A big win in Happy Valley for the Wolverines and for the first time since 1997, Michigan has won ALL of their B1G Road Games – can you believe that? That shows you the type of effort involved and how special this team is.
Speaking of Special – let’s take a look at your Champions.
SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION – Most of the time, Special Teams will flip the field with a long punt. Saturday, Jourdan Lewis not only flipped the field, he flipped momentum in the game at a most critical time. While Penn State settled for a field goal to make it a 5-point game midway through the 4th quarter, Lewis’s 55-yard kickoff return set the table for Michigan to ice the game. While the Wolverines’ Special Teams were not exactly stellar all game, this return erased the block punt earlier in the contest and provided a much-needed spark.
OFFENSIVE TEAM CHAMPION – Jake Rudock is the man! Plain and simple. We are seeing now, what Jim Harbaugh saw in #15 months ago. Calm. Cool. Accurate. Heady. Sure, he fumbled and threw a pick when he locked onto a receiver in the game, but he is starting to play Brian Griese-esque. He makes good decisions and my gosh is he accurate! I’m not saying he is flawless but “Dad” as the guys on the team call him is getting it done. Nice going, Pops!
DEFENSIVE TEAM CHAMPION – I said last week that a team or unit can get into a quarterback’s mind and intimidate him. Well, I think the D-Line got into the head of the PSU OC. Was it just me, or did they all but abandon the running game early in the second half? I credit Taco Charlton who had two sacks and the rest of the D-Line for putting Christian Hackenberg on the ground and forcing PSU out of their comfort zone. A great D starts with an intimidating D-Line, and we got one.
COACHING STAFF – I counted at least four times during the game on Saturday when I credited a play call, or play result due to the decision of the Michigan Coaching Staff. When you marry talent and depth with superior coaching intellect, good things are going to happen. You do realize that this team can win 11 games this year, don’t you? Coaching.
Decals dealt out in previous weeks:
- Utah: Jake Butt, Jabrill Peppers, Blake O’Neill, (Uniform: White Road Uniforms), John Kryk
- Oregon State: De’Veon Smith, Chris Wormley, Delano Hill, The Coaching Staff
- UNLV: Ty Issac, Channing Stribling, Blake O’Neill
- BYU: Jake Rudock, Defensive Line, Jabrill Peppers, (Uniform: Properly Hiked up White Socks), Amara Darboh
- Maryland: Drake Johnson, Desmond Morgan, Kenny Allen, (Uniform: Blue lyrca leggings).
- Northwestern: Jehu Chesson, Jourdan Lewis, Offensive Line, (Uniform: Maize and Blue gloves).
- Michigan State: No Champions
- Minnesota: Wilton Speight, Michigan defense, Jabrill Peppers, (Uniform: Stickers crossing the stripes! :O)
- Rutgers: Jake Rudock, Taco Charlton, Jim Harbaugh
- Indiana: Jake Rudock, Jehu Chesson, Delano Hill, Jourdan Lewis, Coaching staff, (Uniform: #CHADTOUGH on helmets)
- Penn State: Jake Rudock, Jourdan Lewis, Taco Charlton, Michigan Coaching Staff
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