6A — Thursday, October 11, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

What do you believe?
I

t’s a 
tired 
ultima-
tum at this 
point: win 
these three 
games, and 
only then is 
the Michigan 
football team 
for real. Only 
then is Jim 
Harbaugh, 
after four years of manifest-
ing his all-star presence, the 
savior. 
With No. 15 Wisconsin roll-
ing into Ann Arbor on Satur-
day (opening as eight-point 
underdogs, mind you), fans are 
handling the game as a make-
or-break ordeal. The team is, 
too, and they’re talking about 
it. 
“This is one of those games 
you see on the schedule, you 
gotta get those first six games 
out of the way,” said junior 
linebacker Devin Bush Jr. “But 
you know this game is eventu-
ally coming, and now that it’s 
here, it’s all you’ve been wait-
ing for.”
The 12th-ranked Wolverines 
have talked big game of their 
potential in the past and fal-
tered. Why believe them now? 
Flashback to Aug. 29. Notre 
Dame awaits. 
“The reality is,” said assis-
tant head coach Pep Hamilton, 
“that everybody’s gonna find 
out who we are and what we’re 
made of on Saturday night.”
The Wolverines, of course, 
lost that game, 24-17. As of Oct. 
11, there is nary a word that 
Michigan is remotely the same 
team as the one that looked 
outmatched end-to-end in 
South Bend. 
The team has spoken in the 
same manner before, but not 
like it has now. Maybe it’s bul-
letin board material for them. 
But maybe, with momentum 
and genuine confidence in 
hand, there is truthful convic-
tion.

Ask the team’s emotional 
leader, defensive end Chase 
Winovich.
“It’s pretty obvious there’s 
something different about this 
team,” the fifth-year senior 
said.
Obvious. Ask another fifth-
year senior, Jared Wangler. 
“There is something spe-
cial with this team,” Wangler 
said. “You can feel it. I feel 
like we’re hitting on all cylin-
ders right now … confidence 
is there, which is really what 
you need, especially in these 
big games coming up. I sense 
something great about this 
team.”
Even Wisconsin’s head 
coach, Paul Chryst, can see it 
on film. 
“They have great confi-

dence and knowledge in their 
scheme,” Chryst said.
So now you have to consider 
for yourself if you believe the 
hype, or if the 
five games after 
Notre Dame 
were just a gift 
with a pretty 
bow on top. Can 
you put yourself 
on the bandwag-
on that a loss to 
the Badgers is 
devastating and, 
more impor-
tantly, unex-
pected? Leaving 
the Wolverines’ words to the 
wayside, the answer might still 
be “yes.”
Wisconsin, geared for a 
transcendent season, has been 

far from perfect. National title 
hopes vanished with a loss to 
BYU, and the Badgers’ patent-
ed roughneck defense has been 
suspect. Michi-
gan State has 
looked wholly 
unimpressive 
in all five of its 
games. Penn 
State’s offense 
is still at a Penn 
State level, but 
a near-loss to 
Appalachian 
State and three 
tight quarters 
against a down-
trodden Illinois have exposed 
chinks in the armor. 
Going 0-3 in this stretch, 
like last season, is possible. But 
it seems utterly more impos-

sible than winning them all at 
the moment, like two seasons 
ago. It’s a rejuvenated con-
fidence predictably built on 
the shoulders of Michigan’s 
newfound torchbearer: junior 
quarterback Shea Patterson. 
“There’s the preparation 
part there,” said running backs 
coach Jay Harbaugh of Pat-
terson. “And then there’s that 
kind of gut trust that this guy 
can make some stuff happen. 
Our team never feels like we’re 
out of it or we’re gonna lose 
or anything. But having a guy 
like that kinda amplifies it. You 
really feel like there’s nothing 
that can stop us because he’s 
so dangerous and able to make 
things happen.”
Added cornerbacks coach 
Mike Zordich, perhaps the 

most no-nonsense coach on 
the Wolverines’ staff: “They’re 
starting to feel comfortable 
with each other the system, 
and they’re playing together. 
… I think Shea has done a hell 
of a job of bringing everyone 
together on that side of the 
ball.”
The team goes as Patterson 
goes. Jim Harbaugh said that 
even his seven-year-old daugh-
ter Katie recognizes that. And 
with marked game-by-game 
improvement by Patterson, 
redshirt junior tight end Zach 
Gentry claims that he’s never 
been more confident in the 
offense and the team as a 
whole. It’s not as “fragment-
ed” like last year as Zordich 
believes. 
The experience, the hunger 
and the weight of every con-
fident syllable the team has 
uttered are there. And if you 
still don’t believe — if Har-
baugh’s play-calling causes you 
physical distress, if the offen-
sive line has every flaw we 
thought it did, if the defense 
takes too much time to settle 
in on Saturday or whatever else 
can happen — there is nothing 
that’s been said to suggest a 
loss is unavoidable. 
Or maybe the team under-
stands something that we 
don’t. 
“This is the part of the 
season where it defines your 
whole season and what your 
team wants to do,” Bush said. 
“We know how to beat teams 
like that. We know what it 
takes to beat teams like that.”
They’ve talked the talk. 
Now, with the hunt of a Big Ten 
Championship truly beginning 
with this three-game gauntlet, 
how those words present them-
selves will speak to the talent 
and mettle of this team. 
Are you convinced?

Wolfe can be reached at 

eewolfe@umich.edu or on 

Twitter at @ethanewolfe.

AARON BAKER/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson has improved weekly while players and coaches have noticed his increased confidence going into Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.

ETHAN 
WOLFE

Zordich has another message for corners

In the vein of its head coach, 
the Michigan football program 
is usually tight-lipped around 
the media.
That is except for Michael 
Zordich, 
who 
has 
twice 
used 
press 
conferences 
at 
Schembechler Hall to call out 
players. In August of 2017, 
the secondary coach said his 
group was “scared to make 
plays” 
before 
questioning 
junior corner Lavert Hill’s 
willingness 
to 
practice 
through injury last spring.
Wednesday, 
Zordich 
was 
at it again. He challenged his 
freshman corners, Myles Sims, 
Gemon Green, Sammy Faustin 
and Vincent Gray.
“They need to grow up and 
get used to being in college 
and understand it’s a little 
different than being a four, 
five-star guy,” Zordich said. 
“You’re now a zero-star guy, 
start 
from 
the 
beginning, 
compete every day and get 
better.”
Even with an injury to 
redshirt freshman Benjamin 
St. 
Juste, 
the 
Wolverines 
returned a deep corner room 
from 2017. Barring injury, it 
would have been surprising to 
see any of those true freshmen 
receive regular playing time. 
Still, 
Zordich 
hasn’t 
been 
especially encouraged by their 
progress.
“They’ve got a long way to 
go,” Zordich said. “As long as 
they understand that, and they 
come here to work every day, 
they’ll be fine because they 
got talent. That’s why they’re 
here.
“They’ve got to earn their 
stripes.”
From 
last 
Fall 
Camp’s 
uncertainty, that’s what Hill 
and sophomore David Long 
did 
in 
starting 
roles 
the 
past two seasons. Michigan 
allowed the fewest passing 
yards nationally in 2017 — a 
mark it’s on pace for this year, 
allowing 134 yards per game.
In last Saturday’s win over 
Maryland, Brandon Watson 
made 
the 
group’s 
biggest 

play. The fifth-year senior 
undercut a slant route in the 
fourth quarter and returned 
it 46 yards for the game’s final 
touchdown.
It 
was 
Watson’s 
second 
interception of the season, 
furthering his role as a reliable 
third option for Zordich.
“Coach 
Brown and I — 
it’s funny, we 
watch film in 
the 
mornings 
from 
the 
night 
before 
— 
there’s 
(Watson) 
causing 
some kind of 
problems some 
way along the 
line in practice,” Zordich said. 
“It gets noticed.”
The 
Wolverines 
have 
occasionally used Watson in 
nickel sets, moving Hill or 
Long inside to cover the slot. 
But that’s not the bread and 
butter for No. 15 Wisconsin, 
which visit Ann Arbor on 

Saturday. 
Like 
Michigan, 
the Badgers are a run-first, 
smash-mouth offense. 
“They’ll get in these sets, 
it’s like rugby,” Zordich said. 
“Everybody’s in there real 
tight running the ball, and then 
all of sudden — boom — play 
action and they’re throwing 
all over. So the 
running 
game 
really 
sets 
up 
their 
passing 
game big-time.”
Zordich 
mentioned 
the 
Wolverines 
are 
focusing 
on 
forcing 
Wisconsin 
into 
predictable 
passing 
situations 
on 
third 
down. 
The presence of running back 
Jonathon Taylor — the Big 
Ten’s leading rusher with 849 
yards and eight touchdowns 
— and potentially the best 
offensive 
line 
in 
college 
football 
could 
make 
that 
difficult.

It’ll be strength-on-strength 
Saturday, as Michigan is one 
of eight teams nationally that 
allows less than 100 rushing 
yards per game.
“Yeah, that’s one thing as 
a defense we pride ourselves 
on: can’t run the ball, you 
gotta beat us passing,” said 
junior safety Josh Metellus 
on Tuesday. “Once get them in 
third down, that’s where we 
want to thrive as a defense. … 
So we just make sure a team 
can’t run the ball, get them in 
third-and-long, get our ends, 
D-tackles doing work.”
Wisconsin 
has 
the 
best 
rushing attack Michigan will 
see in the regular season. 
Though it won’t be the focal 
point in stopping the Badgers’ 
ground 
attack, 
Zordich’s 
group is still preparing for a 
tough battle. 
“These guys, they’re going 
to 
go 
north 
and 
south,” 
Zordich said. “For our corners 
and safeties on the edge, they 
got to fill the lanes. It’s going 
to be more of a challenge.”

‘M’ falls to Penn State

The ball edged just outside 
the reach of a Michigan defender 
straight into the path of Penn 
State’s Kristin Schnurr, who 
took two dribbles forward into 
the space in front of her. Her shot 
whistled low and hard past the 
keeper to the far post. The goal, 
in the 67th minute, tied Sunday’s 
game between the Nittany Lions 
and 
the 
Michigan 
women’s 
soccer team.
Fifteen minutes later, Penn 
State scored the game-winning 
goal in a similar fashion. Frankie 
Tagliaferri 
got 
behind 
the 
defense and curled a shot into 
the high near post. The 2-1 lead 
held for the Nittany Lions, as 
they improved their record to 
9-5 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten.
The Wolverines (7-7, 3-4) 
fell back to .500, but there were 
silver linings for the team.
“As difficult as this loss is, 
I’m actually really proud of the 
way that our team played,” said 
Michigan coach Jennifer Klein. 
“I thought our first half was the 
best 45 minutes that our group 
has played since being here. I just 
felt like it was complete.”
In 
fact, 
Michigan 
did 
dominate the first half with four 
shots on goal and four corners. 
Meanwhile, 
the 
Wolverines 

blanked Penn State in both 
categories. Most of the Michigan 
attack came from out wide — 
several dangerous crosses came 
from both sides, and senior 
winger Reilly Martin had three 
shots on goal.
“Yeah, it’s an area that we 
spent a lot of time on over the 
last couple of weeks because I 
think we have some strengths 
in that area with some of the 
players that are out wide,” Klein 
said. “And so I think that it’s 
just something that we’ve been 
working on.”
The high point of the first 
half, though, was the goal by 
sophomore 
midfielder 
Sarah 
Stratigakis in the ninth minute. 
Winning the ball off a Nittany 
Lions defender, she had a clear 
picture of goal 16 yards out. 
Coolly, she slotted the ball inside 
the far post beyond the reach of 
the keeper.
The goal was what kicked off 
Michigan’s dominant first half, 
and gave them the momentum 
for most of the game.
Momentum, though, changes. 
The Wolverines lost it at the 
most critical time by letting in 
Schnurr’s goal. From then on, the 
game was all Penn State. With 
four shots and another goal, 
the pressure on Michigan was 
mounting — and the Wolverines 
could not recover.

KENT SCHWARTZ
For the Daily 

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior winger Reilly Martin notched three shots on goal in Michigan’s loss.

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior cornerback Brandon Watson returned an undercut slant route against Maryland for a touchdown.

“I feel like 
we’re hitting 
on all cylinders 
right now...”

“They need to 

grow up and get 

used to being in 

college...”

