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Sports
Friday, December 6, 2019 — 7
Breaking down Michigan’s bowl destination
As much as it feels like
Michigan’s season ended with
that performance against Ohio
State last Saturday, there’s still one
more game — a consolation bowl,
somewhere sunny and warm. Get
hype!
Until Sunday’s selection show
(or rather, an hour or so before the
selection show, when someone
inevitably leaks the placements),
it’s a guessing game where the
Wolverines will go and who they
will play. But as championship
weekend approaches, the picture
has begun to come into focus.
For any team that doesn’t make
a New Year’s Six bowl (yes, this
includes Michigan), there are a set
of bowls that are obligated to select
Big Ten teams. They essentially
“draft” teams in a predetermined
order, and unlike New Year’s Six
bowls, are not obligated to take
teams based on their records.
Instead,
bowls
usually
select
teams based on a combination of
two factors: how big the fanbase
is (a bigger fanbase means more
money for the bowl) and which
matchups would drive eyeballs to
TVs (again, money is a bowl’s main
determinant, and anyone who tells
you otherwise is lying). The order
of selection for Big Ten bowls goes
as such: Citrus, Outback, Holiday,
Gator, Pinstripe, Redbox, Quick
Lane, Armed Forces.
But in order to make its
matchups a little more exciting
(read:
in
hopes
of
avoiding
Michigan playing Florida for the
28304982th time), the Big Ten has
a more specific set of rules about
which teams bowls can select. The
gist of it is that no bowl is allowed
to take the same team as it did the
year before (this doesn’t affect the
Wolverines, since the Peach Bowl
is a Playoff bowl this year and,
well, Michigan isn’t going there)
and that all bowls must take five
different teams over the six-year
span from 2014-19. That means
the Outback Bowl, which has had
Iowa twice in that period, can’t
select any team that has played
in it since 2014. That includes the
Wolverines.
We’ll also get this out of the
way: Michigan isn’t going to the
Pinstripe, Redbox, Quick Lane or
Armed Forces bowls. Too much
earning power.
Now, let’s break down where
the Wolverines actually could go.
The Citrus Bowl
The Citrus Bowl, which is on
Jan. 1 in Orlando, has its pick of Big
Ten teams that aren’t good enough
for the New Year’s Six. There’s
been a lot of smoke lately that the
bowl wants the Wolverines, which
would make sense given that the
fanbase travels well. The Citrus
Bowl could pick Michigan even
if Wisconsin gets left out of the
New Year’s Six — and there would
be a precedent for that, with the
Outback Bowl picking the 8-4
Wolverines over a 9-3 Michigan
State that beat them in 2017.
Should
Michigan
head
to
Orlando, it would face a team from
the SEC, which, if the latest College
Football Playoff rankings are to be
believed, would be … Alabama.
So. Ready to relive the 2000
Orange Bowl ad nauseam, then
witness another season-ending
blowout?
To be fair, this isn’t a foregone
conclusion. The Crimson Tide
could make the New Year’s Six,
which would probably end with
the Wolverines playing Auburn
(though that matchup doesn’t
inspire a ton more confidence).
And if a Big Ten team (likely
Wisconsin) makes the Orange
Bowl, the conference will be forced
to hand over its spot in the Citrus
Bowl to the ACC. Or, the Citrus
Bowl could surprise us all and
decide to pick the Badgers.
That would make Michigan’s
most likely destination…
The Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is on Dec. 28
in San Diego, and the only time
the Wolverines have ever played
in this bowl was in 1984, when
6-5 Michigan had to play against
undefeated,
top-ranked
BYU.
(It lost, while the Cougars were
named national champions.)
This bowl would love to have the
Wolverines, especially because its
opponent would be a Pac-12 team
— and not just any Pac-12 team, but
probably USC, which would be a
perfect opportunity for the bowl to
sell ’80s Rose Bowl nostalgia.
The confounding factor here is
Iowa, which, due to the Big Ten’s
aforementioned rule about repeat
bowl appearances, cannot go to
the Outback, Gator or Pinstripe
bowls. So selecting Michigan for
the Holiday Bowl would mean the
Hawkeyes getting majorly screwed
with a trip to the Redbox Bowl.
