The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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142 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 1. "The Wolverines Survive!" Those were the words of FOX Sports play-by-play commentator Gus Johnson, following a game-winning strip- sack that was a true team effort by Michi - gan's defensive front. The Wolverines settled for a field goal to start the second overtime in a 24-21 nail-biter versus Army Sept. 7, meaning all the Black Knights needed was a touch - down to end the game right then and there. Facing a third-and-11, Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. was forced to throw, dropped back and was quickly met by Michigan junior defensive end Kwity Paye, who applied the first pressure. Then, it was sophomore end Aidan Hutchinson and redshirt junior tackle Carlo Kemp in Hopkins' face as he lost the ball. Paye recovered the fumble amidst a pile to end the game, and the Wolverines celebrated on their home field. 2. Jackson Finds A Seam For a few fleeting moments, the Maryland Terrapins had hope they could pull off an upset over Michigan Nov. 2, but that ended in a hurry thanks to freshman kick returner Giles Jackson. The speedster fielded the opening kickoff at his own 3-yard line. He read his blocks, found a seam, cut outside and then made Maryland kicker Joseph Petrino miss. Jackson was all alone, with nobody to beat, and jetted down the right sideline to the end zone for a 97-yard score. The play marked the first time Michigan returned the opening kickoff for six points since Jehu Chesson did so to spark a win over Northwestern in 2015, and the Wolverines cruised to a 38-7 victory on the road. 3. Hudson Opens The Floodgates The Wolverines demolished Michigan State 44-10 Nov. 16 at Michigan Stadium. Despite the final score, the Spartans actually kept the game respectable for most of the afternoon. On the first play of the fourth quarter, with Michigan leading 27-10, MSU punter Jake Hartbarger was set to boot the ball back to the Maize and Blue on fourth-and-six. As soon as the ball was snapped, Michigan senior viper linebacker Khaleke Hudson blasted through the Spartans' formation and blocked the kick, sending the pigskin all the way back to the MSU 22-yard line where the Spartans downed it and the Wolver - ines took over. On the next play, Michigan senior quarterback Shea Patterson connected with junior wideout Nico Collins for a quick strike over the middle of the MSU defense to give Michigan a 24-point lead, putting the game even more out of reach. 4. Collins Takes One To The House Michigan's impressive 39-14 win over Indiana in Bloomington Nov. 23 featured plenty of highlight plays, but the most impressive one came on a Patterson toss late in the third quarter with the Wolverines ahead 24-14 at their own 24-yard line on second-and-six. The senior signal-caller faked a handoff before looking to throw. Meanwhile, Col - lins ran a slant route from the right flank and found a crease in the middle of the Hoosiers' zone defense. Patterson hit his wideout in stride, with Collins making one man miss before he was off to the races, outrunning the rest of the IU defenders and taking it all the way to the house for six. The 76-yard pitch and catch was the longest play from scrimmage last season for the Maize and Blue, and stands as the longest in Collins' career to date. 5. Wolverines Swarm Stanley Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley was swarmed all afternoon long during Michigan's hard-fought 10-3 win over Iowa Oct. 5. The Wol- verines tallied a season-high eight sacks in the defensive battle, none more important than the final one of the tilt. With 3:43 to play in the fourth quarter and Iowa driving into Michigan territory at the Wolverines' 39-yard line, the Hawkeyes faced a third-and-24. Stanley dropped back and, before he could set his feet, was swarmed by Michigan redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone, who flew untouched past the Iowa front line. Hutchinson and fifth-year senior end Michael Danna combined to toss Stanley to the turf and finish him off, ending a once-promising Iowa drive that was its last best chance to tie things up. TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL PLAYS BY THE NUMBERS 11 Touchdowns for freshman running back Zach Charbonnet, which set the record for most scores by a true fresh - man in program history, surpassing Mike Hart's 10-touchdown rookie campaign in 2004. 54 Percent rate at which offensive co- ordinator Josh Gattis' offense ran 11 personnel, which features one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers, in an attempt to put more "speed in space." That number was up from 35 percent in 2018. 10 Michigan players were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, which tied the 1972 and 1974 hauls as the second-best draft classes in school history. The 2017 crop that produced 11 picks tops the list. U-M's 10 draftees in 2020, meanwhile, were tied with Ohio State for the second most of any college, with LSU's 14 standing as the only school who had more. Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was in on a pair of game- clinching sacks that preserved Michigan's wins over Army and Iowa. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN THEY SAID IT "I'm pretty pleased, because I feel like we're way classier than them. They were trying to take it to a level that wasn't playing football, and we play football over here. I don't know what they do over there, but we play football — and it showed today." — Senior safety JOSH METELLUS, discussing the unsportsmanlike play by Michigan State in Michigan's 44-10 victory over their in-state rival PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "How about the elements? I think our guys had fun with it and really relished playing in this game. Great performances by so many." — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh following the Wolverines' 45-14 win over Notre Dame in a rainstorm "We would take as many Ronnie Bells as we could possibly get on this team. How far he's come, what he does for our team, the way he played in the game, he was one of our top performers. He has [been] consis - tently, game in and game out. Equally tough as nails. Mentally as tough as anybody we've got; physically, the same." — Harbaugh, defending sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell following Bell's drop in the end zone at the end of the Penn State loss