Michigan 28, Purdue 10
John O'Korn (#8) breathed life into the Michigan offense. [Patrick Barron]
While it certainly wasn't how they planned it, Michigan may have solved their passing problems.
The trip to Purdue couldn't have started off much worse. Facing a fired-up, trash-talking Boilermakers squad, the Wolverines looked ripe for an upset in the first half. For a while, the game seemed designed for maximum frustration; first the preceding baseball game went into extra innings, causing out-of-staters to scramble to find the Fox Business Channel. Then, more disconcertingly, the offense looked even more broken than before.
Karan Higdon rushed for a first down on Michigan's first offensive snap. They'd go three-and-out to follow; the next two drives ended in the same fashion. The offensive line couldn't protect Wilton Speight or open up holes for the backs, the playcalling felt predictable and conservative. Midway through the first quarter, the game was deadlocked in an ugly scoreless draw.
Then an awkward hit changed the course of the game, and perhaps Michigan's season. As Markus Bailey came through the line untouched to sack Speight, 295-pound defensive tackle Eddy Wilson delivered a second blow that crumpled Michigan's quarterback, who stayed down before eventually being taken for X-rays and further testing. This was disaster. Yes, Speight hadn't been good this season, but he'd won the job for the second straight year over John O'Korn, and O'Korn didn't inspire any confidence in his previous appearances in maize and blue.
Zach Gentry dives for the touchdown. [Eric Upchurch]
So, of course, O'Korn promptly led the offense on a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, completing all five of his passes, including a 12-yard scoring toss to Zach Gentry. Michigan had finally broken through. Two questions loomed. First, could Purdue counter? Second, could O'Korn keep it going?
The early returns weren't good in either regard. The Boilermakers hit back on the very next drive, covering 75 yards in only five plays after switching from David Blough to Elijah Sindelar at quarterback. O'Korn followed that with an interception after he threw a ball well behind Kekoa Crawford. Purdue cashed in with a field goal and entered halftime with a 10-7 lead. The Boilermakers had outgained Michigan 179 yards to 131. With Michigan's offense primed to struggle, the game would likely come down to a battle of wits between Purdue mad scientist Jeff Brohm and Don Brown.
Purdue would finish the game with 189 yards. Winner: Brown.
The total dominance by the defense would've been enough to avoid the upset. The offense, to everyone's considerable relief, did much more than rely on that to carry the day. After a punt and a lost fumble by Higdon, Michigan mounted an 11-play, 86-yard drive that calmed a lot of nerves. The coaches seemed to simplify the playbook for O'Korn, who looked to his tight ends and Grant Perry to catch and run with short passes. The drive only got going in the first place when O'Korn improbably spun out of a sack, reset, and hit Perry to covert a third down. It ended on a gorgeous playcall when M lined up showing a crack sweep look but instead had Chris Evans hit an interior hole off the pitch; the unexpected constraint play allowed him to waltz in from ten yards out.
Chase Winovich, with three sacks, had another dominant game. [Bryan Fuller]
O'Korn's next drive featured more creating outside the pocket, more big plays to Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry, and a targeting penalty on Purdue's Jawhaun Bentley. Ty Isaac finished that one off from a yard out, squeezing through a tackle off the right side and bursting into the end zone.
At this point, Purdue was desperately flipping quarterbacks, but had no answer for Michigan's ferocious defense. Blough re-entered in the fourth quarter only to be pummeled into the turf. After the eighth of nine three-and-outs forced by the Wolverines, Evans broke the game wide open with a 49-yard slice through the gut of the defense. Up 28-10 against a team that couldn't move the ball, Michigan went into clock-killing mode. The final six minutes and change passed in a hurry, helped along when Mike Wroblewski knocked the ball out of Terry Wright's hands for a Noah Furbush fumble recovery.
After averaging a woeful 3.7 yards per play in the first half, Michigan hummed along at a 7.3-yard clip in the second. O'Korn, despite a couple hiccups, looked like a completely different player from the one who underwhelmed when Speight was hurt last year. The defense, meanwhile, amassed five sacks, three of them by Chase Winovich, and took the run away from the Boilermakers entirely.
After the game, Jim Harbaugh said Speight suffered a "soft tissue" injury and declined to give a timeline for how long he'd be out. With a bye week ahead to work with the first-team offense, however, it's hard to imagine O'Korn hasn't earned his shot to lead this team against Michigan State. At the very least, Michigan heads into their week off at 4-0 and finally carrying some momentum on offense.
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:56 PM ^
they were pushing his foot back while rubbing the calf. He'll be fine.
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:30 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 12:58 AM ^
and yes, we know very little about Peters and less about McCaffrey.
September 24th, 2017 at 8:11 AM ^
I wouldn't be handing this job to O'Korn just yet if I were observing, which I am. He looked great, and if he would have had a chance to develop last year, it probably would have happened last year as well.