Of course, the Holiday Bowl
doesn’t really care if Iowa gets
screwed, but the Big Ten — which
has the final say in all bowl
selections involving its conference
— might. If it doesn’t want Iowa
getting bumped, the Wolverines
could find themselves in…
The Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is on Jan. 2 in
Jacksonville (#DUUUUVAL). The
last time Michigan played in this
bowl, they got blown out so badly
Rich Rodriguez was fired. So, the
bar is low.
Should they find themselves
here, the Wolverines would play
a team from the SEC. There’s less
clarity as to what that team would
be than there is with the other
bowls, but recent projections have
offered up Tennessee, Kentucky
and Mississippi State — all teams
that finished 6-6 or 7-5.
That would seem to be the easiest
destination for the Wolverines,
matchup-wise, but consider that
whichever middling SEC team got
matched with Michigan would
have hell of a lot more motivation
than the still-reeling-from-Ohio-
State Wolverines.
Michigan’s bowl destination
fate is out of its hands now. All
that’s left to do is see what the
selection committee says.
Juwan Howard readies
for first Big Ten clash
Juwan
Howard
had
some
summer homework to attend to.
He had just been hired as the
new coach of the Michigan men’s
basketball team, and somewhere
among his laundry list of new
responsibilities was getting to
know his opponents.
And so he got to work, scouting
the other Big Ten programs the
Wolverines would have to face
this season.
“I’ve looked at the big picture
as far as what I’m up against,
what our goals are and what we’re
trying to achieve,” Howard said.
“I knew this summer that I would
have to get into some of the teams
we’d normally face throughout
the conference.”
That process will finally be
put to use on Friday night when
Michigan opens up Big Ten play
against Iowa at Crisler Center.
Having
seemingly
worked
through the schedule sequentially,
Howard scouted the Hawkeyes
before anyone else.
“I have a lot of notes written
down that I’m reflecting on
now to prepare for tomorrow’s
game,” Howard said. “This wasn’t
something I started a few days
ago.”
Put on Iowa’s tape from this
season though, and it’s strengths
are rather evident — shooting and
size.
Coming off the back of a road
win at Syracuse, the 6-2 Hawkeyes
enter Friday averaging 79.1 points
per game while shooting 35
percent from beyond the arc.
“They
have
great
outside
shooting and it comes from one
through five,” Howard said. “It’s
not just one guy that shoots the
ball well, it’s all five guys in their
starting lineup.”
As for their size, imposing
6-foot-11
junior
Luka
Garza
is averaging 20 points and 10
rebounds. Cordell Pemsl and Ryan
Kriener are also lanky options off
the bench.
The Wolverines’ impressive
start to the season has launched
them from a team predicted to
finish in the middle of the pack,
to now one of the conference
favorites.
As
Howard
knows
though, the Big Ten features a
number of solid, experienced
teams like Iowa that Michigan
can’t overlook.
“It’s
a
super-competitive,
physical
conference,”
Howard
said. “A conference that on any
given night if you don’t bring your
A game, you’re getting beat.
“That’s what I can remember
from my time playing here.
That’s the reason I chose the Big
Ten. Nothing against the ACC,
Pac-12 or the Big East, but I just
always thought the Big Ten fit
me. I wanted to be a part of that
atmosphere and that level of
competition.”
Howard now gets a second
stab at competing for a Big
Ten championship — the only
exception being this time, it’ll
be from the sideline as he goes
head-to-head with some of the
best coaches in the country.
Thankfully for Howard, alongside
a veteran-laden roster he has
an experienced coaching staff.
Associate
head
coach
Phil
Martelli has been around the
block a few times, assistant
Howard Eisley is familiar with
high-level competition and Saddi
Washington, the lone carryover
from John Beilein’s staff, has now
spent three years coaching in the
Big Ten.
“It’s
great
to
have
Saddi
Washington,
who’s
familiar
with every opponent we’re going
to face,” Howard said. “He has
experience and he’s helping guys
like
myself,
Howard
(Eisley)
and Phil (Martelli). At the end
of the day we have a great staff
that’s been very active wherever
they can to help us prepare for
tomorrow.”
Wolverines prepare for pivotal
series against No. 6 Penn State
Earlier
this
week,
Mel
Pearson answered a phone call.
The caller talked about how
the Michigan hockey team (5-9-
2 overall, 1-6-1 Big Ten) has
looked good at times this year,
and that it would be nice if it
can get a split this weekend in
the home series against No. 6
Penn State (11-4-0, 6-2-0), the
leader of the conference.
Such a statement did not sit
well with Pearson, who expects
more from the Wolverines.
“And
I
said,
‘What?’
”
Pearson said. “ ‘What? Excuse
me?’ We just play one at a time.
We’ll show up Friday, and hey,
they’re the favorites. Nobody
expects us to beat them. We’ll
see what happens Friday.”
There’s
validity
to
the
caller’s comments. The Nittany
Lions are an imposing group.
They returned their top five
scorers from last season and
have scored 4.6 goals a game,
which ranks second in the
nation. Last year’s team had
similar offensive success but
was tarnished by one of the
nation’s worst defenses.
A lot has changed since then,
though. Penn State is ranked
19th in goals against, allowing
2.4 a night — a substantial
difference from 3.56 last season.
And with that improvement,
Michigan
is
slated
for
a
challenging weekend.
Fortunately
for
the
Wolverines,
their
defensive
unit has been one of the lone
bright spots throughout this
season. They’ll need to build off
that to make the most out of the
series.
“This year overall we’ve
been doing a really good job
limiting teams to chances and
goals
against,”
said
senior
defenseman Griffin Luce. “So
I think just continuing to do
what we’ve been doing all year.
But making sure, especially
getting pucks out, making sure
that they definitely get deep
in their zone so that we don’t
have those transitions on the
turnovers. We just got to make
sure that we don’t give them
any free opportunities to use
the offensive instincts that they
have.”
Most of those instincts stem
from Penn State forwards Nate
Sucese and Evan Barratt — the
team’s top-two point scorers.
They
are
joined
by
many
other proven players, such as
forwards Liam Folkes and Sam
Sternschein, who leads the
team in goals.
“They have an abundance
of guys who can burn you,”
Pearson said. “So you just have
to be really aware of that. But
then you just got to go play, too.
You gotta respect them, but you
can’t fear them.”
Pearson
hopes
that
his
team can possess the puck
consistently
this
weekend
and force the Nittany Lions to
play without it. He mentioned
that they are able to get a lot
of pucks on net while sending
bodies, too, who take advantage
of bounces when they come.
Thus, it’s quite important for
Michigan to limit the turnovers
— which have been a problem of
late.
Playing with the lead has
been
a
challenge
for
the
Wolverines a few times this
season. Michigan has lost after
reaching a two-goal lead in
three games so far. If the team
can get ahead early against
Penn State, it’ll have to put
extra focus on maintaining the
margin.
“I don’t think any lead is safe,”
Pearson said. “I think that’s
a good way to put it, against a
team like them, because they
can score in bunches. You have
to be aware of that.”
The Wolverines split both
series last season. The Nittany
Lions showcased their offense,
scoring 17 goals throughout
the four games. In one of
Michigan’s victories, though,
it held Penn State to just one
goal. That contest was the only
one at Yost, and the Wolverines
are quick to say the home crowd
helped.
Michigan
has
been
historically
good
at
home
against the Nittany Lions. The
overall rivalry is close, with the
Wolverines leading 15-12, but
Michigan has won nine of 11 at
Yost.
If
the
Wolverines
can
stay strong defensively this
weekend and value the puck
on the attack, perhaps Pearson
could show that caller what he
sees in his group.
“I think we have a pretty
good
record
against
Penn
State at Yost, which is good,”
said
senior
forward
Will
Lockwood. “So I think we have
a lot of confidence going into
this weekend, even knowing
that they’re a top-10 team in
the country. We have a lot of
confidence, and I think those
two wins would be absolutely
huge for us.”
O’Hara is ready for her moment
Maggie O’Hara thought she’d
broken the floor.
As she punched out after a near
perfect round-off back handspring
she thought she’d hit a dead spot.
The wood must have broken
beneath her.
Instead, she had torn her
Achilles tendon — a season-ending
injury.
O’Hara was warming up the
first pass in what would have been
her career debut on floor — as a
junior. Typically she competed
on beam, but her teammate,
then-senior Emma McLean, was
suffering from a shoulder injury
and was unable to compete. After
an exhibition performance against
Alabama,
O’Hara
was
ready,
stepping into the role without a
second thought.
“We needed someone to step
in,” O’Hara said. “I was like, ‘You
know what, I can push through
like one routine.’ ”
O’Hara is not unfamiliar with
injury. During both her freshman
and
sophomore
season,
she
suffered from concussions: the first
after a bad mount on bars resulted
in a fist to the head, and the second
after a poor overshot ended with
a whiplash into the mat. O’Hara’s
days of competition were over for
the time being. With continuous
recovery programming, O’Hara
eventually got better — only to
have her dreams of getting back to
competition derailed once again at
the end of her sophomore year.
“It was really frustrating, the
first one was definitely a learning
experience,” O’Hara said. “I was
super excited to get back into my
sophomore year and I had been
working hard all summer. The
second one was just kind of like
another punch in the stomach.”
Before
O’Hara’s
struggles
with injury came her passion for
gymnastics. After following in her
brother’s footsteps, swimming,
and playing basketball and soccer,
she ended up in a dance class. After
a suggestion from her teacher to
try tumbling, she was hooked.
“I went to the gym just solely
to learn how to (tumble) and I was
like, ‘I’m done, I like this better,’ ”
O’Hara said.
O’Hara grew up in Lexington,
S.C. and because her high school
was without a gymnastics team she
attended Southeastern Gymnastics
— a club in Wettington, N.C.
“I lived two hours away from my
gym so I spent four hours in the car
every day and still went to a public
high school, but it was amazing,”
O’Hara said. “I went to a pretty
prestigious club gym and it was
just constant competition within
the gym which made gymnastics
both fun and competitive.”
O’Hara’s early commitment to
gymnastics has proven to be vital
in her collegiate years and allowed
her to keep a positive mentality
through the grueling years of
recovery.
“I think a lot of just mentally
putting myself in the place of one
more day, it’s one more day,” she
said.
This positive mentality was
sparked by her former teammate
Olivia Karas. Karas had torn her
Achilles at approximately the
same time the season before.
Additionally, two other Michigan
teammates
have
torn
their
Achilles.
“Getting back into it, they were
like, just keep reminding yourself
it’s going to come back,” O’Hara
said. “It’s fun to have someone
who’s gone through it just because
they are constantly motivating
you and reminding you that it’s
possible, and it is going to come
with time.”
Along with her teammate’s
support,
O’Hara’s
family
has
played a crucial role in her
collegiate career. Her sister Gracie,
who was born with several health
issues and is also a gymnast, has
been O’Hara’s inspiration.
“She’s a constant motivation for
me,” said O’Hara. “She’s always
like, ‘Hey look what I did in the
gym today,’ and I’m like, ‘You
know, if she can do it so can I.’ ”
After three long years of
continuous recovery O’Hara is
ready to get back to competition
— especially for her senior season.
She’s returning to the team as
a senior leader with a renewed
passion for gymnastics.
“I’m super excited, we have a
really strong team this season and
I love gymnastics if not more than
I have in the past,” O’Hara said.
“The thought of being in front
of fans again and being with my
team is so motivating. Excited is an
understatement.”
ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Writer
KEEMYA ESMAEL /Daily
Senior Maggie O’Hara suffered injuries in her first three seasons at Michigan, and is looking to get back on the mat.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
The Michigan football team will play in either the Citrus, Holiday or Gator Bowls after a 9-3 regular season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior defenseman Griffin Luce says Michigan has done well limiting chances.