8 — Friday, October 11, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Preview: What to watch for as Michigan takes on Illinois this Saturday

As noon approaches Saturday 
afternoon, 
you’ll 
likely 
find 
yourself in front a TV.
You won’t quite know why, 
with Oklahoma-Texas just a few 
channels away, but you’ll be tuned 
into No. 16 Michigan’s trip to 
Illinois.
The Fighting Illini haven’t 
eclipsed .500 since 2007 and 
carry a three-game losing streak 
that began with a 34-31 indignity 
against Eastern Michigan nearly 
a month ago. Tickets for their 
season 
finale 
are 
currently 
going for $8 on StubHub, if you 
need a sense of the fanbase’s 
current enthusiasm. Their one 
ostensible hope at the beginning 
of the season, former Michigan 
quarterback Brandon Peters, is 
questionable with an upper-body 
injury.
And yet, football season is 
12 games, so you’ll be watching 
anyway, eager to see whether the 
Wolverines win by 20 or 30.
And when you do, you’ll want 
something to keep your interest 
after Michigan goes up multiple 
scores. The Daily breaks down 
what to watch for:
Michigan’s quarterback play
On the first play of Michigan’s 
third drive against Iowa last 
weekend, Shea Patterson dropped 
back and unleashed a deep bomb. 
Fifty-one yards downfield, Nico 
Collins beat his defender on a 
post route, catching the ball in 
stride and taking the Wolverines 
into the red zone for a second 
consecutive drive.
That was with 10:30 left in the 
first half. For the rest of the game, 
Patterson completed just 12 of 
20 passes for 94 yards, with no 
touchdowns and an interception.
The result was the worst passer 
rating of his Michigan career, 
continuing a season in which he’s 
down in nearly every statistical 
category — except interceptions. 
Then, Tuesday evening, Patterson 
came out and said he’s content 
with his play and that the 

Wolverines’ offense — averaging 
7.2 fewer points per game than 
last season — is “right where we 
want to be,” citing discrepancies 
between the practice and game 
products.
Saturday 
against 
Illinois, 
Michigan will have its next 
opportunity to translate that 
product.
There’s a limit, of course, to 
how much the Wolverines can 
show against a team that ranks 
98th in passing yards per attempt 
allowed. Two weeks ago against 
Rutgers, Patterson had his best 
game of the season, seemingly 
turning a corner before struggling 
against Iowa.
Still, 
Saturday 
is 
another 
chance to show his ability to 
perform in Josh Gattis’ offense 
and build momentum going into 
next week’s trip to No. 10 Penn 
State.
The 
running 
game’s 
effectiveness
Early in Michigan’s win over 
Iowa, the Wolverines’ offense 
found consistent success thanks 
to a healthy run game. When 
freshman running back Zach 
Charbonnet punched into the end 
zone to give Michigan a 10-0 lead, 
he had five carries for 27 yards 
and looked good doing it.
Pregame talk over an even 
carry split between Charbonnet, 
sophomore Hassan Haskins and 
sophomore Christian Turner had 
dissolved into Charbonnet’s day 
and it was working.
Three hours later, a look down 
at the stat sheet revealed the 
Wolverines had just 3.6 yards 
per carry. The scariest part is 
that’s their highest average since 
finishing with 5.2 in the season 
opener against Middle Tennessee 
State. Michigan’s yards per carry 
in the four games since: 2.4, 2.1, 
3.4, 3.6.
“I feel like in the run game, 
explosive plays just come down to 
hand placement,” said fifth-year 
senior left tackle Jon Runyan. 
“Whether it’s by a guard keeping 
his block or myself or (right tackle 
Jalen Mayfield) keeping our head 

inside the defender or where best 
we can find a seam.”
Against Illinois, the Wolverines 
won’t need an efficient ground 
game to stroll to an easy win. But 
this is their last chance before 
back-to-back games against Penn 
State and No. 9 Notre Dame to 
show they can be productive on 
the ground and make life a little 
easier for Patterson.
How Michigan’s run defense 
holds up against Reggie Corbin
On the other side, Illinois has 
had no such struggles with its 
yards per carry. One of its few 
bright spots over the past two 
seasons has been fifth-year senior 
running back Reggie Corbin.
In his first year as the Illini’s 
starting running back a year ago, 
Corbin burst onto the scene with 
an incredible 8.5 yards per carry 
in a nine-touchdown season. He 
hasn’t quite reached those levels 

this season, but still has 6.6 yards 
per carry and two 130-yard games.
Last weekend, when Michigan 
held Iowa to one yard on 30 
carries (66 yards excluding sacks), 
it was hailed as a bounce-back 
performance for a unit that was 
heavily criticized after giving up 
359 rushing yards to Wisconsin 
in a 35-14 loss. The difference, 
though, is Iowa — despite running 
a similar offense to the Badgers’ — 
doesn’t have a running back like 
Jonathan Taylor.
That’s not to say Corbin is 
Taylor — no one in the Big Ten is. 
But with redshirt junior defensive 
tackle Michael Dwumfour in his 
second game back from injury, 
this is a prime opportunity for 
Michigan’s run defense to show 
that its improvement is real.
Can Dax Hill continue strong 
performances?
Through three games, Daxton 

Hill — Michigan’s prized five-
star freshman safety — was 
conspicuously absent from the 
Wolverines’ secondary.
Two 
weeks 
ago, 
against 
Rutgers, an injury to junior 
J’Marick Woods gave Hill his 
first shot at significant playing 
time. He remained behind senior 
Josh Metellus and junior Brad 
Hawkins at safety, but the injury 
allowed Hill to slot in when either 
needed a play off.
Now, Hill has moved to the 
top of the depth chart at nickel, 
according to Jim Harbaugh.
Against Iowa, he played the role 
well beyond a typical freshman’s 
capabilities, notably breaking up 
a fourth-down pass attempt on a 
crossing route as the Hawkeyes 
drove into Michigan territory late 
in the second half with a chance 
to tie.
“He had six tackles, he showed 

up on the statline and taking 
steps, taking strides like everyone 
expected him to,” Harbaugh said. 
“I think it’s been a very good 
progression, seeing improvement 
from him each week.”
With Woods now in his second 
week back from injury, continued 
strong performances from Hill 
would likely indicate he’s moved 
into third on the safety depth 
chart in addition to his top spot at 
nickel.
Score prediction
Despite 
Michigan’s 
recent 
offensive struggles, it’s hard to see 
the Wolverines losing to a team 
that’s lost three straight games to 
unranked opposition. Michigan 
will be good enough on both sides 
of the ball to avoid raising any 
eyebrows while also failing to 
placate any of the chief concerns 
looming over this team.
Michigan, 34-14

How the ‘M’ defense bounced back

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, 
Josh Metellus sat expressionless 
behind a podium in Madison.
The 
senior 
safety 
had 
just played four of the most 
embarrassing quarters of his 
career, helpless as Wisconsin 
beat up Michigan for 35 points 
and 359 yards on the ground. A 
defense that had faced another 
round of losing its best talent 
to the NFL was seemingly at its 
breaking point.
“I think we pride ourselves on 
being the best defense in college 
football,” Metellus said that day. 
“And these last couple weeks, we 
haven’t shown that.”
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh knew as much. In 
the days after that game, with 
the whole team watching and 
the whole room still feeling the 
sting of the loss, he called out 
the defensive line — the group 
the Badgers physically exposed. 
Harbaugh 
wasn’t 
angry, 
at least not outwardly. The 
message was simple: Step it up.
“He just challenged us as 
football players, as competitors,” 
said redshirt junior defensive 
tackle Michael Dwumfour. “Just 
challenged us in a great way.”
To 
get 
called 
out 
as 
a 
competitor by Harbaugh, a man 
who often views everything 
as a competition, is no small 
deal. This, remember, is a coach 
who tried to beat his players in 
running up a nearby hill at San 
Diego. He’s someone who, upon 
arriving at Michigan, instituted 
competition into every nook 
and cranny of the program 
— four-hour practices and a 
“submarine” during fall camp, 
practically cutting off contact 
with the outside world.
For any issues you could point 
to with Harbaugh, it’s hard to 
believe any of his teams ever 
struggled to fight. Certainly not 
at Michigan. Unsurprisingly, 
these issues didn’t last.
In 
the 
run-up 
to 
that 
Wisconsin game, Brown talked 
about the relief of playing a 
more conventional team after 
facing Army’s triple-option and 

a 10-personnel-heavy Middle 
Tennessee. At the time, it came 
off as brash confidence. And in 
the wake of the loss, it seemed 
like that confidence was fleeting.
Now, after two more games 
against relatively conventional 
opponents, 
with 
Brown’s 
defense ranked second in SP+, it 
seems he simply jumped the gun 
by a week or so.
Brown has been coaching 
football since 1977, and he’s 
spent most of that time as a 
defensive coordinator. He has a 
routine down to a science.
He starts preparing for a 
given team about two weeks in 
advance. He doesn’t like focusing 
on one team before he’s played 
another, but it’s a necessity of his 
job. As part of that, he spends a 
chunk of Sundays and Mondays 
drawing out about 250 practice 
cards for the scout team — by 
hand. It helps him learn the 
opposing scheme and how to 
beat it. “Nobody else draws,” 
Brown said. “... It’s a quirk.”
It’s a safe assumption to say 
the disparity between cards 
detailing Wisconsin’s, Rutgers’ 
and Iowa’s offenses were next 
to nothing compared to what 
Michigan dealt with for its first 
three opponents. And it doesn’t 
hurt that the defensive line 
— in particular, Dwumfour — 
has gotten healthier and more 
confident.
A group that got pushed off 
the ball every time the Badgers 
handed it off turned Iowa 
quarterback Nate Stanley into 
a speed bag, peppering him to 
the tune of eight sacks. The 

Hawkeyes finished Saturday’s 
game with a single rushing 
yard. Defensive ends Aidan 
Hutchinson and Kwity Paye, 
tasked with the impossible job 
of replacing Chase Winovich 
and Rashan Gary, look like stars 
in the making.
“He is unbelievable,” Brown 
said of Hutchinson.
As for Paye?
“He is the best spread run 
defender I’ve ever seen.
“Why do I say that? Cause 
you can’t fool him. Zone read, 
close out the zone, chase the 
quarterback from the inside out. 
Check mark. 
“Bluff? 
Now, 
that 
puller 
comes back and instead of 
him trying to kick you out, he 
bypasses you. Breaks go on, 
chase the quarterback from the 
inside out. Check mark. He can 
do all those things like that. It’s 
uncanny.”
It’s one thing for Michigan 
to perform at a high level. It’s 
entirely another to do it against 
Iowa, and another still to do it 
in the way the Wolverines did. 
Dominating the entire game 
so clearly that a coach who, 
two weeks earlier, called out 
the line’s competitiveness in 
front of the team, decided to go 
conservative with the offense 
late so the defense could win it 
the game.
That 
doesn’t 
mean 
there 
aren’t still questions to answer 
and better competition coming. 
But for now, Michigan is right 
back where it wants to be.
One of the best defenses in 
college football.

Joe Milton waiting for his chance

Joe Milton wore a band on his 
wrist when he faced the media 
after the 2018 Spring Game — 
the 6-foot-5 quarterback peering 
down on a semicircle of reporters 
gathered nearby. 
“Just be you,” the wristband 
read. It complemented regular 
reminders in his phone connoting 
the same message.
“I’m 
just 
being 
me,” 
he 
explained. “That’s why I have these 
wristbands. I’m just being me, 
regardless. Competition, as well. 
We all just compete. Having fun.”
The life of a backup quarterback 
demands 
that 
kind 
of 
self-
reflection, coupled with a steadfast 
belief 
that 
one 
well-timed 
opportunity could change the 
course of your career.
Joe Milton’s chance is as close 
as it’s ever been these days, having 
meandered his way up the depth 
chart by equal parts fortune and 
persistence. Redshirt sophomore 
Dylan McCaffery has yet to return 
from 
his 
concussion 
suffered 
against Wisconsin, and as such, 
Milton has inherited more reps, 
both in practice and game. He 
completed three of four passes in 
an appearance against Rutgers, 
tallying 59 passing yards and two 
total touchdowns (one rushing). A 
brief stint, sure, but an undeniably 
encouraging one.
“It felt great, you know, just 
getting the opportunity to show 
what I have and show what I can 
do for the team,” he said Tuesday. 
“It just felt great.”
Milton’s 
merits 
are 
visibly 
obvious — an NFL frame, an arm 
capable of chucking the football 85 
yards, enough mobility to trouble 
defenses. He contemplated taking 
up baseball in the past and believes 
he could step onto a mound and 
throw 93 miles per hour on the 
dot. His receivers in high school, 
left with dislocated fingers, surely 
wouldn’t question it. The raw 
talent has always been there. It’s 
what made him a consensus top-10 
quarterback in the 2018 recruiting 
class.
Still, the shortcomings in his 
arsenal have always been just 
as evident. Milton has never 

completed more than 50 percent of 
his passes in a single season, dating 
back to his freshman year of high 
school. His 35-to-19 touchdown-
to-interception ratio in high school, 
while far from disastrous, falls well 
short of the requisite production 
for a top-flight recruit. 
There were never any illusions 
that he would be a guy who could 
produce right away. As such, his 
development 
has 
taken 
place 
largely away from the public eye, 
confined inside the insulated walls 
of Schembechler Hall. What is said 
publicly, then, must be taken at 
face-value.
For now, whether by sincerity or 
necessity, the reviews are positive.
“He’s worked on (accuracy),” 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said 
two weeks ago. “There’s different 
ball flights, different appropriate 
throws. Not everything is a line 
drive fastball. There’s gotta be a lot 
of elevation ... to make a catchable 
ball for a runner. Joe’s responded 
and is really working on it. It’s not 
an easy thing to do.”
Milton 
believes 
all 
that’s 
standing in his way is opportunity. 
He came to school keenly aware 
of the need to improve accuracy, a 
process he deemed “pretty hard” 
due to his natural arm strength, but 
one he’s worked tirelessly at. 
When he came to campus, 
Harbaugh 
told 
him 
to 
stop 
watching the ball and keep his 
focus on the receivers. That, he 
says, has guided his maturation as 
a passer rather than a thrower, a 
crucial distinction any quarterback 
can elucidate.
“I noticed that (I’d improved my 
touch) when my coaches started 
getting fired up,” Milton said. 
“They started jumping when I put 

the ball out there. That’s how I 
know I improve. I know for myself 
when I got better, then the ball just 
dropped. I kind of just stopped 
looking at the ball in the air so that 
I know when it’s going to land or 
when it’s not going to land.”
Added Harbaugh, who has 
seen 
dozens 
of 
quarterbacks 
develop in his time: “We can all 
think of quarterbacks throughout 
the history of football that never 
did be able to get, to understand 
throwing with touch or throwing 
with the fastball when needed 
the appropriate throw for the 
appropriate 
down. 
But 
he’s 
working really hard at it, and it’s 
coming along really well. Definitely 
has a lot of arm talent. 
“It’s really important to him, 
which is a must.”
Milton’s 
true 
moment 
of 
reckoning will likely arrive in the 
spring and fall camp to come, when 
the starting job will re-open with 
senior Shea Patterson gone and 
Harbaugh will inevitably declare 
open competition.
Soon 
thereafter, 
a 
true 
meritocracy will yield a verdict — 
and, ultimately, deduce whether 
this developmental project was 
successful.
When asked in the spring what 
needed improvement, Milton said, 
“moving my feet quicker and just 
thinking faster.” Both issues, he 
posited, that would be hammered 
out with increased reps. He 
believes that’s now happened, that 
he’s ready if called upon.
“Everything else is fine,” Milton 
said. “That’s pretty much what I 
need to improve is my touch. I got 
that done, now I’m just executing 
plays.”
Executing plays. And waiting.

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Defensive coordinator Don Brown’s unit has improved in the last two weeks.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Milton has worked on his accuracy.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior quarterback Shea Patterson had the worst passer rating of his Michigan career against Iowa last week, though the Wolverines won, 10-3.