But JH rolled with Speight, and the rest is history. Only an injury, which happened Saturday, was probably going to precipitate a change. Speight is a leader on this team, and JH is not going to dismiss that easily.
On the other hand, it should be clear now, as it should have been clear for 14 months, that O'Korn is the way we can beat WI, PSU, and OSU. Probably will end up short with Speight at the helm. That has always been my uninformed call, but there was a reason JH went with Wilton, and when he gets healthy, that reason may still exist. We'll see.
They probably will both play meaningful minutes is my guess.
September 24th, 2017 at 8:33 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^
On the other hand, it should be clear now, as it should have been clear for 14 months, that O'Korn is the way we can beat WI, PSU, and OSU.Did you watch O'Korn last season? BTW, we beat WI, PSU and (but for some dodgy officiating) OSU last year. I love how the guy played yesterday and feel good about the QB position going forward, but let's not get revisionist.
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:24 PM ^
Getting thrown into this game was the tough part.
With two weeks of practice, there's good reason to believe John O'Korn will get better as the season progresses.
September 24th, 2017 at 1:26 AM ^
Yes, to play as well as he did while coming in cold off the bench is really impressive. I had doubted O'Korn before this, but he shut me up. He played like a guy we can win the Big Ten with.
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
You emo clowns that write these posts are unbelieveable. Can't you just admit that Speight ain't cutting it and if we are going to have any shot at beating Ohio we may as well roll the dice with O'Korn? Blaming the O-line and saying that Speight won the QB job two years running so therefore he's our best option is such a stick your head in the sand comment that I question your ability to objectively write ANYTHING about this team. Get your collective heads out of your collective emo butts.
September 23rd, 2017 at 10:53 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 9:15 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 5:00 AM ^
September 23rd, 2017 at 11:37 PM ^
dodging pressure like a champ. The last time I saw this type of performance was from a certain orange-jerseyed QB last year that blew Alabama up.
September 23rd, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
he just did that
September 24th, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^
it's a hell of a drug.
apparently.
September 24th, 2017 at 3:10 AM ^
is alcohol.
September 24th, 2017 at 1:19 AM ^
Username checks out.
September 23rd, 2017 at 11:39 PM ^
So make sure the safety belt is fastened, the bar is down and locked, keep your hands inside the car and remain seated until the ride comes to a complete and final stop.
September 23rd, 2017 at 11:42 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 12:19 AM ^
Speight had great balance and some dodging ability. But with a weak O-Line you have to have a much more mobile QB who can pass on the run. That's what O'Korn did. He was really good at keeping the eyes downfield while scrambling and then hitting the players while still moving. That's a good quality to have when you're under a lot of pressure
September 24th, 2017 at 1:29 AM ^
Time to get some rest and show Mike Dantoni who owns the state.
September 26th, 2017 at 3:28 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^
I thought O'Korn did a bertter job of finding open receivers and probably checking at the line, although it's hard to tell from afar. But there is no doubt that he is the more mobile QB and, at least this year, the more elusive one. Both of these are vital qualities with an offensive line that is still learning its job.
September 24th, 2017 at 12:13 AM ^
JH can't possibly go back to Speight, can he? JOK came in cold and was clearly better than Speight at any point this year. With the bye week to run with the 1s, he has to be the guy.
September 24th, 2017 at 12:16 AM ^
made that run where he took hits and lowered his shoulder and ran into the defender at the end to get extra yardage stood out to me. That's a play of a winner
September 24th, 2017 at 8:40 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 1:45 PM ^
Let's hope
September 24th, 2017 at 12:17 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 11:35 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 1:27 AM ^
Finally the offense found its life. O'Korn should start as long as he keep winning.
September 24th, 2017 at 4:41 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 8:10 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 8:43 AM ^
Can you please stop with Speight hasn't lost a game yet. The defense hasn't lost a game.
September 24th, 2017 at 8:47 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 12:13 PM ^
you saying that if he should be pulled if Michigan loses?
September 24th, 2017 at 4:15 AM ^
I love me some Bush.
September 25th, 2017 at 6:27 PM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 8:33 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^
Makes sense to me, and it would be a great story this year. As far as Speight, I think that the main problem is that he lacks the elusiveness and mobility to make plays with an OL that is struggling with stunts and a wide receiver corp that is young except for Perry. Last year both the WRs and the OL were very experienced. He could go to the WRs and find them when he was in trouble. This year it seems like a different approach is needed, one more suited to O'Korn's strengths.
September 24th, 2017 at 8:37 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 8:43 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 9:05 AM ^
September 24th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^
when that fella hit that homerun I thought the first quarter would be radio. Then Quinn was part of television coverage I went to the mute button.
John O'Korn was amazing. Looked composed and for the most part on target with his passes. Made some nice runs especially on go ahead touchdown drive.
Offense moved well as game played on. Beautiful!!!
Defense was BONKERS!!!
After four games I would say Devin Bush is first team all big ten and all American. What a linebacker.
Loved the guts of this Michigan football team today.
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