come eventually.
But on Saturday, it came sooner
than many would have expected.
Michigan fans asked to see the
future. Harbaugh, in part, granted
their wish.
It wasn’t only about Brandon
Peters, the man once dubbed as
the quarterback of the future,
who is suddenly very much the
quarterback of the present.
He is still a large part of it, but
he was joined by Kareem Walker,
Nico Collins, Aubrey Solomon,
Michael Dwumfour, Kwity Paye
and O’Maury Samuels, too.
Thanks to those six, Saturday
became a quasi time machine.
Peters received his first
meaningful college snap in the
second quarter. He got plenty
after it — completing 10 of his
14 attempts for 124 yards and
leading touchdown drives on three
consecutive series.
With 23 seconds remaining in
the first half, he threw a 20-yard
pass to Chris Evans for the first
touchdown pass of his career.
As for Walker, the redshirt
freshman was given a career-high
six carries and rushed for 34 yards.
And in the third quarter, one of
those carries ended with Walker
laying the ball on the end zone turf
as he wheeled away with a finger
in the air in celebration. He had
just scored the first touchdown of
his career as well.
Solomon was given a starting
nod for the first time. He turned it
into a three-tackle performance,
and combined with Paye for a sack.
Samuels burned his redshirt in
garbage time, carrying three times
for seven yards on Michigan’s final
offensive series.
Collins recorded his first catch,
a 12-yard reception for a first
down that set up junior running
back Karan Higdon’s ensuing
touchdown rush.
And Dwumfour recorded the
first sack of his career.
By the end of it all, the
Wolverines dispatched Rutgers,
35-14. Six relatively new faces each
played a part in it. The Michigan
faithful were gifted with a sense
of calm — not only for the present,
but just maybe for the future as
well.
This is not to say that a crop of
newcomers’ mostly minimal role
in a win over the Scarlet Knights
is cause for celebration. After all,
Michigan still sits in fourth in the
Big Ten East, and those conference
championship hopes still require a
whole lot of luck.
It doesn’t call for grand
projections to 2018, either.
But for fleeting moments
Saturday afternoon, that ‘future’
so many have called for finally
showed out on the field. If Peters
is an example of anything, it’s that
slowly but surely, that may become
more consistent, too.
“I thought he was ready,”
Harbaugh said of his new starting
quarterback. “You base a lot of
things on practice, you know,
good in practice good in games.
Now that’s not always the case,
especially with young players.
Sometimes they’re not good in
games. … It was great to see him be
good in games.
“That’s something where (if)
players are good in games, that
helps their confidence, that builds
their confidence. We all felt good,
nobody was nervous about what
was going to happen. I think he did
better than everyone thought, too.”
That he did, only week after a
game that ended with Harbaugh
telling his team that the “fake love”
was gone. He said it was his team’s
job to move forward — alone. He
said that people would be jumping
off the bandwagon.
But those who didn’t, well, they
got a nice preview of what could be
coming.
Santo can be reached at
kmsanto@umich.edu or on
Twitter @Kevin_M_Santo.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
SOCCER
From Page 1A
A core group of upperclassmen
gathered with coach Chaka
Daley, intent on getting this team
on the same page. As Stevens
admitted, in the past, that wasn’t
the case. Players would sulk.
They would talk under their
breath. But in the meeting, that
was all buried. A new path began.
“Once some guy sees you bought
in, they’re like, ‘Alright well I’m
gonna have to buy in too, otherwise
I’m not gonna be able to fit well on
this team,’ ” Stevens said. “There
was just no room for anybody who
did not want to buy into this team.
And you could see it tonight.”
Yes, you could. It took 104
minutes,
and
it
took
soul
searching. But the Wolverines
had
captured
their
first
conference title in school history,
17 years after the program’s
inception.
As for that No. 2 recruiting
class, there were just two left to
hold that trophy Sunday: Tristan
Jacob, and Stevens.
Ask Stevens if he expected
this, and even he can’t tell you
completely.
He will reflect on his first year,
when Michigan had no choice
but to play a brand of soccer it
didn’t want to.
He will reflect on the moments
when the talent gradually started
to fall into place.
