The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/751827
DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 37 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL MICHIGAN'S DEFENDERS GIVE DIFFERENT TAKES ON SUCCESS For redshirt sophomore linebacker Jabrill Peppers, it's all about getting off the field. He insisted recently there's no more important statistic for him than third-down effectiveness. That's good for Michigan, which has led the nation most of the year with regard to not allowing opponents to move the chains in that situation — as of Nov. 15, they ranked first in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 19.7 per- cent. "Three-and-outs," Peppers said. "Get off the field. Get our offense in the best possible field position to start their drive. I'm a defensive guy, return- ing punts, so that's my mindset when I'm back there … "Three-and-out, four-and-out. If they want to go for it, just get off the field. That's what we really try to fall back on." For senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis, there's an even starker bottom line. "Scoring, definitely," Lewis said. "If an offense can't put points on the board, you can't win. That's the big- gest one. If we're getting three-and- outs and they're missing kicks and they have to punt the ball — those are the biggest, third-down defense and scoring defense." Although the Wolverines also lead the country in points allowed (11.0 per game), Lewis isn't willing to say that the unit has lived up to his expecta- tions at this point, despite how well it has played all season long. "You can't say that, because the sea- son is not over yet," he said. "We're definitely executing at a high level right now, but there are always things we can get better at." Peppers, meanwhile, likes the swag- ger with which the Wolverines play on the defensive side of the football. It's a function of having a veteran, talented unit, he explained. "We've all been on the field before," Peppers said. "We know how to win now. We know what to do. It's just part of growing up and maturity. We've got a lot of savvy guys out there now. We try to make the least amount of mistakes to put us in the best position to win." Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown acknowledged that other teams are well aware of Peppers on the field and have adjusted their schemes ac- cordingly. That means it's up to the Wolverines to make counter moves, and they're doing so. "We'd been able to get him clean on blitzes in each and every game, going into the [Illinois] game," Brown said. "They finally just said, 'Hey, wherever he is, slide the protection over there.' It's a good move on their part. "But the wheels will turn, and we'll see what we can do to continue to move on and freshen up the package, and go from there." WOLVERINES PHYSICALLY DOMINATE MSU TO GET THE GREEN MONKEY OFF THEIR BACK Michigan State had won seven of nine games against Michigan since head coach Mark Dantonio arrived in East Lansing in 2007, including last year's 27-23 gift from the football gods that ended on a fumbled punt snap returned for touchdown. U-M — especially the seniors — was determined to leave with a victory over the Spartans Oct. 29. The fifth- year guys were the only ones on the team the last time the Wolverines beat MSU in 2012, and none of them played in the 12-10 victory. U-M was 1-7 against rivals in the previous three years — 0-3 against both the Spartans and Ohio State, and 1-1 against Notre Dame. Though heavily favored in the road game, Michigan fell behind 7-0 when Michigan State drove the field on its opening possession. U-M then took control to lead 27-10 at the half and finished a 32-23 win in which the Wol- verines physically dominated. Former Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, now the head coach at Pitt, once bragged of "60 minutes of unnecessary rough- ness" following a chippy MSU win over Michigan. This year, Michigan players were the ones bringing the big hits. Freshman Devin Bush provided one of the best, laying out Michigan State linebacker Chris Frey on special teams with a vicious block during a punt return. The U-M sideline erupted after the clash. "Ooooh, yeah. I was right there watching it [on the sideline]," soph- omore running back Karan Higdon said. "He just showed what Florida is all about." Both Higdon and Bush hail from the Sunshine State. "It gets you fired up seeing guys competing at that level, just out there reckless and ready to make a play hap- pen by any means," Higdon contin- ued. "It definitely gets you fired up. He's always going to bring the hat, does a great job doing that, as you saw." He wasn't the only one. There were several stoppages of play in the physi- cal contest, mostly to tend to banged- up Spartans. MSU lost two quarter- backs to injury in the loss, including redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke with a broken leg, and a third — Tyler O'Connor, who had started the game before getting replaced — limped off the field at the end. As impressively, several Wolverines played through illness to help lead the win. Senior tight end Jake Butt suffered through strep throat the week of the game but suited up, noting that ju- nior Mason Cole was worse off than he was, calling his center's performance "brave." Cole laughed it off in the days fol- lowing the game, but his teammates noticed. "There's not much you can take away from playing in that kind of envi- ronment … you've got to go out there and perform," Cole said. "That rivalry game, you've got to do what you've got to do. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't as bad as people made it sound." He refused to say what exactly had Senior Jourdan Lewis has been a key piece to the nation's No. 1 defense, teaming with classmate Channing Stribling to make up one of the nation's top cornerback tandems. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL