The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan Still Has Plenty To Prove By Chris Balas Michigan has had some outstanding moments on both sides of the ball in the non-conference portion of the schedule, especially in the ground game. Running backs Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins have proven to be a nice 1-2 punch, the revamped offensive line has been very good and the defense has been stout. All that said – it should have been, given the competition. Washing- ton was supposed to be the first big test, but the Huskies aren't the team we thought they were, evidenced by their Week 1 loss to FCS Montana (at home, no less). They have pieces on both lines but don't play well together. Western Michigan was a one-trick pony with its passing game and was barely a test on defense. The prediction here was the Wolverines would go 7-5, and while 8-4 seems more than feasible, it's not time to go any higher. Road games at Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State and Nebraska will all be tough, and U-M must face Ohio State at home. Even Maryland on the road could be tricky, and possibly Indiana at home. We're about to find out what this team is made of, because we still don't really know. The Wolverines' Ceiling Has Gone Up By Clayton Sayfie Through three games, expectations for the rest of Michigan's season have changed for two big reasons. First, the Wolverines have impressed more than we thought they would when we entered the year with cautious optimism that things would be much improved from the 2020 campaign. The Maize and Blue haven't just taken care of business thus far, but have done so in impressive fashion, doubling the point spread (16.5) in a 47-14 win over what should be a solid Western Michigan squad, running over Washington in Week 2 and keeping the momentum going with a vic- tory over Northern Illinois before conference play opens. Secondly, after watching the other teams on the Wolverines' sched- ule, the task appears a bit less daunting. Northwestern, Indiana, Ne- braska and Ohio State have all struggled more than many expected. We're not saying Michigan will go undefeated the rest of the way, but the Wolverines seem to be in a much better place going forward than we originally believed. A 10-win season looks to be within reach, while a nine-win finish is still the most likely outcome. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT HAVE EXPECTATIONS CHANGED AFTER THREE GAMES? MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Men's track and field sixth-year senior Devin Meyrer: The distance runner from Wildwood, Mo., earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors after lead- ing the Michigan men to the team victory at the Penn State Harry Groves Spiked Shoe In- vitational Sept. 10, finishing third in the 5.2-mile (8.369-ki- lometer) race and posting a time of 25:18.1 to place first among Big Ten runners. Women's soccer senior midfielder Raleigh Loughman: The Californian scored a pair of goals — one in the 61st minute and an- other on a penalty kick to take the lead shortly thereafter — in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Cincinnati Sept. 12. The performance marked the second two-goal match of the captain's career. It was also the second game- winning goal of the season for the two-time second-team All-Big Ten selection (2019, 2020), who clinched U-M's Aug. 19 victory over Butler. Volleyball redshir t freshman libero/ defensive specialist Hannah Grant: The for- mer Michigan State transfer was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Aug. 30 following her stellar play at the LSU Tiger Classic, where she averaged 6.14 digs per set in two U-M wins while playing libero. She led the Wolverines in digs for the weekend with 43, and was perfect in serve reception at- tempts, going 42 for 42. She finished with a career-high 25 digs and five assists in the sea- son opener against LSU and notched 18 digs, three assists and a service ace in a sweep of Florida State. Men's soccer fifth-year senior midfielder Marc Ybarra: The reigning Big Ten Midfielder of the Year crashed the net, shot off a rebound and scored in the 110th minute — with just two seconds left in dou- ble overtime — of the Wol- verines' 2-1 win over Oakland Aug. 29. It was Ybarra's fifth and final shot of the match, and his first to find the back of the net, a theme for the Maize and Blue on the night, with the team firing 23 shots and seeing only two go in. — Clayton Sayfie Jim Harbaugh's squad outscored its foes 141-34 in three non-conference games, but tougher tests await in the Big Ten slate. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL