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SportsMonday
Monday, October 1, 2018 — 3B
Next generation of Michigan defense emerges
As the Michigan football
team
mounted
its
largest
comeback
in
the
Jim
Harbaugh era Saturday against
Northwestern, fans saw a team
clawing for its season. They saw
an offense do just enough, led
by a quarterback who showed
guile and resolve.
They also saw a defense
show a prolonged glimpse into
what the future holds on that
side of the ball.
Junior
Josh
Uche
and
sophomore
Kwity
Paye,
in
particular, asserted themselves
in career-best days. Uche and
Paye — dubbed as two of the
players expected to fill the
shoes of fifth-year senior Chase
Winovich and junior Rashan
Gary — notched two sacks each.
Their contributions proved
game-altering
against
the
Wildcats.
“Like I said, talked about it
at halftime,” Harbaugh said.
“We were being tested, this
is time to find out what we’re
made of. And our guys really
responded.”
Though
oft
regarded
as
hard-working
players,
stubborn about taking even one
play off, Gary and Winovich
intentionally
cede
time
in
practice to get Paye, Uche and
others more reps.
“Rashan
and
Chase,
in
practice, make sure I get my
reps, make sure I know what
I’m doing,” Paye said Saturday.
“They
quiz
me
sometimes
on what I’m doing in those
situations.”
The writing is on the wall,
with
Paye
specifically,
to
ascend into a a more regular
role next season. Gary and
Winovich know it. Paye does,
too.
The sophomore has been
operating in practice at both
the “end” side and “anchor”
side,
taking
all
the
reps
Winovich and Gary relinquish.
It’s made Paye — a natural edge
pass-rusher — a more well-
rounded
defensive
end,
he
says, but remains a challenge
nontheless.
“I
think
(defensive
line
coach Greg Mattison) knows
those guys are getting ready to
leave,” Paye said last week. “So
I feel like he’s trying to prepare
me to try and eventually take
over, eventually fill those spots.
But as of right now, I’m just
trying to contribute.”
But it’s not only about the
future.
Given that opportunity to
contribute Saturday, with Gary
in and out of the lineup due to
injury, Uche and Paye made the
most of the present, too.
In the fourth quarter, with
the defense needing to get
off the field on third down,
Paye
noticed
Northwestern
quarterback
Thorson
drifting to his left with the
pocket eroding. Showing his
athleticism,
Paye
exploded
right at Thorson, finishing
with vigor for a 10-yard sack,
his second on the day.
Uche, touted as a potential
up-and-coming
pass-rushing
force for years now, seems to
finally be emerging into just
that. He earned two sacks of
his own by dipping his shoulder
and sneaking past the tackle,
the latter of which ended the
game.
As
Harbaugh
rattled
off
names of guys who impressed
after Saturday’s game, Uche
and Paye neared the top of the
list multiple times.
“Josh Uche, some of those
speed rushes he had on the
edge were huge,” he said. …
“And also Kwity Paye, thought
he really stepped up.”
Then again later.
“Kwity Paye, also showed
up, as I said, Josh Uche,” he
said again. “Two of those speed
rushes went fast and powerful.”
When Harbaugh mentions
a player off-hand, that alone
merits note. He, along with
Mattison, will undoubtedly be
finding more ways to get the
duo on the field. Perhaps that
means sliding Gary inside on
some downs. Maybe it means
resting the banged-up Gary in
lower-leverage spots. It could
just mean a more frequent
rotation in general.
These are good problems to
have.
That these questions even
need to be asked speaks well
to the depth up front, and the
future of the defense. And
it wasn’t restricted to Paye
or
Uche.
Freshman
Aidan
Hutchinson
continues
to
demand playing time on the
defensive
line.
Sophomore
defensive
tackle
Michael
Dwumfour played his best
game in a Michigan uniform.
Sophomore
linebacker
Josh
Ross made several key plays,
including a thumping pass-
breakup on a third down in the
second half. The list could go
on.
Saturday’s
game
will
be
remembered in several ways.
A late comeback on the road.
A quarterback finding a way.
A game that was closer than it
should’ve been.
But perhaps the most lasting
memory? The emergence of the
next generation of Michigan’s
defense.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Sophomore defensive end Kwity Paye recorded a career-best two sacks in Michigan’s 20-17 win over Northwestern.
Northwestern’s blitz too much for Wolverines
Heading into Friday night,
the Michigan women’s soccer
team may have anticipated
that Northwestern’s backline
would give the Wolverines the
most trouble.
The Wildcats’ defense had
surrendered just five goals
over the first 11 games of the
season, and thanks to brick-
wall
goalkeeper
Mackenzie
Wood, seven of those games
were shutouts.
On
Friday
though,
Michigan’s
demise
came
at
the
hands
of
a
rapid
offensive onslaught, as No. 17
Northwestern (2-2-1 Big Ten,
8-2-2 overall) defeated the
Wolverines in Evanston, 4-1.
A lot about Friday’s game
was unusual.
For
starters,
Michigan
(2-3-0,
6-6-0)
outshot
the
Wildcats, 7-6, in the first half
of the game—the same frame
Northwestern saw all four of
its goals scored. The Wildcats
hadn’t scored four goals in a
game in two seasons.
The first three goals came off
corner kicks, as Northwestern
jumped on opportunities when
they were able to create set-ups
and slow the game down.
“I
think
it
came
down
to attention to details, and
they capitalized on us,” said
Michigan coach Jennifer Klein.
After a contentious first 10
minutes that saw somewhat
sloppy play characterized by
midfield turnovers from both
sides, Northwestern began to
differentiate itself.
At
the
10:45
mark,
the
Wildcat players crowded the
box on their first corner kick
of the game, drawing the
Wolverine defense inside. This
left
Northwestern
forward
Brenna Lovera open on the
outside to smash the ball into
the top of the net, opening up
scoring in the game.
The Wildcats wasted little
time, striking again under six
minutes later. Northwestern
capitalized
on
another
set
piece opportunity, this time
with a header from defender
Kayla Sharples, putting them
ahead, 2-0.
Almost
immediately,
Michigan
responded
with
smart passing up the pitch
from senior midfielder Ashley
Calcagno to redshirt junior
midfielder Katie Foug. After
fighting off a defender, Foug
crossed the ball to sophomore
midfielder Alia Martin, who
sent the ball in to cut the
Wolverines’ deficit in half.
“I think our ability to come
back and score, we had great
control of the ball in the run-
up play, we moved it really
nicely, creating good chances,”
Klein said.
Over the course of the next
15
minutes,
Northwestern
tacked
on
two
additional
insurance goals — the first
off yet another corner kick —
running an efficient offense
for a team primarily known as
a defensive powerhouse.
By the 30-minute mark of
the 90-minute game, all of the
scoring that would happen had
happened.
It
wasn’t
until
the
dwindling
seconds
of
the
half that Michigan regained
momentum,
crisply
passing
between
midfielders
and
forwards in center of the pitch,
but it was too late.
At halftime, the Wolverines
knew they had significant
work to do with a three-goal
deficit.
“I told them (at halftime) I
think we can come back and
win 5-4 if we clean up details,”
Klein said. “I think we were
unfortunate to not get a goal
in the half, but again, I thought
we controlled a lot of play
and really had the ball for the
majority of the second half.”
And in the second half,
Michigan was able to clean
things up. The Wolverines
made a series of defensive
adjustments,
such
as
not
allowing the Wildcats to catch
them in transition and not
giving away as many corner
opportunities—the detrimental
flaw of the first half.
Michigan exuded confidence
in the final 15 minutes of the
game after a back and forth
start to the second half. The
Wolverines created five or six
viable scoring chances, but
were unable to convert on any,
leaving the game’s score the
same as it was at halftime.
Klein felt proud of her team’s
second half appearance, noting
that Michigan’s play didn’t
necessarily reflect in the box
score.
“I was proud of the team’s
response in the second half
to continue to fight and push,
but we just were unfortunate,”
Klein said. “It got close at the
end, I told them that we needed
to be a team that was okay
doing some dirty work, and I
thought we could come back
and find a way to get a result.
Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Alia Martin scored Michigan’s lone goal in the Wolverines’ 4-1 loss to Northwestern on Friday.
‘Evil genius’ Don Brown
aids defense in 20-17 win
It was a familiar punch
to the jaw. Just as Notre
Dame racked up three quick
touchdowns in the season
opener,
Northwestern
dealt the Michigan football
team blow after blow early
Saturday.
