Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera
The Skip Report: Friday Notes - Michigan
10/9/2015 4:49:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Quick Hitters. . . .
LAST NOVEMBER, in Michigan's 10-9 win at Ryan Field, its defense dominated the 'Cats, holding them to minus-nine rushing yards on 35 carries. This fall, through five games, that defense has been similarly dominant, pitching shutouts against Brigham Young and Maryland in its last two outings. Now it awaits the 'Cats, who visit the Wolverines' Big House on Saturday. "They kicked our ass," Pat Fitzgerald said this week, thinking back to what occurred 11 months ago.
"You just pop in the tape. They kicked our ass. That's the bottom line. We got thumped. It's going to be a huge challenge. Those guys are all back. A couple of guys have graduated. But we need to bring our big boy pad. It's Big Ten football."
COINCIDENTALLY ENOUGH, the 'Cats were the Wolverines next opponent the last time their defense pitched consecutive shutouts. That was back in 2000. In that affair the No. 21 'Cats defeated the No. 12 Wolverines by the totally-unexpected score of 54-51.
SATURDAY'S AFFAIR is unlikely to see such a spate of scoring, and here's why. The 'Cats lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of only 7 ppg. Just behind them in the rankings is the Wolverine D, which is allowing an average of only 7.6 ppg.
MORE STATS: Michigan ranks second nationally in total defense (184 ypg). The 'Cats are fifth (247.4). Michigan ranks second nationally in team pass efficiency defense. The 'Cats are third. And Michigan ranks first nationally in third-down-conversion defense (19.4 percent). The 'Cats are second (20 percent). It is no wonder, then, that 'Cat superback Dan Vitale will say, "They're going to man us up, and it's going to be mano a mano. We've got to get after them."
SO AGAIN, come Saturday, the spotlight will again shine on the 'Cats offensive line, a position group much-dissected this fall even though its team leads the Big Ten in rushing offense (248.8 ypg). This group was buoyed last week by the return of guard Matt Frazier and is expected to be buttressed even further this week by the return of tackle Geoff Mogus, who was injured against Ball State and sat out last Saturday's game with Minnesota. This group also understands its importance in breaking down that Michigan D. "We always say it all starts up front," avows tackle Eric Olson. "Nobody really notices it. But if the offensive line isn't blocking, nothing can go. It's pretty unique to that position that if just one person breaks down, the whole play's over. The play's dead. So we always say it all starts up front, and it's on us to get the offense moving."
FITZGERALD, after his team's win over the Gophs, said he thought his O line was "Getting tired of hearing people talk negative about them. . .and are trying to do something about it."
"For sure. For sure," Mogus said when asked about that this week. "You want to silence the critics, so to speak. But it's all about us. So we don't focus on that. Coach Fitz say, 'You've got to be your best self every week.' So we're trying to get better as a unit. We have little things we have to improve on, so we're trying to fix them. We try to keep to ourselves. We try to keep blinders on."
"I wouldn't say it was so much people saying bad things about us. It's more we knew we could be better," Olson later said. "Somebody asked me before do you think it's wrong that people are talking negatively when you guys had 344 against Eastern Illinois rushing. I said, 'Well, we left a ton out there. The first play of the game, if we landed a chop, we would have had a touchdown.' So it was more that we knew we could be better, and we knew we were leaving plays out there. Our defense was playing so well, we wanted to get there with them and continue to produce."
LAST WEEK, against the Gophs, that 'Cat defense bent early, and Fitzgerald later said, "I thought the first series (of that game) was the worst play by our linebacking corp of the year, maybe a series-and-a-half." That is why, on Monday, he opened the meeting of that position group instead of linebacker coach Randy Bates.
"It was not a fun meeting," Fitzgerald reported.
"We didn't play up to our standards. We had a lot of miscues, miscommunication," middle linebacker Anthony Walker later said when asked about his coach's message at that meeting. "So his biggest thing was we all have to be on the same page and we have to play just how we play. That's attack downhill, be physical. We got back to it later in the game. So it was more about just trying to be perfect. That's the biggest goal. You want to be perfect. It's not always going to be perfect. But we aim for perfection."
So here is one last juncture where the 'Cat D and the Michigan D are similar. For after the Wolverines shut out Maryland last Saturday, their nose tackle Maurice Hurst declared, "It means everything to us. That's what we strive for-- perfection. Obviously we weren't perfect and we have things to work on so we can come out next week and play even better."
QUICKLY NOTED: The Wolverines, of course, are coached by the combative Jim Harbaugh, who took over at his alma mater last winter to much fanfare. "Jim's a tough guy and you can see his personality is all over this football team," Fitzgerald said of his effect. "What jumps out to me is how veteran this team is. Usually when there's a coaching transition, you see a lot of young players. And they're mixing in a lot of young, talented players. But this is a very veteran football team we're playing.". . . Among the most-experienced is fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock, who transferred in after playing in 25 games at Iowa. Last year, in the Hawkeyes' 48-7 win over the 'Cats, he went 12-of-19 for 239 yards and a touchdown. This year, with the Wolverines, he has gone 89-of-148 for 956 yards and five touchdowns. "He's a poised, veteran quarterback. He's been in a lot of Big Ten battles," Fitzgerald said of him. . . . But, not surprisingly for a Harbaugh team, the Wolverines average more rushing yards per-game (201.4)
than passing yards (191.2). . . Their most-productive runner has been the 5-foot-11, 228-pound junior De'Veon Smith, who's averaging 82.8 ypg. He missed their win last week over the Terps with a foot injury, but on a Detroit radio show Thursday morning Harbaugh said, "He's practicing and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's going to stay good and be ready to play.". . . Keep an eye on Wolverine safety Jabrill Peppers, who also returns punts and kickoffs. "Every time he touches the ball, he can take it to the house," Fitzgerald said of him. . . . This meeting between the 13th-ranked 'Cats and the 18th-ranked Wolverines has generated its fair share of hype, hyperbole and hysteria. But, just as the 'Cats did, the Wolverines spent the week saying they are deaf to all the noise. "We don't pay attention to it. We just come to work every day," receiver Maurice Ways said in a representative comment. "It's probably good for you guys. But we're just trying to get ready to play Northwestern."
AND FINALLY, Fitzgerald on Harbaugh, who played quarterback for the Bears in the late '80s and early '90s: "Obviously I was a fan growing up, right? I watched him play. Him and (Mike) Ditka getting after it on the sideline, that was pretty cool. So. The fire and brimstone."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Quick Hitters. . . .
LAST NOVEMBER, in Michigan's 10-9 win at Ryan Field, its defense dominated the 'Cats, holding them to minus-nine rushing yards on 35 carries. This fall, through five games, that defense has been similarly dominant, pitching shutouts against Brigham Young and Maryland in its last two outings. Now it awaits the 'Cats, who visit the Wolverines' Big House on Saturday. "They kicked our ass," Pat Fitzgerald said this week, thinking back to what occurred 11 months ago.
"You just pop in the tape. They kicked our ass. That's the bottom line. We got thumped. It's going to be a huge challenge. Those guys are all back. A couple of guys have graduated. But we need to bring our big boy pad. It's Big Ten football."
COINCIDENTALLY ENOUGH, the 'Cats were the Wolverines next opponent the last time their defense pitched consecutive shutouts. That was back in 2000. In that affair the No. 21 'Cats defeated the No. 12 Wolverines by the totally-unexpected score of 54-51.
SATURDAY'S AFFAIR is unlikely to see such a spate of scoring, and here's why. The 'Cats lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of only 7 ppg. Just behind them in the rankings is the Wolverine D, which is allowing an average of only 7.6 ppg.
MORE STATS: Michigan ranks second nationally in total defense (184 ypg). The 'Cats are fifth (247.4). Michigan ranks second nationally in team pass efficiency defense. The 'Cats are third. And Michigan ranks first nationally in third-down-conversion defense (19.4 percent). The 'Cats are second (20 percent). It is no wonder, then, that 'Cat superback Dan Vitale will say, "They're going to man us up, and it's going to be mano a mano. We've got to get after them."
SO AGAIN, come Saturday, the spotlight will again shine on the 'Cats offensive line, a position group much-dissected this fall even though its team leads the Big Ten in rushing offense (248.8 ypg). This group was buoyed last week by the return of guard Matt Frazier and is expected to be buttressed even further this week by the return of tackle Geoff Mogus, who was injured against Ball State and sat out last Saturday's game with Minnesota. This group also understands its importance in breaking down that Michigan D. "We always say it all starts up front," avows tackle Eric Olson. "Nobody really notices it. But if the offensive line isn't blocking, nothing can go. It's pretty unique to that position that if just one person breaks down, the whole play's over. The play's dead. So we always say it all starts up front, and it's on us to get the offense moving."
FITZGERALD, after his team's win over the Gophs, said he thought his O line was "Getting tired of hearing people talk negative about them. . .and are trying to do something about it."
"For sure. For sure," Mogus said when asked about that this week. "You want to silence the critics, so to speak. But it's all about us. So we don't focus on that. Coach Fitz say, 'You've got to be your best self every week.' So we're trying to get better as a unit. We have little things we have to improve on, so we're trying to fix them. We try to keep to ourselves. We try to keep blinders on."
"I wouldn't say it was so much people saying bad things about us. It's more we knew we could be better," Olson later said. "Somebody asked me before do you think it's wrong that people are talking negatively when you guys had 344 against Eastern Illinois rushing. I said, 'Well, we left a ton out there. The first play of the game, if we landed a chop, we would have had a touchdown.' So it was more that we knew we could be better, and we knew we were leaving plays out there. Our defense was playing so well, we wanted to get there with them and continue to produce."
LAST WEEK, against the Gophs, that 'Cat defense bent early, and Fitzgerald later said, "I thought the first series (of that game) was the worst play by our linebacking corp of the year, maybe a series-and-a-half." That is why, on Monday, he opened the meeting of that position group instead of linebacker coach Randy Bates.
"It was not a fun meeting," Fitzgerald reported.
"We didn't play up to our standards. We had a lot of miscues, miscommunication," middle linebacker Anthony Walker later said when asked about his coach's message at that meeting. "So his biggest thing was we all have to be on the same page and we have to play just how we play. That's attack downhill, be physical. We got back to it later in the game. So it was more about just trying to be perfect. That's the biggest goal. You want to be perfect. It's not always going to be perfect. But we aim for perfection."
So here is one last juncture where the 'Cat D and the Michigan D are similar. For after the Wolverines shut out Maryland last Saturday, their nose tackle Maurice Hurst declared, "It means everything to us. That's what we strive for-- perfection. Obviously we weren't perfect and we have things to work on so we can come out next week and play even better."
QUICKLY NOTED: The Wolverines, of course, are coached by the combative Jim Harbaugh, who took over at his alma mater last winter to much fanfare. "Jim's a tough guy and you can see his personality is all over this football team," Fitzgerald said of his effect. "What jumps out to me is how veteran this team is. Usually when there's a coaching transition, you see a lot of young players. And they're mixing in a lot of young, talented players. But this is a very veteran football team we're playing.". . . Among the most-experienced is fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock, who transferred in after playing in 25 games at Iowa. Last year, in the Hawkeyes' 48-7 win over the 'Cats, he went 12-of-19 for 239 yards and a touchdown. This year, with the Wolverines, he has gone 89-of-148 for 956 yards and five touchdowns. "He's a poised, veteran quarterback. He's been in a lot of Big Ten battles," Fitzgerald said of him. . . . But, not surprisingly for a Harbaugh team, the Wolverines average more rushing yards per-game (201.4)
than passing yards (191.2). . . Their most-productive runner has been the 5-foot-11, 228-pound junior De'Veon Smith, who's averaging 82.8 ypg. He missed their win last week over the Terps with a foot injury, but on a Detroit radio show Thursday morning Harbaugh said, "He's practicing and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's going to stay good and be ready to play.". . . Keep an eye on Wolverine safety Jabrill Peppers, who also returns punts and kickoffs. "Every time he touches the ball, he can take it to the house," Fitzgerald said of him. . . . This meeting between the 13th-ranked 'Cats and the 18th-ranked Wolverines has generated its fair share of hype, hyperbole and hysteria. But, just as the 'Cats did, the Wolverines spent the week saying they are deaf to all the noise. "We don't pay attention to it. We just come to work every day," receiver Maurice Ways said in a representative comment. "It's probably good for you guys. But we're just trying to get ready to play Northwestern."
AND FINALLY, Fitzgerald on Harbaugh, who played quarterback for the Bears in the late '80s and early '90s: "Obviously I was a fan growing up, right? I watched him play. Him and (Mike) Ditka getting after it on the sideline, that was pretty cool. So. The fire and brimstone."
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