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...”