The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 — 7

Wolverines offensive line still has a way to go in run blocking

The Michigan football team 
was without its starting running 
back in its win over SMU. After 
getting banged up in practice, 
senior Karan Higdon missed 
Saturday’s 
game 
with 
an 
undisclosed injury.
The status of Higdon, as well 
as junior running back Chris 
Evans, is not yet clear. Evans 
limped off the field following a 
35-yard scamper in the fourth 
quarter and didn’t return. 
“Karan 
was 
a 
game-time 
decision, just didn’t feel like 
he could go,” said coach Jim 
Harbaugh in his postgame press 
conference. “And then Chris, we’ll 
see what his situation is exactly. 
It is like a strain or a cramp. We’ll 
see (about next week).”
The 
Wolverines 
missed 
Higdon’s 
down-hill 
style 
in 
short-yardage situations, instead 
relying on the shiftier Evans and 
junior Tru Wilson. Both finished 
with respectable numbers — 
Evans had 18 carries for 85 yards 
while Wilson gained 53 yards 
on 11 rushes — but not without 
moments of ineffectiveness.
Michigan had seven runs of 
one yard or less and averaged 
just 2.8 yards-per-carry in the 
first half. The running game’s 
inefficiency 
prevented 
the 
Wolverines’ offense to find the 
the end zone more than twice in 
the first half against a defense 
that had allowed 88 points 
through two weeks.
The series of small ground 
pickups were reminiscent of the 
Wolverines’ season-opening loss 
at Notre Dame. Out-manned by a 
dominant front-seven, Michigan 
rushed 33 times for just 58 yards. 
But a 308-yard, two-touchdown 
effort last week against Western 
Michigan 
quieted 
concerns 
about the Wolverines’ run game.
That was until Saturday’s first 
half. 
Higdon’s absence undoubtedly 
made a difference. There’s a 
reason he’s Michigan’s first-
string back. But to find the true 
culprit behind the tempered 
running game, look no further 
than the Wolverines’ offensive 

line. Sounds familiar, right?
It’s the same five starters 
that were maligned for their 
pass protection in Week 1. 
Though junior quarterback Shea 
Patterson hasn’t been pressured 
as consistently since, Michigan’s 
front is still lapse-prone in run 
blocking. Let’s roll the film.
The situation: 3rd-and-1 on 
Michigan’s first drive
Higdon’s absence was first 
detrimental on the game’s third 
play from scrimmage. Needing 
just a yard to move the chains, the 
Wolverines line up I-formation 
and handoff to Evans. It’s simple, 
Jim Harbaugh power football.
Only power football doesn’t 
work without blocking — nothing 
does.
Moving off the left side of 

the formation, redshirt junior 
tight end Zach Gentry whiffed 
on his primary target at the 
second level. Junior right guard 
Michael Onwenu 
and 
sophomore 
fullback 
Ben 
Mason, 
meanwhile, 
can’t 
seal 
the 
defensive 
end, 
forcing Evans to 
cut inside. That’s 
where 
Gentry’s 
assignment, 
linebacker 
Trevor Denbow, 
had 
already 
come 
through, 
dropping the Michigan ball-
carrier for a loss.
Whether 
or 
not 
Hidgon 
would’ve gotten the first down is 

besides the point. Gentry, Mason 
and Onwenu all missed or over-
ran blocks.
Sometimes, 
the 
problem 
is 
not 
limited 
to 
offensive 
linemen.
The situation: 
2-and-1, 
scoreless in the 
1st quarter
Another short-
yard 
situation 
with 
similar 
results. 
Here, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
interior line falls 
apart. Onwenu and junior left 
guard Ben Bredeson generate 
zero push off the snap, and once 
the SMU’s linebackers meet the 
pile, sophomore center Cesar 

Ruiz falls over.
This was never going to be 
a big play for Michigan. The 
Mustangs have too many heads 
in the box, as they’re anticipating 
an inside run in the redzone.
But after a strong performance 
last week, Bredeson, Owenu and 
Ruiz struggled to create space 
against a mediocre defensive 
line. It’s one thing to get beat by 
Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery — a 
top-end NFL defensive tackle 
prospect. It’s another to struggle 
against a defense that’s now 0-3.
The situation: 1st-and-15, 
Michigan up 15 in the 4th 
quarter
This is an example of the 
Wolverines’ play-calling working 
to perfection.
After gaining 11 yards on 

an Ambry Thomas jet sweep 
in 
the 
first 
half, 
Michigan 
sent sophomore wide receiver 
Nico Collins in motion across 
the formation. This attracts 
the 
attention 
of 
two 
SMU 
linebackers, who are caught 
motionless or moving left when 
Evans gets the handoff.
Simultaneously, 
Onwenu 
sealed 
his 
block 
and 
both 
Bredeson and senior left tackle 
Jon Runyan Jr. get to the second 
level, and Evans was off to the 
races.
That jet sweep action won’t 
work every time. But if the 
Wolverines can find other ways 
to make defenses hesitate, expect 
more big runs like this despite 
Michigan’s share of blocking 
blunders.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior left guard Ben Bredeson and the Michigan offensive line didn’t get as much push in the running game against SMU as they did the week before in the Wolverines’ win over Western Michigan.

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

“... Chris, 
we’ll what his 
situation is 
exactly.”

Harbaugh, players react to targeting calls

How do you fix something 
that doesn’t seem wrong to 
you?
It’s a question coach Jim 
Harbaugh and his players are 
trying to figure out themselves. 
Early in the third quarter of 
Saturday’s game against SMU, 
junior VIPER Khaleke Hudson 
was 
ejected 
for 
targeting 
after he initiated helmet-to-
helmet contact with Mustangs 
quarterback William Brown on 
a run play.
In 
Harbaugh’s 
weekly 
Monday press conference, he 
didn’t understand the call.
“Waiting for clarification 
on the targeting, still not with 
that one,” Harbaugh said. “I’d 
like an explanation, we’d all 
like an explanation on that. 
You compare it to other plays in 
the game where you’re hitting 
a ball carrier with the crown of 
your helmet, that’s happened 
a lot. In fact, the runner is 
leading with the crown of their 
helmet when they’re running 
a play. Didn’t think Khaleke’s 
was with the crown of his 
helmet. I thought he led with 
his shoulder.”
As 
the 
NCAA 
football 
rulebook states: “No player 
shall target and make forcible 
contact to the head or neck area 
of a defenseless opponent with 
the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, 
elbow or shoulder.”
The 
impact 
of 
the 
aforementioned 
rule 
and 
its refinements to increase 
player safety have been highly 
publicized in recent years — a 
judgment typically drawing ire 
from coaches for its inherent 
subjectivity. Whether or not 
Hudson led with his shoulder 
or head, there was indisputable 
contact made with the crown 
of Brown’s helmet, which is 
defined as any area above 
the facemask, 360 degrees 
around the helmet. The players 
understand 
that 
targeting 

is not exclusive to helmet 
hits, but the definition of 
“forcible contact” has spurred 
disagreement.
“When a person like that is 
moving so fast, and the decision 
is almost instant and he ducks 
his head, I have nothing else 
left to hit besides lower my 
head lower than his and hurt 
my neck for him,” said junior 
middle linebacker Devin Bush. 
“It’s 
kinda 
hard to make 
those decisions 
going that fast.
“(Referees 
are) 
more 
trigger-happy 
with 
it. 
Any 
sign of a person 
getting 
hit, 
and it makes 
a certain kind 
of 
sound 
or 
their neck goes a certain way, 
they’re throwing a flag. If I’m 
hitting a person and I could get 
kicked out of the game for that, 
I’m only hurting my team for 
trying to win.”
Hudson’s 
ejection, 
which 
will force him to also miss the 
first half of the Big Ten opener 

against Nebraska on Saturday, 
was 
already 
the 
second 
targeting call for a Michigan 
player through three games. 
Early into the season opener 
against Notre Dame, junior 
safety 
Josh 
Metellus 
was 
ejected for targeting Fighting 
Irish tight end Alize Mack on a 
26-yard reception.
Again, the referee’s decision 
bred confusion and a sobering 
realization.
“It’s 
just 
something we’ve 
gotta live with 
and work around 
with the rules 
of 
the 
game 
changing,” 
said 
senior 
safety 
Tyree 
Kinnel. 
“I didn’t think 
Khaleke 
or 
Josh committed 
targeting, but the ref called it 
so we’ve gotta deal with it.”
In the aftermath of the 
targeting calls, the defensive 
players 
have 
remained 
steadfastly 
confident 
that 
it’s an issue that can be 
mitigated, and one that can be 
overcome when faced in games. 

