The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/337607
THE WOLVERINE 2014 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 17 M Michigan led the country in big plays allowed during the 2012 season, surrendering only 35 plays of 20 yards or more, but a year ago the Wolverines struggled to repeat their success defensively; U-M allowed 53 "big plays" to rank 42nd nationally. The biggest culprit was Michigan's pass defense, which gave up 42 completions of at least 20 yards to rank 69th in the NCAA. The year before, the Maize and Blue permitted only 25 such completions. Offensively, meanwhile, Michigan experienced the slightest drop in 20-yard plays, finishing with one fewer than its 61 in 2012, though five fewer than in 2011 and 2010. Lacking the dynamic running threat that was quarterback Denard Rob- inson, U-M generated only 16 rushes of 20 yards or more. The Wolverines did produce a four-year high of 44 completions of at least 20 yards. 2014-15 BOWL SCHEDULE Date Bowl Location TV Time Matchup Jan. 12 College Football Championship Game Arlington, Texas ESPN 8:30 p.m. Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner Jan. 2 TaxSlayer Jacksonville, Fla. ESPN TBD Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC Jan. 2 Alamo San Antonio, Texas ESPN 6:45 p.m. Pac 12 vs. Big 12 Jan. 2 Armed Forces Fort Worth, Texas ESPN 2 p.m. Army vs. The American Jan. 1 Cotton Arlington, Texas FOX 1: p.m. At-Large vs. Group of Five Jan. 1 Sugar New Orleans, La. ESPN 8:30 p.m. Playoff Semifinal Game Jan. 1 Rose Pasadena, Calif. ESPN 5 p.m. Playoff Semifinal Game Jan. 1 Outback Tampa, Fla. ESPN 1 p.m. Big Ten vs. SEC Jan. 1 Capital One Orlando, Fla. ABC 1 p.m. Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC Dec. 31 Fiesta Glendale, Ariz. ESPN TBD At-Large vs. Group of Five Dec. 31 Orange Miami ESPN TBD ACC No. 1/At-Large vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Atlanta ESPN TBD At-Large/Group of Five vs. At-Large/Group of Five Dec. 30 Detroit Detroit, Mich. TBD TBD Big Ten vs. ACC Dec. 30 Belk Charlotte, N.C. ESPN 6:45 p.m. ACC vs. SEC Dec. 30 San Francisco San Francisco ESPN TBD Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Dec. 29 Texas Houston ESPN 9 p.m. SEC vs. Big 12 Dec. 27 Holiday San Diego ESPN 8 p.m. Pac 12 vs. Big Ten Dec. 27 Sun El Paso, Texas CBS 2 p.m. ACC vs. Pac-12 Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bronx, N.Y. ESPN TBD Big Ten vs. ACC Dec. 26 Bitcoin St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Fla. ESPN 8 p.m. ACC vs. American Dec. 26 Heart of Dallas Dallas TBA TBA Big Ten/Big 12 vs. C-USA Dec. 24 Bahamas Nassau, Bahamas ESPN Noon C-USA vs. MAC Dec. 24 Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii ESPN 8 p.m. MWC vs. C-USA Dec. 23 Poinsettia San Diego ESPN 9:30 p.m. Navy vs. MWC Dec. 23 Boca Raton Boca Raton, Fla. ESPN 6 p.m. C-USA vs. MAC Dec. 20 New Orleans New Orleans, La. TBD 11 a.m. C-USA vs. Sun Belt Dec. 20 Idaho Potato Boise, Idaho ESPN 5:45 p.m. MWC vs. MAC Dec. 20 Royal Purple Las Vegas ABC 12:30 p.m. Pac 12 vs. MWC No. 1 Dec. 20 New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. ESPN 2:20 p.m. C-USA vs. MWC Dec. 20 Camelia Montgomery, Ala. ESPN 8:15 p.m. MAC vs. Sun Belt TBA GoDaddy.com Mobile, Ala. TBD TBD Sun Belt vs. MAC TBA Liberty Memphis, Tenn. TBD TBD Big 12 vs. SEC TBA Independence Shreveport, La. TBD TBD ACC vs. SEC TBA Birmingham Birmingham, Ala. TBD TBD SEC vs. The American TBA Buffalo Wild Wings Tempe, Ariz. TBD TBD Pac 12 vs. Big 12 TBA Russell Athletic Orlando, Fla. TBD TBD ACC vs. Big 12 TBA Music City Nashville, Tenn. TBD TBD SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten TBA Miami Beach Miami. Fla. TBD TBD BYU vs. The American TBA Christmas Los Angeles TBD TBD Pac 12 vs. MWC TBA Military Annapolis, Md. TBD TBD The American vs. ACC Defense Struggles To Match 2012 Big-Play Success Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford posted a 40-yard touchdown run last year versus the Wolver- ines, one of 53 big plays allowed by U-M in 2013. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Big Plays Allowed Defensively 2010-13 Year Total Rec. Rush 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ 2013 53 42 11 33 8 6 6 2012 35 25 10 17 10 3 5 2011 44 27 17 29 9 4 2 2010 64 46 18 35 14 7 8 Michigan's 20-Yard Plays, 2010-2013 Year Total Rush Pass 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ 2013 60 16 44 30 18 5 7 2012 61 21 40 23 15 11 12 2011 65 30 35 33 13 12 7 2010 65 24 41 26 19 9 11 8,10-12,14-28,30-32.IMA.indd 17 6/20/14 8:34 AM