The Wildcats ran 17 plays
for 145 yards on their first
three
drives,
seemingly
converting everything they
wanted. Quarterback Clayton
Thorson
completed
slant
after
slant,
resembling
a
prized fighter meticulously
shredding and wearing down
his opponent. He consistently
had
a
clean
pocket
to
throw from —
the Wolverines
defensive line’s
“twist” stunts
weren’t getting
home.
Michigan
couldn’t avoid
its
own
jabs,
either.
Its
defense
was
penalized three times for
40 yards, as yellow flags
dismantled any resistance the
Wolverines could muster.
Late in the first quarter,
a
nine-play,
52-yard
touchdown
drive
extended
Northwestern’s lead to 17.
It looked like a potential
knock-out punch, especially
with
Michigan’s
offensive
sputtering.
“We
let
small
missed
assignments
turn
into
a
big gains,” said sophomore
defensive end Kwity Paye.
“We just had to settle down.”
“Settling down” is certainly
not
Don
Brown’s
M.O.
The
third-year
defensive
coordinator is known instead
for
his
fiery
personality,
“solve your problems with
aggression”
mantra
and
endless
pursuit
of
the
quarterback.
But
that’s
exactly
what
Brown did for the Michigan
defense.
After
the
first
quarter,
the
Wolverines
allowed
just
119
yards
of
total
offense
and
kept
the
Wildcats
from
truly delivering
that KO.
“He’s an evil
genius
of
the
defense,”
said
fifth-year senior
defensive end Chase Winovich.
“It’s
more
than
just
his
coaching style, it’s his ability to
manage relationships, which
requires a certain level of
genius in itself to get everyone
on the same page.”
Naturally, aggression was
Brown’s key to finding that
page. Moving away from those
twist stunts for a traditional
pursuit,
Michigan
sacked
Thorson five times in the
second half.
“It was like, ‘Let’s put our
best pass rushers out there
and straight pass rush them,’ ”
Paye said.
The problem met aggression,
and Brown had the answer.
Calling
blitzes
like
you’d
expect from an “evil genius,”
Brown made Northwestern’s
offense look lost down the
stretch,
its
quarterback
picking himself off the turf
consistently.
Thorson couldn’t rely on
those slants anymore, either.
As they had two weeks ago
against SMU, safeties Josh
Metellus and Tyree Kinnel
struggled
early
on
quick
passing plays in man-to-man
coverage. But Brown had his
solution, and of course, it was
based in physicality.
“We
came
in
knowing
that was their
go-to
—
the
short
game,”
said
junior
linebacker Josh
Uche.
“We
just had to get
better hands on
the
receivers
coming off the
line.”
And
as
Metellus
and company did just that,
Michigan’s
defense
was
officially settled in. Those
penalties, quick passes and
points all mostly disappeared
during the second half.
“Don
Brown
had
some
tremendous calls,” said coach
Jim Harbaugh. “We got free
runners to the quarterback,
and that was big … We started
getting our hands on some of
those balls in the secondary
and started applying pressure,
and it really helped us.”
So did the play of Uche and
Paye, which was especially
critical
considering
Rashan
Gary left injured in the third
quarter
—
he
did
return
eventually.
In
breakout
performances,
the
pair
collected
two
sacks
each
during the absence of the junior
defense end.
True to his adjustment, it
was Brown’s call that sealed
Michigan’s largest come-from-
behind victory since 2011. On
the
game’s
final
play,
Uche
speed
rushed
off
the right edge
to
dispatch
Northwestern’s
tackle
—
no
twist
stunt
needed — and
sack Thorson.
“It was good
for
him
to
show himself that he could
ball,” Paye said. “Rashan got
injured, and he stepped up
and made some big plays for
us.”
Most
importantly,
they
were
the
kind
of
plays
Michigan needed with such a
thin margin for error. With his
team bruised and on the ropes,
Brown helped Michigan settle
in the only way he knows how:
with aggression.
“This would’ve been the
greatest night of (their) lives,”
Winovich said. “I think we
spoiled that.”
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Defensive end Chase Winovich notched three tackles for loss on Saturday.
“We just had
to get better
hands on the
receivers...”
“Don Brown
had some
tremendous
calls.”
FOOTBALL
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Editor