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By William Shakespeare
8 —Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
2017 Season in Review: Offensive Line
One step forward, one step
back.
That
described
the
state
of Michigan’s offensive line
this season. The Wolverines’
running
game
blossomed,
featuring as the clear focal point
of the offense. At times, if you
squinted hard enough, you could
see shades of Jim Harbaugh’s
Stanford outfits — more so than
through his first two years in
Ann Arbor.
After
a
few
inconsistent
performances
early
in
the
season, during which Michigan
seemed to run an equal amount
of
gap-blocking
and
zone
schemes, the Wolverines hit
their stride midway through the
year.
It
wasn’t
very
nuanced.
Michigan
found
success
by
becoming less diverse, running
mostly powers and counters. But
it got the job done.
Pass protection, meanwhile,
was another story.
Quite
simply,
Michigan
regressed badly. Through 12
games, the Wolverines gave
up 34 sacks, ranking No. 112 in
the nation. Last year, Michigan
ranked No. 27, allowing just 18
sacks total.
This year’s struggles haven’t
just manifested themselves in
sacks allowed, though. Time
after
time,
the
Wolverines’
quarterback — whether it was
Wilton Speight, John O’Korn or
Brandon Peters — had to evade
heavy pressure.
That dictated what Michigan
could do on offense, from the
routes receivers and tight ends
could run to how many extra
blockers the Wolverines had to
use.
Of
course,
allowing
your
quarterback to take so many hits
isn’t optimal. That’s something
Michigan learned twice this
year, with both Speight and
Peters suffering injuries after
big hits.
Much like blocking itself,
everything
on
offense
is
interrelated. The carousel under
center made it difficult to run
the ball, as tougher opponents
could key in on it. Despite how
well the Wolverines ran the ball
at times, their struggles in pass
protection show that a blend
of the two is needed to field a
successful offense.
HIGH
POINT:
The
Wolverines spent plenty of time
paving holes in the run game.
Those
efforts
began
at
Indiana
on
Oct.
14,
when
Michigan gashed the Hoosiers
for 271 rushing yards on 44
carries with three touchdowns.
That day, Karan Higdon became
the first Wolverine since Denard
Robinson in 2012 to run for 200
yards — and the first running
back since Mike Hart in 2007 to
reach that mark.
Against Rutgers, Michigan
totaled
334
rushing
yards
and
four
touchdowns.
The
Wolverines improved upon that
only one week later, averaging
10 yards per carry against
Minnesota en route to 371 total
rushing yards.
“It
was
a
stalwart
performance,” Harbaugh said
after that game. “... I’ve never
seen that many plus 50-yard
runs in one game, any team I’ve
ever coached or been on.”
LOW POINT: Well,
this
could either have been the
lasting image of Speight lying
crumpled on the ground, three
of his vertebrae having been
cracked, or Peters knocked out
cold after a jarring hit.
Against No. 5 Wisconsin,
Michigan gave up two sacks and
seven tackles-for-loss. One week
later, No. 9 Ohio State racked up
five sacks and seven tackles-for-
loss.
The ground game couldn’t
get going against any of the
Wolverines’ tougher opponents,
either.
Michigan ran the ball 39
times for 102 yards in a 14-10
loss to Michigan State, 37 times
for 58 yards in a 24-10 loss to
the Badgers and 36 times for
100 yards in a 31-20 loss to the
Buckeyes.
THE FUTURE: Michigan’s
problems with pass protection
might not be immediately solved.
Michigan will lose Mason Cole,
a dependable four-year starter at
left tackle, without any obvious
replacements.
Right
tackle
also remains a question mark
entering next year.
The interior of the line does
appear to be set, with some
combination of Ben Bredeson,
Cesar Ruiz and Mike Onwenu.
With those three, Michigan
has a strong foundation to
build upon in the run game.
All three fit perfectly in a gap-
blocking scheme, with each
displaying the requisite agility
and strength to block powers
and
counters
successfully.
Mental errors — which plagued
Bredeson his freshman year and
Onwenu earlier this year — were
cut down as the year progressed.
But that trio, too, will need to
improve its pass blocking if the
Wolverines are to make strides
on offense next year. It all starts
up front, and Michigan was far
too inconsistent this season.
Michigan suffers 71-62 loss to Ohio State
COLUMBUS — On the road,
with the crowd roaring during
Ohio
State’s
14-0
run,
the
Michigan men’s basketball team
needed a bucket.
It prompted the predicament
the Wolverines have faced so far
this season: Who would come up
with a basket with adversity in
their face?
Gone
are
Zak
Irvin
and
Derrick Walton Jr. — two former
Michigan
players
capable
of
fending off pressure at the
most opportune times. When it
mattered most Monday night,
no Wolverine proved capable of
stopping the bleeding in time to
escape with a win.
“I called every number I could
call,” said Michigan coach John
Beilein, “and it didn’t happen.”
Spurred by an energetic 26-3
second-half run, Ohio State (2-0
Big Ten, 7-3 overall) overcame
what
was
once
a
20-point
Michigan lead to secure a 71-62
win.
The loss sets the Wolverines
(1-1, 6-3) back to .500 in Big Ten
play, and sends them into two big
non-conference matchups with a
sour taste in their mouth.
Michigan
followed
up
Saturday’s 16-2 start against
Indiana with another strong start
against the Buckeyes, taking a 14-6
lead early. With similar offensive
precision, the Wolverines assisted
on four of their first five field goals
and 11 total in the first half.
Eight
different
Michigan
players scored in the first half
and six hit at least one 3-pointer,
en route to a frame in which
the
Wolverines
made
seven
threes, turned the ball over just
twice and scored 1.42 points per
possession.
They appeared to be on their
way to a comfortable victory —
their second convincing win in
the early stretch of Big Ten play.
But Jae’Sean Tate, Keita Bates-
Diop and the Buckeyes had other
ideas.
Initiated by a rare, five-point
possession late in the first half,
the
Buckeyes
carried
their
momentum out of the halftime
break, scoring 19 of the first 22
points in the half and stymying
Michigan’s once-potent offense.
“As good as we were in the first
18 minutes of the first half, we
were equally as bad in the second
half,” Beilein said. “We couldn’t
make a basket or couldn’t make,
really, a right play in that time. …
When things got a little tough, we
really had trouble stepping up.”
The Wolverines never regained
their composure, playing a half
eerily reminiscent of the second
half against North Carolina.
Midway through the second
half, Tate attacked the rim with
vigor,
lowering
his
shoulder
into the chest of junior forward
Duncan Robinson, and finished
through contact to narrow the
deficit to only one point. Robinson,
regularly the target of the duo’s
attack, struggled to handle their
physicality in the post.
“We try to be positive (when
facing opposing runs), kinda
get back to what got us there,”
said fifth-year senior Duncan
Robinson. “That noise happened,
we have to band together, do
a better job of that. We kind
of frayed when we hit some
adversity.”
Tate and Diop combined for
21 of their team’s 45 shots and
32 of their 71 points, challenging
Michigan’s forwards all night and
dictating the physical nature of
the second half.
There were some positives
from the Wolverines, particularly
from unexpected sources in the
first half.
Two days after watching the
entire Indiana game from the
bench, fifth-year senior guard
Jaaron
Simmons
looked
the
most comfortable he’s been in
a Michigan uniform, notching
three assists in his seven first-half
minutes.
Two days after watching his
younger counterpart — freshman
Jordan Poole — steal the show,
sophomore Ibi Watson earned
the first minutes off the bench at
the shooting guard position and
immediately rewarded his coach
with a 3-pointer and defensive
energy.
And two days after not scoring,
sophomore
Zavier
Simpson
showed poise in the pick-and-
roll, scoring seven of the team’s
first 19 points despite coming off
the bench once again. Simpson
brought a modicum of composure
to the Wolverines as they began
to crumble in the second half. His
ability to attack the rim off the
pick-and-roll proved to be one of
the team’s only sources of scoring
down the stretch.
Despite those efforts, the game
was decided in the second half.
Michigan shot 18 percent from
the field, scored just 19 points and
made only one of its last 10 field
goal attempts — the lone make
being an uncontested dunk with
the game essentially over.
With no ability to counter Ohio
State’s punches, the Wolverines
will have to head back to Ann
Arbor with its most frustrating
loss of the season.
“They came at us,” Beilein said,
“and we did not respond.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Inconsistency shows
again for ‘M’
C
OLUMBUS — If you’ve
tried predicting much
about the Michigan men’s
basketball team, you probably
haven’t been too successful.
You’re not to blame, though.
Coach John Beilein’s squad
has been a mashup of different
lineups and star performers on
a nightly basis. The revolving
door that has rested on Beilein’s
psyche has revealed both the
question marks and the potential
for the Wolverines this season.
It’s perhaps the lingering
uncertainty that keeps him up at
night.
The closest semblance of a
hero in Monday night’s 71-62 loss
to Ohio State was sophomore
point guard Zavier Simpson.
Did you guess that? Me neither,
but no hero should have been
required — win or loss.
Michigan was up by 20 points
at one point, and the Buckeyes
had no answers to combat the
offensive onslaught. But just
19 second-half points by the
Wolverines — their worst half
output of the season thus far
— provided Ohio State with
more chances than it could have
imagined, and Michigan paid the
price.
“Anytime you lose in the Big
Ten, but especially when you
lose to your rival the way we did,
it’s just frustrating,” said senior
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman. “We just gotta go back
to the drawing board.”
In their two-point loss to
LSU in the Maui Invitational,
the Wolverines faltered
late, which overshadowed
scintillating scoring outputs
from junior Moritz Wagner and
redshirt sophomore Charles
Matthews. In the smackdown
by North Carolina — a game
that Michigan was expected to
lose — underclassmen showed
promising signs of composure on
the road.
Against the Buckeyes on
Monday night, Michigan was
cruising and no star was needed.
Ohio State finished the half on
a 7-0 run, closing the Wolverines’
lead to 13, injecting signs of life
into an otherwise lulled crowd.
“I actually told them I’m glad
we aren’t up by 20 at half,” Beilein
said. “Because if they make a run,
they just made a run. Now, let’s go
out there with some purpose.”
That purpose was realized
far too late. Right out of the
gate, the Buckeyes went into
overdrive. Ohio State hit seven
quick field goals, while Michigan
could hardly decipher how to
put the ball in the basket. And
after a 26-3 run — with a lone
3-pointer from Eli Brooks for the
Wolverines — the Buckeyes were
staring at their first lead all game
with 12:29 to go.
“We couldn’t score and we
couldn’t stop them,” Beilein said
dejectedly. “This is something,
it’s gonna be a journey all year for
us until we grow our young kids,
right? And our veterans embrace
their new roles as being the guys,
right? Being the guy that’s gotta
make a shot, that’s gotta make a
play at a certain time.
“Our freshmen and
sophomores made some baskets,
but there weren’t many in the
second half, were there?”
Sure, Michigan quickly
battled back to make it a tit-for-
tat contest, but Ohio State knew
it was the better team on the
court then, and it wasn’t going
to blow its comeback efforts.
Jae’Sean Tate and Keita Bates-
Diop were unflappable versus
the Wolverines’ frontcourt, a
response that wasn’t met in kind.
When CJ Jackson’s free
throws gave the Buckeyes their
final, unadulterated lead with
2:59 to go, it was a game of
“hot potato” to resurrect the
Wolverines, but no winners
emerged.
“We like to play as a team,
nobody wants to be considered a
hero or playing hero ball,” Abdur-
Rahkman said. “We just try to
play within the offense, and we
didn’t get good shots and passed
up some good shots, too.”
Beilein has emphasized that
it’s still early and that his team
stumbled against the Buckeyes
last year and rebounded. The
players say they will have to have
short-term memory about this
game, but Michigan is already
almost at the halfway point of its
season.
That begs the question: When
do results like this happen just
too late?
Wolfe can be reached at
eewolfe@umich.edu or on
Twitter @ethanewolfe.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Sophomore left guard Ben Bredeson and the offensive line had a fair share of ups and downs over the course of the year.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein said his team simply couldn’t stop the Buckeyes on their decisive run in the second half.
The Wolverines held a 20-point lead, but then fell apart in Columbus
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor