The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, November 21, 2018 — 7A

Patterson is familiar with, and ready for, Ohio State

When
Shea
Patterson
announced
his
transfer
to
Michigan last December, he
did it in the way any college
student makes announcements:
on Twitter.
As one would expect, the
reactions
were
varied
and
plentiful, and one of them came
from a surprising source.
Ohio
State
quarterback
Dwayne Haskins quote-tweeted
Patterson’s
announcement,
saying: “Rivalry just got a lot
more interesting bro.”
From the outside, it was an
innocuous comment from the
Wolverines’ rival quarterback,
simply commenting on the state
of the rivalry.
But Patterson and Haskins
know each other well. They were
the No. 1 and No. 8 quarterback
recruits,
respectively,
in
the 2016 recruiting class, so
they went to plenty of camps
together.
Tuesday,
Patterson
spoke to media and estimated
that he and Haskins have known
each other since seventh or
eighth grade.
“I would (call us friends),”
Patterson
said.
“We’re
not
gonna be friends on Saturday,
but just like anything else, it’s
football. Off the field. Before the
game, probably not. Later down
the road, yeah.
“But nobody not wearing the
maize and blue is my friend on
Saturday.”
His relationship with the
opposing
quarterback
is
a
reminder that Patterson is more
familiar than a normal transfer
would be with the history
surrounding the program he
joined.
Patterson grew up in Toledo,
Oh. as a Michigan fan — his
father
was
a
season-ticket
holder — and he says his favorite
memories of The Game growing
up were of watching highlights
of Charles Woodson playing the
Buckeyes.
It makes sense Patterson

would look back to those games,
since Michigan is 2-15 in its last
17 matchups with Ohio State.
The last real good Wolverine
memories from The Game are
the Woodson days from 1995-
1997.
Patterson is familiar with that
history too, and he knows what
Saturday’s edition of The Game
means to fans and players alike.
However, he also recognizes
there is more than just bragging
rights at stake this season.
“Obviously, everybody knows
how big of a game it is and how
much of a rivalry this is to us
and them,” Patterson said. “But
there’s just a lot more at stake.
There’s a Big Ten title and a
national playoff spot, so not too
sure how often both of us have
that opportunity. So there’s a
lot more at stake than just the
rivalry.”
In that, Patterson is correct.
Michigan
has
a
chance
to send itself to the Big Ten

Championship
and
keep
its
national
championship
aspirations alive for at least
another week.
And, Patterson is to thank for
that.
Quarterback play has severely
handicapped
the
Wolverines
in past iterations of The Game.
Last season, especially, comes
to mind, when a consistent
quarterback may have been
enough to push Michigan over
the top in a close matchup.
Patterson has thrown for 2,177
yards, 18 touchdowns and just
four interceptions this season.
He has the 17th-best passing
efficiency and the 19th-best
completion percentage in the
country.
His ability to run the ball
has changed the dynamic of
the Wolverines’ offense, and
what they are capable of doing
completely.
“Shea has been an integral
part of this team,” said fifth-

year senior linebacker Noah
Furbush. “Really just being an
anchor on offense for us. He’s
kind of that guy that makes
plays for us. He is what you want
a quarterback to be — somebody
who controls the game, makes
plays for you when you need it
and really is a leader for your
offense and for the team as a
whole.”
Patterson’s
impact
is
undeniable, and he can make an
impact on Michigan’s history
Saturday — if he can do what no
Wolverine quarterback, or team,
has been able to do since 2000 —
beat Ohio State in Columbus.
If there was any Michigan
team who had a good chance
of doing that, it’s this season’s
team, and that is, in part,
because of Patterson.
In
that
sense,
it
seems
Haskins may have been right
back in December. Patterson
has made this rivalry game a lot
more interesting.

Michigan ousts Lehigh,
21-13 in first home meet

Wrestlers swipe at each other’s
ankles, referees circle the mat and
AC/DC’s Thunderstruck blasts
from Crisler Center’s speakers.
Michigan wrestling is back in
Ann Arbor.
In the first home dual meet of
the season, themed ‘Wrestle ‘n
Roll,’ the fifth-ranked Michigan
wrestling team (2-0) beat sixth-
ranked Lehigh (0-1), 21-13, with
key wins from sophomore Drew
Mattin, redshirt junior Myles
Amine and redshirt freshman
Jelani Embree.
The Wolverines started the
meet
strong
with
dominant
wins in the 133 and 141-pound
weight classes, delivered with
gritty takedowns by redshirt
junior Stevan Micic and redshirt
sophomore
Kanen
Storr,
respectively. The wins swung
Michigan’s score to 6-0 early in
the meet.
Despite
initial
momentum,
redshirt senior Malik Amine
faced a tough opponent in the
149-pound division and came
away from the second period tied
2-2. Amine left the match with
an injury soon after and went
through
concussion
protocol,
dropping the match by default
and evening the team score to
6-6.
Frustrated by the default loss
in a close match, the Wolverines
came back with a 9-7 win by
redshirt junior Ben Lamantia and
a 5-3 win by redshirt junior Logan
Massa. Michigan began taking
control of the meet, after Myles
Amine’s 5-4 win over Lehigh’s
Jordan Kutler in the 174-pound
division. Amine and Kutler, both
All-Americans and ranked in the
top-10 nationally for their weight
class, wrestled each other twice
last year — each earning a win.
Amine delivered a takedown to
start the match, which Lehigh’s
coach challenged. Despite the

objections, the referees upheld
the call and Kutler responded
with a takedown, tying the score
at 2-2. Quick footwork at the
start of the second period led to
a Michigan escape, and a final
takedown in the last 30 seconds
captured the win for Amine and
pushed the overall score to 15-6.
“I knew that if I went out there
and stayed offensive that I’d come
away with a win,” Amine said. “I
wrestled a very similar match to
how I did at the NCAA’s against
him, so it feels good.”
Embree continued Michigan’s
success, ousting his opponent 7-3
after early takedowns.
Though the Wolverines lost
their next two matches in the
197-pound
and
heavyweight
divisions, Mattin rounded out
the meet with a dramatic pin
and scrappy 3-2 win. Mattin’s
win brought the team score to
21-13 and secured the win for
Michigan — a hard fought result
considering the letdown after the
meet was postponed from Friday.
“We won against Central
(Michigan) and then we had a lot
of buildup, and I feel like our guys
were really keyed up to wrestle
Friday night,” said Michigan
coach Sean Bormet. “Continuing
to wrestle hard and work over
the full seven minutes will be an
important piece going into Las
Vegas.”
Myles Amine seconded the
disappointment of the change in
date, but noted the importance
of
the
win
on
the
team’s
preparations for the Nov. 30
tournament in Las Vegas.
“You really just have to not
focus on those things and just
focus on what’s relevant, which
is just showing up and wrestling,
whether that’s on a Friday or a
Sunday,” Amine said. “Lehigh
was a team that beat us up pretty
bad last year, so to turn around
and gain some momentum going
into Las Vegas is a good win for
the team.”

For Gary, frustration for last two years lingers

Tuesday afternoon, Rashan
Gary faced reporters with a
measured edge. Asked about
his brief recruitment with
Ohio State, Gary provided
terse answers.
“What else do you want
me to tell you about that?” he
chided.
With the biggest game of his
college career to date looming,
Gary had only one thing on his
mind.
“Everybody
knows
what
week it is,” he said. “I’m
focused. I’m trying to hurry
up, get back to watching film.
It’s one of those types of
weeks.”
The junior defensive end
will anchor the top-ranked
defense in the country heading
into Saturday’s de facto Big
Ten East title game. At this
point,
everybody
knows
what’s on the line: a spot in
the Big Ten Championship
game against Northwestern,
College Football Playoff hopes,
perhaps the balance of power
in the conference for the
foreseeable future.
So, in short, just about
everything.
It mirrors the game two
years ago — Gary’s freshman
year — in which Michigan fell,
30-27, in double overtime. For
those around at the time, Gary
among them, that heartbreak
festers.
“My freshman year, we were
close to winning. A couple of
plays went sideways,” he said.
“It’s just that one big play
that
everybody
remembers.
I don’t want to talk about it,
but
everybody
knows
that
play. That’s what I keep in the
back of my head, and I know
my brothers keep that in the
back of their head and use it
as motivation going into this
game.”
“That one big play,” of
course,
was
JT
Barrett’s
fourth down conversion. The
referee awarded Barrett a first
down,
despite
inconclusive
replays questioning the spot
of the ball. Gary doesn’t want

to talk about it, but the trauma
still lingers. Asked about his
recollection of those moments,
the memories unspool.
“Man.
Bring
me
back,”
he
said.
“I
was
highly
disappointed,
because
I’m
looking up at the screen and to
myself I’m like, ‘Nah, can’t be a
first down.’ Then they end up
getting it. It’s
a little slap on
the face, but you
know what it is,
it is what it is.”
A
year
later,
more
disappointment.
Michigan
led
14-0 after the
fourth
quarter
and
appeared
poised to upset
the Buckeyes. Led by backup
quarterback Dwayne Haskins,
Ohio
State
subsequently
stormed past a tired Michigan
defense.
For the Wolverines, that’s
what this rivalry has been for
the better part of two decades:
annual frustration.

“We came out hot to a
good start (last year), then
we just started making small
mistakes,” Gary said. “And
small mistakes end up putting
points on the board. They
started gaining big yardage
plays. That’s something I take
apart from last year. This year
we’re a different team, and I
feel like we’re
closer
as
a
team. We know
what we need to
do and we know
what we need to
take care of.”
Gary
says
that this year, it
feels different.
This is no lip
service.
Michigan has
marched its way through the
“Revenge Tour” with utter
dominance, rattling off nine
consecutive dominant wins
after the loss to Notre Dame.
For one, it has quarterback
Shea Patterson running the
show, who is in the midst of one
of the best statistical seasons

by a Michigan quarterback
in several years. Gary called
him “a piece of the team we
needed.”
The
Wolverines
enter Columbus a four-point
favorite for good reason.
And Gary, for his part,
appears ready to make his
mark. He returned from a
lingering
shoulder
injury
three weeks ago against Penn
State.
Last
week
against
Indiana, he notched 1.5 sacks,
tossing
around
offensive
linemen the way he’s shown in
flashes during his three years.
He
won’t
make
any
guarantees or offer any baited
one-line zingers. But Gary and
his teammates aren’t hiding
their confidence. What makes
this year different?
“Just our brotherhood. I
feel like how our swagger is
and what we want as a team
goal.”
And for Gary specificially,
there are conversations to
have, NFL decisions to make
in the near future. No time for
that now, though.
He’s got film to watch.

Wolverines cap season
at NCAA Championships

The wintry white of the Thomas
Zimmer Championship Course in
Madison, Wis. was streaked with
maize and blue on Saturday as the
men’s and women’s cross country
teams competed in the NCAA
Championships.
After its fourth consecutive
Great Lakes regional title last
weekend, the No. 6 women’s team
capped off its 2018 season on the
national podium with a fourth-
place finish behind Colorado, New
Mexico and Oregon. The No. 20
men’s team beat its ranking with a
19th-place finish — the fourth top-
20 finish in the last five seasons.
Redshirt
freshman
Camille
Davre and fifth-year senior Avery
Evenson led the women on the
snow-covered course at 29th and
38th, respectively. Those under-40
finishes qualify Davre and Evenson
for All-American titles.
“It definitely was tough in that
the course had a few inches of snow
on it,” said Michigan women’s
coach Mike McGuire. “But that’s
something that everyone had to
navigate.
“We
were
well
prepared
knowing that a midwestern city
like
Madison
would
possibly
present those elements to us, and
being from Michigan, it isn’t like
we haven’t been in it before.”
This strength in the elements
was evident in the Wolverines’
recovery from a difficult start to
the six-kilometer race.
“At the start, it felt a little dicey
just with the snow and everyone
getting out pretty quick,” Davre
said. “We kind of got swarmed
because we were in the middle
of the pack, but I think looking
back I was surprised at how good
I felt at the halfway point and I
kept moving up, looking ahead to
the next pack and trying to catch
them.”
In the tough terrain of the last
two kilometers, Michigan settled
into its fourth place position —
which held until the end of the race
— and edged out the Stanford team
that had been nipping at their heels

in the final stretch. Ultimately,
Michigan finished seven runners
in the top 100.
The men’s team was led by
All-American
sophomore
Jack
Aho’s 35th-place finish and also
highlighted by true freshman John
Travers’ 79th-place finish in just
the second ten-kilometer race of
his cross country career. After a
strong start, Aho maintained his
place in the pack in the last five
kilometers.
Aho’s performance marked a
significant improvement from last
year’s race.
“I had run here last year and
finished 122nd, which was alright
but nothing crazy,” Aho said. “So I
took that experience and knew this
year I wanted to get out hard and
put myself in contention to be All-
American right away.
“You just have to keep your foot
on the pedal I guess — that’s how I’d
describe my strategy throughout.”
Despite
Aho’s
strong
performance, the men’s team
believed that there was some room
for improvement. Its 19th-place
finish was the culmination of
a season that saw both ups and
downs.
“We didn’t necessarily run our
best race yesterday,” Aho said. “But
I really don’t think we can hang
our heads at finishing 19th in the
nation.”
“I think it was a good season for
us to build off of — we graduated
three really high quality seniors
from the team last year and so
we’ve been in a bit of a rebuilding
mode this year,” said men’s
coach Kevin Sullivan. “We’ve got
everybody back next year and
we’re adding some really good
parts to the team, so I think the
future is very bright for us moving
forward.”
Both teams ultimately felt their
seasons ended on a positive note, in
spite of the snowy conditions.
“It really did help that we were
wearing our maize bows,” Davre
said. “Just having those colors —
the maize and blue — against the
snow to keep pulling me and the
others forward throughout the
race was a tremendous help.”

MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor

CROSS COUNTRY

AIDAN WOUTAS
For the Daily

WRESTLING

LILY FRIEDMAN
For the Daily

MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor

CARTER FOX/Daily
Junior defensive end Rashan Gary had 1.5 sacks last week in the Wolverines’ 31-20 win over Indiana in Ann Arbor.

“‘Nah, can’t be
a first down.’
Then they end
up getting it.”

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson has improved Michigan’s quartback game this season, throwing for 18 touchdowns.