Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again he’ll be diligently handing out his postgame helmet stickers after each game. Sap has pored over hours and hours of U-M games over several decades, and in these posts he’s able to tie the present to the past. I encourage you to subscribe to Dr. Sap on YouTube, or follow Sap on Twitter:
OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – Against Maryland, there were several players (once again) that were deserving of helmets sticker on offense. While that’s great to hear and see, it makes my job tougher. Speaking of tough, ain’t no one tougher on this Wolverine squad than Ben Mason! My gosh he runs with such power, emotion, ferocity and intensity! And, #42 got some hops, too!
Great day for a hurdle, isn’t it, @UMichFootball‘s @benchmason42? pic.twitter.com/WQub0a5nlR
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 6, 2018
Never expected a fullback to leap defenders in a single bound, but that’s what Superman, er, Ben Mason did against the Terrapins, yesterday. His game is infectious and that’s saying something for a fullback who is not an every down player. But hey, maybe he should be!
DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – I gotta tell ya, I was worried about this game – much like Bo used to worry about playing Northwestern back in he 70s. Schembechler would routinely tell everyone how good and improved a winless Northwestern team was after he watched film on the Wildcats. Michigan would promptly shutout Northwestern back then, but The General would typically see something on film that would keep him up at night. For me, it was seeing the speed of Maryland and their skill-players defeat Texas earlier this year. THAT worried me going into this game, but my word, Don Brown has some Dudes on defense! I saw nothing but speed all over the place when Michigan was on defense. And all that talk about defending the slants better this week? Well, anytime you take an interception and return it for a touchdown, I’d say that’s defending the slant better, so helmet sticker for you, Brandon Watson!
SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION – Quinn Nordin made two more field goals against Maryland on Saturday. That makes it six consecutive field goals kicked by #3. I love his consistency & focus. He accounted for 11 points against Maryland – that’s almost 25% of Michigan’s total points. Think about that for a bit. He’s gotta come prepared to play every week, and he has this year.
LEGACY CHAMPION – Somewhere in Football’s Valhalla, GrandMama Wangs is smiling! I’m sure after her grandson, Jared Wangler, scored his first touchdown as a Wolverine, legendary QB and father, John Wangler had a little tear in his eye.
Watching your son score a touchdown is a tremendously proud moment and I’m sure that was the case Saturday for the old maize and blue signal-caller. While Wangs threw all kinds of TDs in his career he never reached the endzone running the ball. He came close in 1979..:
..and this run against the Buckeyes was the longest in his career. So while John can boast of more TD’s in his day, Jared can now claim that he did something his dad never did – score a TD in Michigan Stadium. Well done #5!
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