The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 147 By The Numbers -4 Michigan's turnover margin in 2015, which ranked the Wolverines at No. 92 in the country, 22 spots better than 2014. 2 The number of All-Americans on Michigan's ros- ter (tight end Jake Butt and cornerback Jourdan Lewis) in 2015 — the first time multiple Wolverines earned the honor since 2006. 3 The number of coaches from 2015 that are no longer on staff (defensive coordinator D.J. Dur- kin, secondary coach Greg Jackson and special teams coordinator John Baxter). 10 The number of victories in Jim Harbaugh's first season after U-M went 5-7 in 2014. The five-win improvement tied for first among Football Bowl Subdivision coaches in their first year at a school and led to Athlon Sports naming Harbaugh the sec - ond-best coaching hire of 2015, behind Tom Herman, who went 13-1 after inheriting an 8-5 Houston team. 30 The day in December (2014) when Michigan announced the hiring of Harbaugh as new head football coach. 38 The number of points Michigan gave up through the first six weeks of the season; a stretch that included three shutouts in a row. 59:50 The amount of time Michigan tied or led against Michigan State in a 27-23 loss. 265 Number of games in a row in which Michigan has reported a crowd of more than 100,000 fans. 281 Total yards of offense given up per game by the Wolverine defense, sec- ond-best in the Big Ten, behind Wisconsin, and No. 4 in the country. 1980 The last time Michigan recorded back-to-back-to-back shutouts. 110,168 Average attendance at M ichigan Stadium in 2015, ranking Michigan No. 1 nationally after falling behind Ohio State and Texas in 2014. Best Win: BYU Michigan's defense was dominant against No. 22 BYU and gave the Wolverines their third straight victory after dropping the season opener to Utah. The Maize and Blue smacked the Cougars 31-0 inside The Big House to close out non-conference play. Michigan scored on five consecutive drives in the first half while allowing only 105 total yards and just eight first downs in the contest. Junior running back De'Veon Smith injured his ankle mid - way through the third quarter, but still racked up 125 yards on 16 carries (7.8 yards per rush). He also scored a touchdown during his performance that outgained BYU's entire offense. Fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock was 14-of-25 passing for 194 yards with a touchdown. More impressively, he added two scores on the ground and chipped in 33 rush - ing yards with a long of 17. He was very disciplined in going through his reads on the day while connecting with nine different receivers. Michigan's defensive line got to the BYU quarterback three times. Senior defensive end Mario Ojemudia, junior defensive tackle Willie Henry and junior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. each recorded a sack and helped make Cougars quarterback Tanner Mangum's day in Ann Arbor a nightmare. The win took Michigan to 3-1 and earned them a No. 22 national ranking at the beginning of conference play. Worst Loss: Ohio State After the devastating loss to Michigan State, Jim Harbaugh told his men to put steel in their spines in order to finish the season on a high note and that's what they did — for the most part. The Wolverines ripped off consecutive wins against Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana and Penn State after falling to the Spartans, and were ready for a huge showdown against hated rival Ohio State inside Michigan Stadium. The nation's eyes were watching with No. 8 Ohio State sitting at 10-1 and the No. 10 Wolverines boasting a 9-2 record. Heading into the final week of Big Ten play, it was basically a toss-up game — but Ohio State didn't get the memo. The Buckeyes played nice for a while, but eventually trampled the Wolverines into the ground. It was just 14-10 in favor of the visitors at halftime, but junior running back Ezekiel Elliott decided enough was enough in the second half. The 6-0, 225-pounder finished with 30 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns. His backfield mate, redshirt sophomore quar - terback J.T. Barrett, added 139 yards and three scores on the ground. He also did his normal quarterback thing and finished an efficient 9-of-15 passing for 113 yards with a touchdown. The Buckeyes did not turn it over in the game and while they did give up 364 total yards, they kept Michigan out of the end zone all but one time. Junior defensive end Joey Bosa knocked Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock out of the game early in the fourth quarter to add injury to insult. Harbaugh was clearly disappointed after the loss, but man - aged to stay positive after wrapping up the regular season. "I'm very proud of the team, the way they've worked and the way they've progressed," Harbaugh said. "We've closed a lot of ground. More ground to make up, but knowing our team, we will keep working hard." TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL PLAYS 1. GET OFF OF ME — In a game that was supposed to be a big-time matchup, a 2-1 Michigan team welcomed a 2-1 and No. 22-ranked BYU team to Ann Arbor. The Maize and Blue buried the Cougars in the first half going up 21-0 with 11:38 left in the second quarter on a ridicu - lous 60-yard scamper by running back De'Veon Smith. It was second-and-two when Smith took the handoff, got lost for a moment in a scrum and popped out the backside before getting up a head of steam. A hapless Cougar defensive back tried multiple times to bring down Smith on his way to the end zone, but the bruis - ing back kept slapping him away and ultimately threw him to the ground just before crossing the goal line. 2. LET'S GET IT STARTED — It was homecoming week for Michigan and the 4-1, No. 18-ranked Wolverines were hosting 5-0, No. 13 Northwestern. It didn't take long for Michigan to establish a tone — 13 seconds to be exact. Wide receiver Jehu Chesson fielded the opening kickoff on the 4-yard line near the left boundary and followed a perfect wall of blocking toward the right all the way down the field for a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown. The Wolverines ended up rolling the Wild - cats 38-0 en route to a 5-1 start. 3. LOOK MOM, ONE HAND — Michigan was trying to establish a rhythm early in the game against No. 22 BYU when the Maize and Blue faced a third-and-five just across midfield with 9:52 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Jake Rudock dropped back, looked left and threw a deep fade toward wide receiver Amara Darboh. The redshirt junior wideout exhibited ridiculous body control by reaching back behind his body while twisting in mid air to make an improbable 21-yard reception to move the sticks. It was just one play, but it blew up social media and picked up a first down on a key drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown run by Rudock. The Wolverines never let up and throttled the Cougars 31-0. 4. ACCESS DENIED — With just two seconds remaining, Michigan led 29-26 over Minnesota, but the Gophers looked like they were about to put the game in the bag. Minnesota had the ball inside the 1-yard line down just three, at home, against the 5-2, No. 15 ranked Wolverines. Interim head coach Tracy Claeys decided to go for the win instead of the chip shot, game-tying field goal, and boy did it back - fire. Michigan's stout defensive line dug in, got a push and kept 6-4, 236-pound Gopher quarterback Mitch Leidner out of the end zone sealing the win for the Maize and Blue and giving them The Little Brown Jug back for at least another year. 5. WE'RE GOING TO NEED BACKUP — The previous play wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the late-game heroics by redshirt sophomore backup quarterback Wilton Speight. Normal starter Jake Rudock left the game in the third quarter with an apparent back injury, and it was on Speight to get the job done. He struggled on his first three drives but on his final possession of the night, Speight dug deep and found some mojo. With U-M trailing Minnesota 26-21 with just more than five minutes remaining in the game, Speight found a dragging Chesson for a 12-yard touchdown reception near the back of the end zone. He then found Darboh on the two-point conversion as an added bonus, giving the Wolverines a three-point lead. The defense stood tall on the final play of the game to seal the 29-26 victory. Junior running back De'Veon Smith showed his power and speed with a 60-yard touchdown run against BYU while setting a career high with 128 rushing yards. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL The BEST WORST AND THE