jabrill peppers for heisman

Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014), Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009), Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996), Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991), Four Games In September II (Boston College 1994), Four Games In September III (Boston College 1995), Four Games In September IV (Boston College 1996), Pac Ten After Dark Parts One and Two (UCLA 1989), Harbaugh's Grand Return Parts One and Two (Notre Dame 1985), Deceptive Speed Parts One and Two (Purdue 1999)

Week One: 1993 Washington Part One, Part Two, 2002 Washington Twitch stream
Week Two: 2011 Notre Dame Part One, Part Two, Twitch stream

This Game: Full game, highlights, box score
MGoBlog Coverage: Preview, punt/counterpunt, recap, game column, GIFs, UFR offense, UFR defense

Part One: Click here

While Michigan is riding high after turning a 21-7 deficit into a 24-21 halftime lead, Colorado still has plenty of fight left in them. They need it, too.

On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Sefo Liufau comes up with a limp after a keeper, and it looks like he may need to come off the field. He doesn't appear to consider it. Instead, while Matt Millen is suggesting Michigan's defense needs to sell out against the run that's obviously coming, Liufau takes the snap and looks deep.

Damn, dude. Liufau can barely walk but evidently he can put a 70-yard touchdown on a platter. As he returns to the sideline, redshirt freshman QB Steven Montez starts warming up. It looks like Liufau put everything he had into one final, heroic throw to put the Buffs back in the lead.

Jabrill Peppers fields the kickoff and hits turbo, zipping to midfield before Chidobe Awuzie shoves him out of bounds—and directly into the area of Colorado's sideline where Liufau is receiving medical attention. One CU staffer sees the incoming projective in time. Another picks it up way too late.

Phillip Lindsay should probably yell at Awuzie but that's not how this works. I eventually break down the details extensively in that week's One Frame at a Time.

The more you look at it, the more you realize it's a pantheon GIF. Here's the full version that includes Scottie Lindsey, the RB with the Bob Ross hair, saying things to Peppers you're not supposed to say on live television:

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There's so much happening here. The strength coach who sees Peppers coming, smirks, and then bails out before Matt Millen inexplicably draws an 'X' on him. The coach in sunglasses who starts out in the line of fire and completely exits the frame by the time Peppers arrives. Poor Damn Sefo Liufau. The offensive linemen who've once again failed to protect Poor Damn Sefo Liufau.

But let's hit the "enhance" button and focus on this poor, poor trainer:

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That is a man watching his life flash before his eyes. The helicoptering hat and the "#BTNStandout" hashtag on this version of the replay both add something special to the experience, too.

RIP That Guy's Hat.

[Hit THE JUMP for an arguably more exciting Peppers return.]

Whether passing or running, Wilton Speight dominated the air. [Bryan Fuller]

Dominance is the new normal, and this team knows it.

"There's no feeling like the feeling we have right now, and I'm not going to take that for granted," said De'Veon Smith, who rushed for 114 yards and three scores on only 19 carries.

"The yards he got after contact were real eye-opening. He's real tough to get down," Jim Harbaugh said, in perhaps the understatement of the season thus far.

Even with that production, Smith accounted for a mere fraction of Michigan's total output. That total: 660 yards on an even ten per play and a few more entries in the program record book. Wilton Speight broke a school record with 292 passing yards in the first half; he'd surpass his career high less than five minute into the third quarter. Speight finished with 362 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added a ten-yard scramble capped with a leap into the end zone.

"Statistically and just the eyeball, that's the best half of football I've ever seen a Michigan quarterback play," said Harbaugh. "Moving and throwing and accuracy and just extending plays, all of the above. I don't know how you play better."

"There was one throw that wasn't a great throw. Other than that it was a perfect game."

"Wilton had an unbelievable game today," said Jake Butt. "He keeps coming through for us when we need him most."

Butt made some history himself. On a five-catch, 76-yard day, he surpassed Jim Mandich as Michigan's all-time receiving leader among tight ends. Butt said it was "hard to take in" that he broke Mandich's record.

"You talk about [Ron] Kramer and Mandich, [Eric] Kattus, some tremendous tight ends have come through here. I know I'm leaving some out," said Harbaugh. "Most catches, most yards for a Michigan tight end is a great accomplishment."

Jehu Chesson, meanwhile, had a bounce-back game, hauling in five catches for 112 yards and one of the easier touchdowns he'll ever have when Maryland let him slip behind the defense. That was a bit of a theme; Michigan's first score came when Amara Darboh was all alone on a post route, and when the backups took over, Kekoa Crawford found himself similarly forsaken and caught his first career touchdown for the final score of the day.

Harbaugh was "bewildered" by the call marking Chris Evans short of the end zone. That's one word for it. [Eric Upchurch]

For the offense, there was little to complain about, save a couple calls that didn't go Michigan's way. Drake Harris had a long catch negated by a ticky-tack offensive pass interference call, and Chris Evans got marked just short of the goal line after a spectacular juggling catch and weaving run through the Terrapin defense.

"It offends my football sensibility in all ways that he didn't get a touchdown," said Harbaugh, who threw his hat several yards in the air after the call. "I think that would offend the football gods, as well."

Michigan mostly didn't need offensive contributions from Jabrill Peppers, but they got an early highlight when Peppers took a pitch, then threw it back to Speight, who launched a 40-yard bomb to Chesson. Peppers had a couple carries for 19 yards and added another TFL to ever-rising tally on defense. Asked after the game if he was trying to bolster Peppers's Heisman candidacy with "flashy" plays on offense, Harbaugh said he's simply utilizing Peppers as he should be utilized.

"It's just happening organically. It happens au naturale. He just does so much," said Harbaugh. "It doesn't have to be a forced thing. Au naturale." With a chuckle, Harbaugh added that his quarterback should perhaps be under consideration for the Heisman, too.

Whether on offense or defense, Peppers's contributions are "au naturale." [Fuller]

Despite holding Maryland to 367 yards, there were some worrisome moments for the defense. The Terps had a clear gameplan to test Michigan on the edge with outside runs and tunnel screens, and those plays found success—Mike McCray and Channing Stribling, in particular, had tough games holding trying to hold those plays down. Maryland nearly had a touchdown on a tunnel to DJ Moore at the very end of the first half, but Dymonte Thomas kept the play in front of him long enough for McCray to chase him down from behind; the clock expired with the Terps on Michigan's one-yard line.

Those deficiencies will get plenty of attention over the weeks to come, and Ohio State's coaching staff surely took note. That shouldn't totally overshadow an otherwise dominant outing from the defense, though. Maryland averaged just 2.7 yards per carry; the non-screen passing game was non-existent; the Wolverines had three sacks and ten additional TFLs. As in seemingly every other contest this year, Michigan knocked the starting quarterback out of the game, and Caleb Rowe was a clear downgrade from Perry Hills—he threw two interceptions to Delano Hill that Hill deemed "gifts" after the game.

A road night game at Iowa awaits. While that looked like a huge test entering the season, it now appears to be another golden opportunity for Michigan to make a statement to not only the conference, but the entire country. They're two more dominant outings away from having everything to play for in The Game.

Don't take it for granted.

If I were simply hoping to sum up the game in GIF form, the above would suffice. But y'all had requests. So, so many requests. I appreciated each and every one of them.

Before I get to those, though, I have to acknowledge one reader who went above and beyond this week. The MGoStaff will all have physical copies of Monday's peak self-burn State News thanks to user TitaniumTim, who responded to my call yesterday and confirmed today that a shipment is headed our way. We cannot thank him enough.

And now, there are 70 more GIFs to post.

[Hit THE JUMP for a single-game record number of MGoGIFs.]