SPORTSMONDAY

Gunslinger
 

Shea Patterson did things on 

Saturday that haven’t been 
done by a Michigan QB in a 

while

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Domination

Michigan volleyball moved 
to 9-0 on the season with an 
undefeated weekend at the 
Michigan Challenge
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Design by Jack Silberman
Alexis Rankin & Amelia Cacchione/ Daily

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 10, 2018
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It took one offensive drive for 

angry boos to cascade Michigan 
Stadium, and then the next one to 
make it seem like it never happened.

After Shea Patterson completed 

a 10-yard out to senior tight end 
Zach Gentry on the game’s first 
play against Western Michigan, 
the offense followed with a false 
start, two short runs and a stifled 
screen pass. The Michigan offense 
from last week appeared to show up 
again in its home opener.

Then, the Wolverines’ defense 

stymied the Broncos on the 
following drive to get the ball back. 
Senior running back Karan Higdon 
charged down the field on a 43-yard 
run to get into the redzone, setting 
up a 17-yard touchdown reception 
for junior tight end Sean McKeon.

From then on, boos turned into 

sustained cheers. Higdon broke 
off a 67-yard touchdown run a 
drive later. After an interception by 
linebacker Noah Furbush the next 
defensive possession, junior Chris 

Evans converted a 27-yard score 
of his own. Michigan (1-1 overall) 
threw Western Michigan (0-2) 
around like a ragdoll and didn’t stop 
en route to a comfortable 49-3 win.

“Obviously there’s a lot of people 

talking about us, Michigan is 
always a hot topic,” Higdon said. “I 
think we took that today and threw 
it back.”

Just in the first half, Higdon 

carried the ball 13 times for 156 yards 
and a score, while his counterpart 
Evans had two touchdowns. The 
tandem combined for 282 yards and 
three touchdowns.

“All those holes, you could drive 

a car through it,” Evans said of the 
run blocking. “People in there with 
nobody to block, because everybody 
was taken care of, and the running 
backs try to make everyone’s job 
easier.”

Rushing 
success 
against 

porous defenses is familiar for 
the Wolverines. But Saturday 
afternoon’s contest was also a game 
of firsts.

Patterson’s touchdown throw 

to McKeon was his first in his 

Michigan 
career. 
With 
7:02 

remaining in the second quarter, 
Patterson rainbowed a ball right 
into the hands of sophomore wide 
receiver Nico Collins for a 44-yard 
touchdown — the first collegiate 
score for Collins, and the first for 
any Michigan wide receiver since 
Sept. 9, 2017. And with 6:21 in the 
third quarter, 
Patterson 
connected 
with 
sophomore 
Donovan 
Peoples-Jones 
for his first 
collegiate 
receiving 
score.

During 

garbage 
time 
in 
the 
fourth 

quarter, redshirt freshman Dylan 
McCaffrey 
replaced 
Patterson 

under center and threw his 
first career touchdown pass to 
sophomore receiver Jake McCurry 
for his introduction into the 
endzone.

But throughout the afternoon, 

it was squarely Patterson who 
inspired confidence amongst an oft-
questioned passing offense. Even 
when facing pressure, the junior 
quarterback, who finished the day 
12-for-17 with 125 yards and three 
touchdowns, made plays with both 
his arm and legs to convert first 
downs that were unimaginable 

only a year 
ago. 

“Our o-line 

had a heck 
of a game,” 
Patterson said. 
“I don’t think 
I’ve ever seen 
holes open up 
that wide. Just 
the way that 
we ran the 

ball opened up so much more in our 
passing game. Got the safeties to 
come down and play in the box and 
expect the run.”

Added Higdon: “He stayed 

poised. He stood tall in the pocket 
whenever the offense needed to 
throw the ball. We got plays out of 
him.”

The relative improvement of 

the offense overshadowed another 
picturesque output by the defense. 
After 
Furbush’s 
interception, 

junior VIPER Khaleke Hudson 
led the way with a blocked punt 
and six tackles. Junior defensive 
end Rashan Gary also recorded six 
tackles and his first sack of the year, 
amongst the unit’s eight tackles-for-
loss.

Overall, the defense allowed just 

208 total yards — 2.8 yards per play 
— to a Western Michigan team that 
put up 42 points and 621 yards only 
a week ago.

“I love wearing that hard hat,” 

Gary said of the pressure he faced 
from the Broncos’ offense. “You 
can double-, triple-team me. I’ve got 
Devin Bush coming off the edge, 
I’ve got Chase Winovich coming at 
him, Khaleke Hudson, I can keep 
going and not leave one person out.”

The sizable margin maintained 

by the defense allowed Jim 
Harbaugh to experiment with his 
team. Under new redshirt rules that 
allows players to play in up to four 
games while maintaining redshirt 

eligibility, the entire offensive line 
was replaced on McCaffrey’s drive. 
Junior walk-on running back Tru 
Wilson also saw game action, 
adding six carries for 54 yards in 
the No. 3 spot.

“Good to see our young offensive 

linemen get the snaps they did,” 
Harbaugh said. Good for (them and 
McCaffrey), getting a lot of guys out 
there playing — I think 74 players 
played in the game and did things, 
too.”

But there was still time for boos 

to rain down in Michigan Stadium. 
With 2:34 remaining, and after a 
blocked field goal was wiped away 
from an offsides call committed 
by the Wolverines, the Broncos 
converted one on the following 
play to the dismay of the Michigan 
faithful in attendance.

It was a blemish on an otherwise 

flawless bounceback display by the 
Wolverines, albeit against a weaker 
Western Michigan team. And if 
nothing else, Saturday’s game was 
one step closer to fixing the issues 
that have continually plagued 
Michigan.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

Wolverines pummel Broncos, 49-3

“All those holes,
you could drive a 
car through it”

HARBAUGH’S 49ERS

MICHIGAN 49 WMU 3

