The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 141 Best Win: Wisconsin In a defensive battle, Michigan brought down then-No. 8 Wisconsin 14-7 in the fifth game of the season. The Badgers represented the highest-ranked win during the 2016 sea- son, and the highest-ranked opponent Michi- gan has defeated since a win at No. 2 Notre Dame on Sept. 16, 2006. The Michigan defense made life miserable for Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook throughout the game, with senior cornerback Channing Stribling notching two intercep- tions and classmate Jourdan Lewis adding a third. The defense also combined for two sacks and three quarterback hits in the game. The U-M offense had its own problems against Wisconsin's 3-4 defensive scheme. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight threw an interception in the third quarter, which led to the Badgers' only touchdown of the game on the ensuing drive. He was also sacked four times and hit an ad- ditional three times. Michigan got on the board with a one-yard touchdown run by redshirt junior fullback Khalid Hill, and the final score of the game was a 46-yard touchdown pass from Speight to fifth-year senior receiver Amara Darboh. The Wolverines survived a classic Big Ten struggle to claim the biggest victory of the season. Worst Loss: Iowa The schedule smiled on the Wolverines early, with just one road game before the month of November, a trip which resulted in a 78-0 blowout of Rutgers. When the time came for the team's first true road test, Michigan seemed to be caught off guard. A night game at Iowa proved too much for the Wolverines to overcome and brought an end to the dream of an undefeated season in a 14-13 loss. Speight had no luck through the air, go- ing 11-of-26 passing for 103 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was also sacked twice and hit two more times, suf- fering a shoulder injury during the contest that kept him out of the next game against Indiana and hampered him in the remaining contests. The offensive problems extended to the run- ning game, where Michigan could only muster 98 yards, and freshman running back Chris Evans was the only ball carrier with more than one rushing attempt that averaged more than 3.0 yards per carry. The Iowa defense was in the backfield all game, notching eight tackles for loss. Michi- gan's only touchdown came on a seven-yard rumble by redshirt junior running back Ty Isaac, his only carry of the game. Even Michigan's usually reliable de- fense stumbled in the road environment. The team allowed 164 rushing yards, though they did manage three sacks of Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard and intercepted him once. Despite the poor performance, the door didn't shut on a Michigan win until the final seconds when Iowa hit the game- winning field goal. Michigan had entered the game ranked No. 2 in the country, while Iowa was unranked. 2016 RESULTS Date Opponent Result Sept. 3 Hawai'i W, 63-3 Sept. 10 Central Florida W, 51-14 Sept. 17 Colorado W, 45-28 Sept. 24 Penn State W, 49-10 Oct. 1 Wisconsin W, 14-7 Oct. 8 at Rutgers W, 78-0 Oct. 22 Illinois W, 41-8 Oct. 29 at Michigan State W, 32-23 Nov. 5 Maryland W, 59-3 Nov. 12 at Iowa L, 14-13 Nov. 19 Indiana W, 20-10 Nov. 25 at Ohio State L, 30-27 (2OT) Dec. 30 Florida State L, 33-32 THE BEST AND THE WORST The Wolverines held then- No. 8 Wisconsin to just 159 total yards and forced three turnovers in a 14-7 triumph for the team's first top-10 win since beating the No. 9 Badgers in 2008. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN