The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
October 30, 2017 — 3B

Michigan’s offensive line sparks
strong outing from ground game

Michael Onwenu looked out of

place on the play. In this case, that
was a good thing.

With just over 14 minutes

remaining in the fourth quarter,
Michigan lined up on 1st-and-10
from the Rutgers 49-yard line. The
Wolverines ran a counter to the left,
and Onwenu pulled to that side.

He looked for a man to block.

What he found was open space,
enough to make him hesitate, if
only for a moment.

Karan Higdon found that space

too, trailing Michigan’s right guard
before breaking to the left and
busting the play open for a 49-yard
touchdown.

By the end of the 35-14 victory,

the Wolverines had commanded
their
way
to
four
rushing

touchdowns, 6.5 yards per carry
and two rushers with 100-plus
yards. They totaled 334 yards
on the ground — the most since
Michigan ran for 486 in Piscataway
last year.

And the Wolverines’ backfield

can thank Onwenu, and the rest of
the offensive line, for that.

“I thought our running backs

played extremely well, but you
have to start giving the credit to
the offensive line — a lot of credit to
the offensive line,” said Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh. “There
were some nice big holes. Coach
Drevno (did) a nice job with the
run scheme. We had some very
good schemed-up runs and they
were executed extremely well.
Tight ends, fullbacks, receivers,
and especially the offensive line.”

The
unit’s
performance

wasn’t perfect throughout. On
the Wolverines’ final drive of
the third quarter, Higdon was
dropped twice for loss and redshirt
freshman quarterback Brandon
Peters suffered the same fate on a
broken play.

By the end of the game, though,

the Scarlet Knights mustered

just two more tackles-for-loss,
and didn’t record a single sack —
something that was paramount for
a Michigan team giving Peters his
first meaningful minutes.

“The protection was great all

day,” Peters said. “We had a great
game plan coming into the game,
and we executed it perfectly. It was
great protection all day.”

Granted, Rutgers isn’t the most

challenging test for what has been
a struggling position group for the
Wolverines. After all, Michigan
was sacked seven times for 49
yards and sputtered to just 2.5
yards per carry in State College
last weekend.

For
that
reason,
Rutgers’

pass-rushing
and
run-stopping

ability was, for the most part,
irrelevant.
The
offensive
line

needed to establish, once again,
that it is capable of protecting its
quarterback and sparking the
ground game. And that’s exactly
what it did.

“My boys had something to

prove,” Higdon said. “They had a
‘S’ on their chests. We got a little
dominated last week against Penn

State, had some troubles. We knew
we were better than that, and we
know what we’re capable of. I
think it was good to hit adversity
and bounce back. Those guys are
tremendous at bouncing back off of
adversity, and that’s what they did
today. I’m proud of those guys.”

Higdon, more than anyone,

reaped the benefits of his line’s
performance.
His
49-yard

touchdown was the highlight, but
he finished with a game-high 158
yards and two touchdowns. More
impressively, the junior running
back eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark
for his career.

It was an honor Higdon wasn’t

aware of until after the game. It
was one he didn’t take credit for,
either.

“I didn’t even think about that,

but it’s a big-time accomplishment,”
he said. “It’s very big, especially in
my career here at the University.
I give all the credit to the guys
up front, the guys in front of me.
Without them, I couldn’t make
things happen.”

The same, it appears, applies to

Michigan’s offense as a whole.

The good, the bad and the ugly:
Nordin misses short field goal

There’s a new quarterback in

Ann Arbor.

After
fifth-year
senior

quarterback John O’Korn bobbled
two snaps and got intercepted,
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
knew it was time to make the
switch.

The
coaches
had
decided

earlier in the week to play redshirt
freshman Brandon Peters against
Rutgers, and in the second quarter
on Saturday, they implemented
that plan. Peters came in and led
Michigan to three consecutive
touchdown drives and a 35-14 win.

The
Daily
breaks
down

Michigan’s win in this week’s
edition of the good, the bad and the
ugly.

The good
Switching to Peters against

Rutgers proved to be a great
decision for the Wolverines. What
Peters showed in the pocket was
keen patience and an ability to keep
plays alive with his feet. He hit 10
of his 14 pass attempts for a total of
124 yards and threw a touchdown

pass to sophomore running back
Chris Evans as well.

Granted, Peters’ performance

was against the Scarlet Knights’
defense, which is objectively bad.
Nonetheless, now seems like the
best time to for Peters to take over
permanently.

Peters
has
two
favorable

matchups
—
Minnesota
and

Maryland — before the season’s
penultimate
game
against

Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers
and Terrapins allow an average
of 184 and 277 passing yards,
respectively, which should give the
young quarterback an opportunity
to showcase his arm. The timing
should
allow
Peters
to
get

comfortable before the real tests
later in the season.

More
than
anything
else,

Peters gave the team and the
fans something to be excited
about. Peters was Harbaugh’s
first quarterback recruit, and
when he walked out for his first
series, everything changed about
Michigan’s offense.

It was dynamic, moved the ball

well and wasn’t one-dimensional,
like in weeks past.

Peters
wasn’t
the
only

Wolverine with a big day, though.
The offensive line also excelled
specifically in the run game.

Michigan rushed for 334 yards,

getting major contributions from
junior Karan Higdon and fifth-
year senior Ty Isaac. A big reason
for the running backs’ success
was the offensive line’s blocking.
Michigan gave up zero sacks,
and just three of the Wolverines’
51 rushing attempts resulted in
tackles for loss.

The bad
Michigan’s defense failed to stop

a play that should’ve been familiar.

Last week, when Penn State

running back Saquon Barkley lined
up for a direct snap on the second
play of the game, he burst through
the Wolverines’ defense untouched
for a 69-yard touchdown run.

Saturday,
Rutgers
receiver

Janarion Grant also took a few
direct snaps, and on one of them he
ran for a 65-yard score.

The
Wolverines
ultimately

bottled up Grant’s direct snaps
after that play, but failing to stop
an identical play in back-to-back
weeks was not a good sign.

The ugly
For the second week in a row,

redshirt freshman kicker Quinn
Nordin missed an attempt that
he should’ve easily converted. He
botched a PAT against Penn State
and then missed his only field
goal attempt against Rutgers — a
37-yard kick.

Whatever the issue may be,

Nordin is still going to be the
Wolverines’ field-goal kicker. He’s
a fan favorite, and he also carried
the team at times through the
first three games of the season. If
Michigan’s offense runs into red
zone trouble again, Nordin could
be called upon, and the Wolverines
can’t afford to be missing field
goals and PATs.

Nordin has hit 14 of 17 field

goals, though, so there is reason to
believe he can rebound from this
two-game slump.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Junior running back Karan Higdon rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

EVAN AARON/Daily

Michigan’s offensive line paved the way for the running backs to find holes.

Five Things We Learned: Peters will be the starting quarterback

It was only Rutgers. But

Michigan’s 35-14 win over the
Scarlet Knights felt like so
much more.

A step forward for the

offense, which finally debuted
its pilot episode of the Brandon
Peters Show. A return to the
norm for the defense, which
was very good only one week
removed from a rough game
against Penn State.

So yes, it was just Rutgers.

But, thanks to their new
quarterback, the Wolverines
seem like a different team
now. And without the weight
of expectations going forward,
it’ll be interesting to see just
how far this young group
can progress over the final
month of the regular season.
Saturday,
they
certainly

moved in the right direction.

Here are five other things

we learned:

1. Peters will remain the

starting quarterback

It
would’ve
been

understandable
for
Jim

Harbaugh
to
slow
things

down following his redshirt
freshman
quarterback’s

performance
Saturday.
Of

course,
Peters
performed

admirably in the first game
action of his career, but the
hype
had
already
reached

unsustainable levels before he
even completed his first pass
against the Scarlet Knights.

But Harbaugh — who has

seemingly been more reserved
this season than in years past
— was clearly enthusiastic
about
his
quarterback’s

performance,
noting

that
Peters
has
exceeded

expectations, and that for
now, he has a grip on the
starting job.

“Right now I feel really

good about the way that he
played,” Harbaugh said, “and
feel good about him taking
the next step and being the
starting
quarterback
and

having a great week of now
knowing he’s the starting QB
in practice.”

2. Higdon continues to

establish himself

It
was
a
big
day
for

Michigan’s
junior
running

back. Karan Higdon enjoyed a
career day against Indiana just
two weeks ago, and his game
Saturday ranks among his best
as well: 18 carries for 158 yards
and two touchdowns. As the
Wolverines have improved at
blocking power and counter
runs, Higdon has benefited.
Despite his size, he’s a true
north-south runner who has a
low center of gravity and good
speed — qualities that were all
on display when Higdon sliced
through the Rutgers defense
for a 49-yard touchdown run
in the fourth quarter.

With Saturday’s performance,

Higdon now has over 1,000
career rushing yards — and now
that he has a firm grip on the
starting running back position
(in addition to another year of
eligibility), it’s safe to say he’ll
be adding a lot more to that
total.

3. Defense’s

kryptonite?

There
isn’t

much to harp
about
with

this
defense.

Penn State did
bomb
them

last week, but
the
Nittany

Lions
have

done
that
to

everyone
this

year, and that
seemed like an aberration for
the
Wolverines.
Michigan

was expected to bounce back

against a middling Rutgers
offense, and that was exactly
what happened.

Rutgers
quarterback

Giovanni
Rescigno
had
a

13.9 quarterback rating, the
Scarlet Knights averaged just
three yards per carry and the

Wolverines gave
up
under
200

yards of offense
yet again.

The only error

that
Michigan

made,
in
fact,

was
a
65-yard

touchdown
run

by
Janarion

Grant.
The

lightning
quick

receiver
did
it

the
same
way

Saquon Barkley scored his
first touchdown last week:
by taking a direct snap and

outrunning
everyone.
But

that just about does it when it
comes to any qualms viewers
could reasonably have after
the
Wolverines’
defensive

performance.

4. Offensive line continues

to march forward

Michigan’s pass-protection

miscues
have
been
well

documented this year. The
offensive line struggled to
keep Wilton Speight upright,
it struggled to keep John
O’Korn clean in the pocket and
it’s reasonable to assume that
Peters will take his fair share
of hits going forward.

But the Wolverines have

made major strides in the run
game, and that was evident
against the Scarlet Knights.
Peters simply didn’t have to
do much — his offensive line
was busy bashing the Rutgers

defense into the turf. Michigan
ran 51 times for 334 yards for
a healthy 6.5 average yards
per carry. Two running backs
went for over 100 yards, three
different rushers scored and
the Wolverines had over 13
more minutes of possession.

Running the ball will be

more difficult when teams like
No. 3 Ohio State stack the box
and dare Peters to beat them
with his arm. But if the run
game continues developing at
this pace, that may not matter.
A
well-executed
power
or

counter, after all, is nearly
impossible to stop, and this is
the most similar Michigan has
looked to Harbaugh’s well-oiled
rushing attacks at Stanford.
Back then, everyone knew what
was coming — and opponents
still struggled to defend it.

5.
BOLD
PREDICTION:

Michigan’s next quarterback
controversy will take place
in December

Wilton Speight has gone

on record saying he hopes
to be back for Michigan’s
penultimate regular season
game, a Nov. 18 date at No. 4
Wisconsin. But with no shot
at the playoffs, there’s no
need for Speight to rush back
from his traumatic injury.
The Wolverines might love to
have a quarterback with his
experience for the road game
against the Badgers and a home
date against the Buckeyes.
Three broken vertebrae just
seems like an awfully difficult
injury to come back from in
such a short period of time.

Having an extra month to

rest up before Michigan’s bowl
game ensures that Speight
will be fully healthy. And
once he is, the Wolverines will
need to deal with yet another
quarterback
controversy
—

almost regardless of Peters’
production the rest of the
season.
Speight’s
eventual

return and his stake in claiming
the starting spot will be yet
another interesting storyline
in a season full of them.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh put his faith in his redshirt freshman quarterback against Rutgers, and Brandon Peters repaid him for that vote of confidence Saturday.

The redshirt freshman entered the game in the second quarter and changed the complexion of the team

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

Right now I

feel really good
about the way
that he played