Kinnel later praised backup 
safety Brad Hawkins for his 
emergence in the secondary, as 
well as backup VIPER Jordan 
Glasgow in the absence of 
Hudson in the second half.
But 
for 
others, 
like 
cornerbacks 
coach 
Mike 
Zordich, the reality of the 
now 
oft-enforced 
targeting 
rules has changed the way he 
coaches his unit.
“We watch film on things of 
that nature to remind the guys 
of those hits, those helmet-to-
helmet (hits),” Zordich said 
after the Notre Dame game. 
“When I played, this is what 
it was all about — you put your 
face on things. Now you’ve got 
to keep that out of the way. It’s 
a whole different way to play.
“And I totally appreciate 
it. But don’t hurt the team 
because of a judgment call.”
For 
now, 
Harbaugh, 
Zordich and their team await 
explanations from the Big Ten 
office about the targeting calls 
and other penalties the team 
inquired about. But even with 
clarification, a quick fix that 
satisfies all parties isn’t in the 
cards.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior VIPER Khaleke Hudson was kicked out early in the third quarter of Saturday’s game for targeting.

“Didn’t think 
Khaleke’s was 
with the crown 
of his helmet.”

‘M’ drops its first set of 
season, still beats Irish

Here’s something you haven’t 
heard all year — the No. 18 Michigan 
volleyball team dropped a set.
Then again, here’s something you 
have — the Wolverines won.
If you asked them, they would 
only talk about the latter, not that 
the team ignored dropping a set. 
It’d be hard to avoid when making 
adjustments and improvements. But 
in the bigger picture of things, it was 
what it’s been all year — a non-factor.
“I don’t even think we set any 
expectations,” said Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen on dropping a set. “We 
didn’t think we weren’t going to drop 
a set all season long. Nobody really 
felt that was a thing.
“It was more about how we 
recovered from that just like in any 
match and first set, second set, and 
especially third set, ‘How are we 
going to do the next set?’ And I think 
they responded well.”
After 32 consecutive set wins, 
the Wolverines dropped one in 
their matchup against Notre Dame 
during the backend of a home-and-
away. The usually disciplined team 
committed 26 errors compared 
to the Fighting Irish’s 18, and the 
balanced offense Michigan prides 
itself on was reduced to a season-low 
.093 attack percentage for the losing 
third set.
But it was all within the game 
plan.
Not losing a set that is, but 
encountering 
the 
heavy 
and 
suffocating Notre Dame defense, 
adjusting to the schemes and 
bouncing back.
“They did a really good job of 
adjusting to us,” Rosen said. “They’re 
a very good defensive team. They can 
do some things to take things away 
from you.”
The adjustments didn’t start 
straight out of the fold, though. Rosen 
pointed to attack percentage and kills 
as indicators of the Wolverines’ hot 
start. Eighteen kills on 36 attempts — 

a .361 attack percentage — for a single 
set are the most efficient posted by 
Michigan in the Notre Dame series. 
The second set is when the chess 
match began for Rosen, however.
“They made some adjustments 
in the second set,” Rosen said. “And 
they took some things away from 
us that we did really well, and the 
game started flipping. Our offense 
certainly was not efficient. We were 
able to pull it out, but I don’t think we 
were playing great.
“It was kind of a back-and-forth 
thing where there were lots of 
adjustments made with them and 
us.”
In order to clinch an up-and-
down second set, senior outside 
hitter Carly Skjodt and junior setter 
Mackenzi Welsh had to post back-
to-back kills when the set was tied, 
23-23. Skjodt had a team-high 13 
kills and added 16 digs for a double-
double. Welsh posted a game-high 46 
assists while expanding the team’s 
offensive options when the Fighting 
Irish figured out how to counter the 
initial offense.
And after the third set, Michigan 
needed it. With just 11 kills and a .093 
attack percentage — a percentage 
well below the standards of any team 
— the Wolverines looked to their 
depth for an answer. And thus the 
adjustments began.
Using 
the 
middle 
offense 
more, junior outside hitter Sydney 
Wetterstrom 
and 
sophomore 
middle blocker Kiara Shannon saw 
an immediate impact early in the 
final set that helped atone for the 
plethora of errors committed by 
the early offense. With a 5-0 burst 
late in the set due to the rotation of 
bench players, Michigan overcame 
Notre Dame, which had a top-heavy 
offense and relied on three players for 
the majority of its offensive impact.
And the Wolverines had all 
seen this before, in the teams’ prior 
matchup on Friday. But as Rosen 
noted, “Part of it is that you’re used to 
it or you’ve seen it, but it doesn’t make 
it any easier.”

VOLLEYBALL

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

