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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.

