The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 — 9

A public lecture and reception; you may attend in person or virtually. For more info, 
including the Zoom link, visit events.umich.edu/event/84260 or call 734.615.6667.

KEN KOLLMAN 
Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor
Professor of Political Science

Why You Should 
and Should Not 
be Worried About

AMERICAN 
DEMOCRACY

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | 4:00 p.m. 
 | Weiser Hall, 10th Floor

LSA LECTURE

On 
Wednesday, 
Michigan 

offensive coordinator Josh Gat-
tis referred to the Wolverines’ 
running back tandem of sopho-
more Blake Corum and senior 
Hassan Haskins as “the perfect 
combination of thunder and 
lightning.” 

Against Washington on Sat-

urday night, the duo certainly 
lived up to their billing. 

In a game where junior 

quarterback Cade McNamara 
threw for just 44 yards, Haskins 
and Corum paced Michigan’s 
offense, 
combining 
for 
326 

rushing yards, 48 carries and all 
four Wolverine touchdowns in a 
31-10 victory. 

“That warms the cockles of 

the heart to be able to do that, 
run the ball that way,” Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh said after 
the game. “... (Washington was) 
just having a hard time tackling 
the backs. When we started 
breaking the edge pressure, 
there were some real creases in 
between the tackles. Our guys 
hit them.” 

In the week leading up to the 

game, 
Michigan 
recognized 

that 
Washington’s 
defense 

boasted a formidable second-
ary. As a result, the Wolverines 
geared their gameplan to the 
trenches. 

Through the first half, the 

Huskies rotated between an 
array of defensive looks, none of 
which proved capable of slow-
ing down Michigan’s relentless 
ground game. 

“We knew coming into this 

game that we wanted to run 
the ball and we wanted to run 

it down their throat,” senior 
offensive tackle Ryan Hayes 
said. “With backs like we have, 
it makes it pretty easy for the 
o-line. We knew going into this 
game that we were going to run 
the ball as much as we could 
because they couldn’t really 
stop it.” 

In the early going, Haskins 

helped set the game’s tone, 
notching three quick carries 
for 32 yards, highlighted by a 
16-yard burst. Shortly after-
wards, Corum made his mark 
with a 68-yard touchdown run 
along the Washington sideline, 
utilizing his speed to dust the 
safety. 

The opening drive of the sec-

ond half stands as a poster boy 
for the Wolverines’ success run-
ning the ball. In four minutes, 
Michigan marched down the 
field for an eight-play, 73-yard 
touchdown drive. Each of the 
eight plays resulted in a hand-
off, with Haskins running for 
39 yards and Corum recording 
34 yards, along with the touch-
down. 

“We knew they were getting 

defeated towards the end of the 
game and we just kept hitting 
them and hitting them and hit-
ting them,” Hayes said. 

In fall camp, as Michigan 

spoke of a desire to establish an 
identity as a running-oriented 
team, questions loomed over 
how Corum and Haskins would 
handle a split-workload. Two 
games in, those apprehensions 
have certainly been quelled, 
as neither Western Michigan 
last week, nor Washington this 
week, has managed to stop 
them. 

“We just kinda feed off each 

other,” Corum said. “We don’t 

go into the game thinking, ‘I’m 
going to get this many carries, 
you’re gonna get this many car-
ries.’ We just kinda go with the 
flow.” 

The pair complement each 

other 
admirably. 
Haskins, 

dependable and bruising, is at 
his best in between the tack-
les; Corum, a human highlight 
reel, is most explosive on the 
edge. 

And, even when one of 

Corum or Haskins receives the 
bulk of the carries, the other is 
still incorporated into the play. 
It’s indicative of Michigan’s 
desire to play through both of 
them on offense, especially in 
the absence of senior receiver 
Ronnie Bell, who stood as the 
Wolverines’ most potent threat 
on the perimeter. 

Against Washington, Corum 

and Haskins combined for four 
of McNamara’s seven comple-
tions. 

“It 
definitely 
puts 
other 

teams in a (difficult) situation, 
cause you don’t really know who 
to stop,” Corum said. “And then 
sometimes, when we’re in the 
backfield together, at the same 
time, that’s probably a little dif-
ficult also.” 

For the long-haul, this sort of 

run-dominant approach figures 
to be unsustainable; at some 
point, the Wolverines will have 
to rely on McNamara to air the 
ball out. 

That’s something Michigan 

surely recognizes. But through 
two games, Corum and Haskins 
are wreaking havoc, leaving lit-
tle need for anything else. 

“We’re 
running 
backs,” 

Haskins said. “So if we get to 
run it a lot, that’s no problem 
with us.”

Corum, Haskins duo dominate the 

offense against the Huskies

JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Editor

From the moment Saturday’s 

game kicked off, it was clear 
the Michigan football team’s 
defense wouldn’t give an inch.

With a “Maize Out” crowd 

of 108,345 at their back, the 
Wolverines forced a three-
and-out on Washington’s first 
drive. The Huskies’ next series 
went four yards in the wrong 
direction; their third drive 
only netted two yards. Three 
quick punts electrified Michi-
gan Stadium as the Wolverines’ 
offense established an early 
lead.

All 
told, 
Michigan 
held 

Washington to a paltry 18 yards 
in the first quarter and didn’t 
surrender any first-half points, 
setting the tone in what ulti-
mately became a telling 31-10 
win over a Washington team 
that debuted in the top 20 of 
the AP Poll just two weeks ago.

“Seeing the defense ball 

out like that, it motivates us,” 
sophomore running back Blake 
Corum said. “Now it’s our turn 
to do better and I think that’s 
what we did throughout the 
game. The defense had a phe-
nomenal game, they kept shut-
ting them out. I think it just put 
a little fire in us and motivated 
us to do a little bit better.”

It feels like a lifetime ago, but 

some of Michigan’s best teams 
under coach Jim Harbaugh 
have been built on defense. The 
Wolverines led the country in 
team defense in 2017, and the 
2018 team that fell a game short 
of the College Football Playoff 
finished the season ranked No. 
3 nationally in team defense. 

That once-vaunted defense 

crumbled in 2019 and 2020, 
leading to the firing of former 
defensive 
coordinator 
Don 

Brown. Harbaugh replaced him 
with Baltimore Ravens defen-
sive assistant Mike Macdonald, 
who installed a brand new 3-4 
scheme this past offseason.

So far, the first-time coordi-

nator’s system has rejuvenated 
the Wolverines’ defense. That 
much was evident in Michi-
gan’s inspired play during Sat-
urday night’s win.

“Mike did a great job calling 

the defense,” Harbaugh said. 
“From an offensive perspec-
tive, Washington ran every-
thing known to man offensively 
in the first three quarters. 
And for the most part, three 
straight three-and-outs to start 
the game, that was huge. You 
talk about getting off to a fast 
start, that precipitated that. 
Four three-and-outs through-
out the course of the game. It 
was really, really strong.”

Despite throwing the kitch-

en sink at the Wolverines, 
Washington didn’t reach the 
red zone until the second half 
and failed to score a touch-
down until the fourth quarter. 
The Huskies struggled to block 
senior edge Aidan Hutchin-
son, who recorded 2.5 sacks, 
four tackles — three of which 
were solo — and a quarterback 
hurry. With NFL scouts from 
13 franchises in attendance, 
Hutchinson looked the part of 
a first-round draft pick.

With 
every 
Washington 

drive that fell apart, Hutchin-
son was at the center of the 
wreckage. He blew up numer-
ous short run plays in addition 
to his 2.5 sacks. His strong 

play in the trenches helped 
Michigan dominate the line of 
scrimmage — something the 
Wolverines’ own offensive line 
grew accustomed to as the sea-
son approached. 

“(The 
Huskies) 
couldn’t 

block Aidan,” Harbaugh said. 
“In fall camp, we couldn’t block 
him either.”

Added senior offensive line-

man Ryan Hayes: “It’s a really 
fun back and forth when we’re 
in practice. It’s really nice hav-
ing Aidan on that side of the 
ball because we’re not really 
going to face anyone better 
than him this year.”

The defensive dominance 

stretched further than just 
Hutchinson, 
though. 
After 

allowing a 75-yard touchdown 
on Western Michigan’s open-
ing drive a week ago, the Wol-
verines needed time to settle 
in. That wasn’t the case in 
Week 2 — a major step forward 
on the preparation front.

Fifth-year senior lineback-

er Josh Ross found himself 
at the heart of that improve-
ment. His role in the middle of 
the defense affects everyone 
around him, allowing him to 
notice the contrast.

“For today, one of the things 

I was most proud of was how 
well we communicated and 
how much better we com-
municated from last week to 
this week,” Ross said. “There 
were a lot of formations, a lot 
of trickery. ... We were getting 
to certain calls that we never 
went over, but we sort of went 
out and handled it.”

And at this point in a young 

season, 
rapid 
improvement 

is the best thing Michigan 
could’ve possibly seen.

Wolverine defense stepped into the 

moment Saturday

DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Editor

Each week, the No. 25 Michi-

gan football team practices a 
9-on-7 drill. 

Effectively, 
it’s 
football 

stripped down to its most 

basic components: the run-
ning back takes a handoff up 
the middle, and the defense 
tries to stop him. There’s 
no trickery, stunts or play 
actions. The drill merely tests 
if the offense’s blockers can 
out-duel the defense’s front 
seven. 

It’s old-school stuff, but in the 

offseason, the Wolverines gave it 
new meaning. 

“In years prior, we would call 

it 9-on-7, which is what the drill 
is,” junior offensive lineman 
Trevor Keegan said. “This year, 
we changed it to (the) Beat Ohio 
drill. Now, we’re blasting music, 
smelling salts, everything. And 
it’s a pretty physical period, and 
we love it.” 

In the grand scheme of things, 

renaming a drill will do little 
to close the canyon-sized gap 
between Michigan and Ohio 
State. Culture changes — espe-
cially when coming off a 2-4 sea-
son — are good, but they won’t be 
enough to turn the tables after 
losing the last three matchups 
to the Buckeyes by a combined 
score of 149-86. 

Still, the renewed intensity 

reflected in the “Beat Ohio” drill 
is already apparent in one aspect 
of the Wolverines’ performance: 
the offensive line. 

Through two games, the start-

ing five has paved the way for 
a whopping 678 rushing yards 
while allowing just six tackles for 
loss and one sack. To put that in 
perspective, Michigan managed 
just 786 rushing yards through 
all six games last season while 
forfeiting 4.5 tackles for loss and 
1.3 sacks per game. It’s still early, 
but there’s clearly some tangible 
progress on the offensive line. 

In Saturday’s 31-10 drubbing 

of Washington, Michigan fully 
embraced the mentality of estab-
lishing the run. Fifty-six of the 

Wolverines’ 71 offensive plays 
stayed on the ground. On aver-
age, each of those runs went for 
6.1 yards. That success came in 
large part thanks to the physical-
ity up front. 

“First off, I want to shout the 

o-line,” sophomore running back 
Blake Corum said Saturday. “As 
you guys saw today, they fired off 
the ball, they were real physical 
and they made (senior running 
back Hassan Haskins’s) and my 
job real easy.”

Even on the running backs’ 

highlight-reel 
plays, 
linemen 

could be seen clearing paths 
through the Huskies’ defense. 
For example, on Corum’s 67-yard 
touchdown run midway through 
the second quarter, he had a 

massive hole to run through 
thanks to solid down-blocking 
from Keegan, a strong kick-out 
block from pulling sixth-year 
center Andrew Vastardis and a 
touchdown-sealing hit on the 
second level from senior tackle 
Ryan Hayes. 

For the most part, Vastardis 

also anchored the line, seeming 
to get more push than anybody 
off the ball. Since being elected 
captain at the end of fall camp, 
he looks to have embraced the 
heavier expectations levied on 
him this season. 

“Vastardis is the leader of our 

o-line, the leader of our team,” 
Keegan said. “So he makes all the 
calls and stuff. We gelled really 
well in the spring together, and 

we’ve just been continuing to 
carry that on.”

Though later revealed to be 

just a cramp, an injury to Vas-
tardis late in the game offered 
a reminder as to how quickly 
things could fall apart for the 
Wolverines. Even if everyone 
remains healthy, caveats are 
always going to apply in wins 
against Western Michigan and a 
Washington team that lost to an 
FCS opponent. It remains to be 
seen whether the offensive line 
will be able to sustain this level 
of dominance up front against 
tougher teams. 

If the newly minted “Beat 

Ohio” drill is to be believed, 
the team is preparing for those 
challenges.

Through two games, Michigan’s offense looks settled into an identity

BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor

MILES MACKLIN/Daily 

Michigan’s offensive identity is channeled through the line, a clear result of the focus spent on it over the summer.

MILES MACKLIN/Daily 

Michigan fifth-year senior linebacker Josh Ross totaled 11 tackles, four solo, and three quarterback hurries.

LUKE HALES/Daily 

Michigan sophomore running back Blake Corum rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday.