And he will admit that he has
been thinking about it for the
last few days. It’s for all those
reasons that this is that much
sweeter.
“You just can’t make these
things up man,” Stevens said.
“… I mean, I’m so proud of this
group of guys, and it’s just like a
fairytale ending, man.
***
“Did
we
dream
about
being
champs?”
Daley
said.
“Absolutely.
You
always
do.
But did we think it could be a
reality after last year and the
disappointment?”
He didn’t have to think about
it.
After all, his vision came to
fruition. He wanted Michigan
to keep things in perspective.
He wanted the Wolverines to
put themselves in a situation
where they controlled their own
destiny at the end of the the
season.
Now,
that’s
exactly
what
they’re doing. They just needed a
little bit of luck to get there.
Daley asked his staff if it
was true at least four times. He
asked the director of operations,
too. They checked four or five
different websites. They checked
Facebook. They checked Twitter.
Finally, they were certain.
Michigan State had tied Indiana.
If it had gone any other way, the
Wolverines would have never
had a chance at a Big Ten title.
Instead, it was theirs for the
taking.
He told Robbie Mertz first,
when
the
junior
midfielder
subbed on in the 71st minute.
Mertz
spread
the
word
around, but his message didn’t
reach everybody.
Then came Stevens’ injury in
the 80th minute — one that he
would later say was never going
to keep him off the field Sunday
night.
That’s when everyone found
out, for good, what was at stake.
Score a goal, go home Big Ten
champions.
“We went for it, no question
about it,” Daley said. “We went
for it.”
They got it.
Jack Hallahan sent in a cross
from the left wing. Mohammed
Zakyi
stretched
as
far
as
humanly possible, couldn’t get
his foot to it. But Francis
Atuahene was on the back post
and the perfect time, getting just
enough of his foot on the ball to
notch the golden goal.
Stevens watched it over and
over again.
“Once it went in, everybody’s
hearts just dropped,” Stevens
said, “and you just couldn’t
believe it.”
We believe you now, Billy.
Even if you still don’t.
KEVIN
SANTO
EVAN AARON/Daily
Redshirt freshman running back Kareem Walker scored the first touchdown of his career on Saturday afternoon.
Atuahene clinches B1G in OT thriller
Big Ten champions, for the
first time in its history those
are words you can finally
associate with the Michigan
men’s soccer team.
The Wolverines were able to
pull off the victory in College
Park, 2-1, in double overtime,
clinching the regular season
conference title.
The game was sealed by
standout
junior
forward
Francis
Atuahene,
he
was
able to score with a sliding
goal that came off the pass
from sophomore forward Jack
Hallahan.
The game was all aligned
for a Maryland win, as it was
a home game for the more
experienced Terrapin squad
that have, for the past couple
of seasons, overpowered the
Wolverines. But this season, as
has become abundantly clear, is
profoundly different from last.
The
Wolverines
weren’t
fazed,
scoring
inside
the
first ten minutes of the game
thanks to a header from junior
defender Daniel Mukuna.
The weather wasn’t optimal,
as a rainstorm in Maryland and
caused for some sloppy play
at points. But the Wolverines
looked to be in better control,
thanks to its preparation.
“Fortunately for the past
two weeks in Michigan there
has been some bad weather,”
said Michigan
coach
Chaka
Daley.
“We
have been able
to
get
some
practices in the
heavy rain.”
The weather
played into the
hands of the
Wolverines, as
they controlled
most
of
the
game. The young Michigan
team played at their own pace
and tempo, wearing out the
Maryland defense.
For much of the game,
though, it appeared Maryland
might come close to the crown.
Late in the first half, forward
DJ Reeves scored unassisted
with less than 10 minutes to go.
Most of the second half was a
game of field position and ball
possession.
The
Wolverines
were able to get some decent
looks on goal, but were unable
to capitalize.
Late in the game, Daley was
given the news
that
his
team
was
given
the
chance to win the
Big Ten title due
to the overtime
game
with
Michigan
State.
With a break in
the game due to
a minor injury
to
senior
Billy
Stevens,
Daley
relayed the message to his team
that they were given the ability
to become Big Ten Champions
for the first time in school
history.
“Once we were sure we told
the guys,” Daley said. “There
was a little lift but the guys
weathered the storm no pun
intended.”
The first overtime period
was
controlled
by
the
Terrapins, but with only a few
looks on net, they came up
empty handed.
Knowing
quite
well
it
would come up shy of the title
without a goal, the players
pushed the tempo. Fittingly,
it was Atuahene, the team’s
energizer and go-to playmaker
who scored the championship
winner. It will go down as
the most important goal in
program history.
“It is golden goal is what
I told the guys,” Daley said.
“This is your only chance and
you have to make it.”
The Wolverines didn’t shy
away
from
that
challenge.
Instead they relished it, sealing
their fate and winning the Big
Ten championship.
PATRICK REED
For the Daily
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior forward Francis Atuahene scored the game-winning goal in double overtime Sunday to clinch the Wolverines’ first-ever conference championship.
This is your
only chance
and you have to
make it.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
‘M’ wins B1G title
It was a good weekend for the
Michigan men’s cross country
team.
After a lackluster season in
2016, where the Wolverines
finished fifth out of 12 teams
in the Big Ten Championships,
the Wolverines wanted nothing
more than a little redemption.
Mission accomplished.
This year, the 13th-ranked
Wolverines were favored to win
the Big Ten Championships by
the smallest of margins, and
they defended that position by
topping
runner-up
Michigan
State by 11 points. Michigan
led the 12-team bracket with
71 points to take home the
championship, headlined by an
elated group of five fifth-year
seniors along with a rotation of
younger athletes.
For Michigan coach Kevin
Sullivan, it was a little more
along the lines of relief.
“We were aggressive early,
which we hadn’t been all year,”
Sullivan said. “We wanted to
run up near the front, so early on
we were aggressive. But really
the last half mile of the race we
were bleeding a little bit and
Michigan State was coming up
hard, and we gave those guys —
between (redshirt sophomores)
Ben Hill and Keenan Rebera
and (freshman) Jack Aho — a
half mile to go and said, ‘You
guys need to catch Michigan
State’s fifth,’ and they all rallied
from behind to either outkick
him or come between a tenth of
a second, and that’s kind of the
untold story you don’t see from
the stats.”
Redshirt
seniors
Ben
Flanagan, Aaron Baumgarten,
Connor Mora, Billy Bund and
Micah
Beller
all
remained
consistent
throughout
the
race, finishing in the top-25.
In a championship meet, that
depth gave the Wolverines the
advantage.
Only the first five runners
from each team contribute to
the team’s official score, while
the
remaining
two
runners
are meant to displace runners
from other teams. Michigan
consolidated most of its runners
in the top-25, giving it an edge
over other teams like Michigan
State and Wisconsin, which had
higher individual placers but less
consistency in packs.
“We had good leadership
up front from Flanagan and
Baumgarten, Mora, those really
helped us,” Sullivan said. “But
what really set us apart from the
rest of the conference was that
we were so consistent at four,
five, six — that depth where we
had interchangeable parts really
helped us out today. Because, you
know, we had a couple guys who
had off days, and we had a couple
guys who could step up and fill
that gap, and you need that to
have a successful meet.”
One
of
those
consistent
runners is Flanagan, who was
the Wolverines’ top individual
finisher at sixth place, and was a
leader throughout the race. But
his biggest contribution to the
team may come off the course.
“Ben’s just a fantastic leader
on our team, and he has been
since I came in his sophomore
year,” Sullivan said. “He was
a team captain his sophomore
year on the team, and I think
that pretty much tells you all you
need to know about Ben.
“The way the rest of the team
looks at him, he’s the kind of guy
who really grabs his team by the
scruff after a year like last year
and said, ‘Hey, we’re not satisfied
with being in the middle of the
conference, we want to be a
team that’s always competing to
win. Whether we win or not, we
want to be putting ourselves in a
position to try and win.’”
Riding an emotional win such
as this one, Flanagan will have
to help Michigan buckle down
moving forward to prepare for
the Great Lakes Regional, where
it’ll see top-three finishers in
Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Good performances in the meet
will punch the Wolverines’ ticket
to the NCAA Championships,
which could transform a good
weekend into a great season
finale.
LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor