The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2017 THREE THINGS WE LEARNED 1. Don Brown is one of the nation's elite coordinators: We had an inkling before, given his accomplishments with half the talent at Boston College before arriving at Michigan, but we really know it now. Brown always insisted there were plenty of pieces and enough experi- ence on this team to field a good de- fense, but nobody figured this group would be this good (No. 1 nationally in total defense, allowing 223.8 yards per game through seven weeks of the col- lege season) after replacing 10 starters. The Wolverines should be champion- ship contenders each year that Brown is at the helm just based on defense alone. Now it's up to the offense to do its part. 2. The right side of the offensive line is a bigger concern than expected: Redshirt sophomore Nolan Ulizio sur- prised in winning the job over redshirt sophomore Jon Runyan and redshirt junior Juwann Bushell-Beatty, but he was replaced during the Michigan State game after struggling for most of the five contests in which he played … especially in pass protection. Bushell-Beatty appears to be the guy going forward, and there's still room for improvement here and across the line. Even the veterans on the left side have had their ups and downs, though fifth-year senior center Pat Kugler has been very solid. 3. The kicking game is in great hands… or feet. Redshirt freshman Quinn Nordin has been even better than advertised. He'd hit 10 straight field goals entering the Penn State game, showed great range and made kicks from every hash mark. The fact that he's still got three years remaining after this has to make Har- baugh smile. Likewise, redshirt junior kicker James Foug has been outstanding on kickoffs, boasting some of the best hang time Michigan Stadium has seen. That's a weapon that doesn't get enough attention, and one of the rea- sons the Wolverines have been so good on kick return coverage. The longest kickoff runback allowed has been 26 yards. THREE REMAINING QUESTIONS 1. What's the ceiling for the offense? The defense is championship level, without question, but the title hopes rest on an offense that has struggled to be even decent most of the first half. The Wolverines ranked 86th in total offense at 376.3 yards per game and had scored only 13 touchdowns of- fensively. They ranked 79th in scoring offense with 27.2 points per game, and Nordin was a big reason for that. He was nearly automatic in going 14 of 16 in the first six games. The offense only needs to be aver- age to be in every game thanks to an unbelievable defense. 2. Can U-M find ways to score in the red zone? This had been a strength of the team in Harbaugh's first two seasons, but this season U- M's offense isn't finishing drives by putting the ball in the end zone. The Wolverines were 10th nationally in red-zone offense with a 94.4 scoring percentage, but again, a lot of that had to do with Nordin's field goal prow- ess. U-M had only one — one — red- zone passing touchdown through six games and five rushing touchdowns. Per CFBStats.com, the Wolverines tied for 127th out of 130 teams with a red- zone touchdown percentage of just 33.3. Fifth-year senior fullback Khalid Hill was a touchdown machine a year ago … now he can't get touches inside the five because they're rarely there. 3. How will the defense hold up against the Big Ten's best offensive teams? This group put up obscene numbers in the first half of the year, but the competition wasn't exactly top of the line. The real challenge was set to begin Oct. 21 at No. 2 Penn State, while a trip to No. 5 Wisconsin and a home tilt with No. 6 Ohio State were still on the itinerary. The Badgers will line up heavy and pound it at the Wolverines, while the Buckeyes were rolling with their spread offense and putting up big numbers. We'll find out soon just how good this defense is. Fifth-year senior quarterback John O'Korn needed to cut down on turnovers — he had thrown four interceptions against just one touchdown through U-M's first six games — and improve inside the 20 to boost the Wolverines down the stretch. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN