The Wolverine

November 2017*

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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8 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2017 J im Harbaugh's team looked to pull off what everyone insisted was impossible this year. Shed- ding more NFL talent than some Big Ten schools see in a decade, the Wol- verines still sought to compete for a championship. At the halfway mark of the 2017 season, they featured half the for- mula to get it done. The preseason narrative insisted defensive coordinator Don Brown's unit would absorb the hardest hit, losing 10 of 11 starters. Halfway home, The Don's crew kept making stops opponents couldn't refuse. They were first in the nation in total defense, surrendering 223.8 yards per game, better than the nation-leading 261.8 average they posted a year earlier. They were giv- ing up 14.7 points per game, a frac- tion off the 14.1 of a year ago. They stood among the top 10 in a host of other defensive catego- ries: first in pass efficiency defense (88.85), third in opponents' third- down percentage (20.5), second in first downs allowed (73), third in average passing yards allowed per game (138.0), sixth in average rush- ing yards allowed per game (85.8), etc. In the Wolverines' lone setback of the first six games, they yielded 14 points. In other words, Brown's Bombers reloaded and nearly went scorched earth over the first half- dozen tilts. "The defense is playing really well," Harbaugh insisted. "You start to stack up some of the things they've done, in terms of limiting opponents to total yards. We're one of, I think, 10 teams that have allowed 280-some yards or less in their first six ball games since 2000. "There are more punts against us than against any team in college football this year. There are some re- ally great things." But you never know what's around the bend in college foot- ball. In Michigan's case, its starting quarterback got bent, and broken, at Purdue. Redshirt junior signal-caller Wilton Speight was already going through a significant adjustment period with a whole new cast of re- ceivers. Multiple fractured vertebra put that getting-to-know-you sce- nario on indefinite hold. Speight had already lost to injury one of his most productive wideouts in freshman Tarik Black. Suddenly, one of the linchpins of last year's near-miss season became a specta- tor, and Michigan's offensive brain trust — Harbaugh, offensive coordi- nator Tim Drevno and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton — scram- bled to find what works. It hasn't been easy. With fifth-year senior quarterback John O'Korn at the helm, the Wol- verines prepared to ride into Happy Valley, facing the No. 1 scoring de- fense in the nation (9.0 points per game allowed). After averaging 40.3 points a year ago, Michigan stood 79th in the country at the midway mark of 2017, putting an average of 27.2 on the board. It limped in 94th nation- ally in passing offense (191.3) and 112th in the country for average tackles for loss allowed (7.17) be- hind a rebuilt offensive line. This always figured to be Har- baugh's toughest season, in terms of roster configuration. He's tried in various ways to bridge the gap be- tween the hemorrhage of 2016 talent and the oncoming maturity of those he's recruited. Early on, he read the team a letter from a former Marine out of Jack- son, Mich., who fought overseas at the age of 18. "This is in response to all the naysayers out there that think that Michigan football is too young, too inexperienced," Anthony Riddle wrote. "Your young men have worked their tails off in summer. They have battled each other for roster spots. They have battled each other for starting jobs. They have sweat and bled together. "You tell your men that every down they play could be their last. Every down that they play, they'll never get that down back." Harbaugh told them. They've battled to the wire in each game, coming up maddeningly shy in the sodden setback at home against Michigan State in Speight's first full game out. They just look a little short on offensive ammo for a back-half schedule that goes from State Col- lege to a two-week finale at Camp Randall Stadium in Wisconsin then The Big House and you know who. Speight is hoping to come back. Michigan's defense isn't planning on going anywhere. And O'Korn — who led an offense that went from five turnovers against Michi- gan State to zero versus Indiana — knows the glass has to be more than half full. "I need to pick it up," he said. "There's no way around it. It's defi- nitely not up to my own goals and aspirations." Michigan's goals and aspirations are always high. The raw materials are there, but some of them might just be a little too raw. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine. WOLVERINE WATCH   JOHN BORTON Defense Remains Michigan's Hope After the season's first six games, Don Brown's unit ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense (14.7 points allowed per game) despite two of the 10 touchdowns allowed coming on offensive turnovers. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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