The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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are one of the stingiest groups Ann Ar- bor has had in a long time," the evalu- ators offered. Durkin doesn't care, especially af- ter the most recent struggle. He's not moved by what could be a helmet- high stack of press clippings about what the Wolverines have done to this point. That doesn't give his players a single three-and-out going forward. He also doesn't care — aside for con- cern over individual players — that they've been nicked up along the way. They lost sophomore nose tackle Bryan Mone before the season began, then Ojemudia and Glasgow. None of that, he assured, can de- tract from the mission. It's time to finish. "When you get into November, you get guys banged up a little bit," Durkin said. "There has been a lot of football played. But this is when you've got to play your best. You've just got to fight through it and keep going." The shutdown side for the Wolver- ines has fought through plenty al- ready. They watched helplessly from the sidelines while Utah won the sea- son opener on an interception return for a touchdown, 24-17. They responded by surrendering a Munchkin-sized 14 points (2.8 per game) over the next five contests, cul- minating in three consecutive shut- outs over No. 22 Brigham Young, Maryland and No. 13 Northwestern. Michigan's defenders then battled future pro quarterback Connor Cook and Michigan State to a 23-21 lead with 10 seconds remaining and U-M in possession of the football. Durkin's crew again watched in shackled ag- ony while a special teams nightmare sank the effort. Michigan's defenders were finally called upon to win a close contest at Minnesota and did so, submarining the Gophers on a goal-line stand and encasing quarterback Mitch Leidner in cement. The stop from the half-yard line preserved a 29-26 win. For the first time all season, Michi- gan's defenders pointed fingers … at themselves. "We just laid an egg, defensively, especially in the secondary," defensive backs coach Mike Zordich said. "We just played poorly." Through 10 games, defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin's unit ranked second nationally in total defense (268.7 yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (14.8 points surrendered per game). PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN