Kornacki: Pass at Your Own Risk
10/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 22, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Pass at your own risk.
There are reasons why Michigan led the nation in pass defense at midseason, and Illinois found out each and every one of them Saturday afternoon (Oct. 22) in the No. 3 Wolverines' 41-8 victory.
The Illini had zero yards through the air in the first half and finished with four completions on 15 attempts for 95 yards by redshirt freshman Jeff George, Jr. The Wolverines had five pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, one sack by Maurice Hurst and one interception from safety Dymonte Thomas.
The defense also held Illinois to 77 yards rushing, holding a third consecutive opponent to less than 200 yards total offense and either zero points or single-digit scoring.
All-America cornerback Jourdan Lewis said, "It's a tribute to all of our hard work in the spring and the summer. It's paying off right now, the fruits of our labor. It's a good feeling. The front seven, they create havoc every time we play, and those guys are making plays every time we're on the field. It helps us so much and makes our jobs so much easier. I appreciate them.
"It just feels good to know those guys trust you, and I can trust those guys. The front seven is playing amazing football right now, and it feels good to see everyone in sync."
When informed of Lewis' praise, Wolverine defensive end Taco Charlton said, "We make them good, and they make us good. As long as they hold those receivers up and give that quarterback that extra second not to throw the ball, we're there. So, we kind of cover each other.
"And we have the best cover guys that I've seen in the nation who can cover anyone man to man, and we've got two great safeties that are always there on every play."
Channing Stribling, who leads the team with three interceptions, works with Lewis on locking down wide receivers. Lewis said Illinois threw just one pass his way all game and picking on Stribling also has proven unwise. Safeties Delano Hill and Thomas take care of the middle of the field, covering efficiently and with precise timing.
"At one point I looked up (at the scoreboard), and there were zero yards passing right around the half," said Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, sporting new glasses whose style he noted was a "tip of the cap" to Woody Hayes, Malcolm X and actor Michael Douglas. "That speaks volumes. The pressure was good up front, and our guys really played well, extremely well. There were really just two plays that we did not defend well the entire ballgame, and so I thought it was outstanding."
George, the son of a former Illinois and NFL quarterback, completed the first pass for positive yardage midway through the third quarter with a 43-yarder over the middle to wide receiver Malik Turner, whose other catch covered that exact distance and resulted in a touchdown with 10:22 left in the game.
The Wolverines had no tape to view of George because he'd never thrown a ball at the collegiate level, but Lewis said Illinois didn't change the play calling a bit from the previous two quarterbacks and so few defensive adjustments were required.
"They were trying to get the ball to Turner," Lewis said of the passing game plan.
The Wolverines entered this week's games leading the nation with 113.7 yards allowed per game passing and ranked second nationally with a passing efficiency defense rating of 83.75.
Somebody different tends to shine in pass coverage every game, and this week it was Thomas, a senior from Alliance, Ohio, who broke up a pass on fourth-and-three in addition to his pickoff and three tackles.
"Dymonte was outstanding," said Harbaugh. "He read the screen as good as you could read it, leapt up and made a great interception. Jourdan Lewis was applying pressure, and it was an outstanding play. We needed that turnover. I thought Dymonte was really good. He had a couple other PBUs (pass breakups) in the game, and it was impressive to see him play so well."
Thomas' interception came on a first-down play when Michigan brought the house with blitzes, and George had to unload in a hurry.
"The first thing that went through my mind is: 'It's about time,'" Thomas said of his first career interception. "My teammates every day make fun of me: 'Dymonte, you can't catch. You have no hands.' So, after I caught that interception, they said, 'I'm going to let you breathe; I'm going to let you go. You caught it.' So, it was a pretty exciting feeling. I was pretty happy, pretty pumped."
Lewis smiled when that was brought up, and said, "Oh, man, yeah, and you saw how athletic that was. It's been a long time coming. He deserves it. He's definitely a play-maker, and I'm glad that he got it. You should have seen how happy he was."
The 111,103 fans at Michigan Stadium got good and loud as Illinois went for it on fourth-and-three at the Michigan 30-yard line. Hill had just broken up the third-down pass, and the Illini wanted to break up the shutout late in the third quarter. George, under yet another strong rush, uncorked his pass.
"As our D-line and linebackers took off to blitz," said Thomas, "I realized that the tight end was just staying in and blocking. So, the first thing I looked for was (linebacker) Ben (Gedeon). Where was their running back? One of our linebackers had to cover their running back. When I looked back, I saw the running back kind of fading in, and that was when I realized I had a chance to make another play. It was just great coverage by Ben, slowing him down."
Michigan has choked off the passing attacks of Wisconsin, Rutgers and Illinois in the last three games. Those teams have combined to complete just 15 of 58 passes for a .259 completion rate and 188 yards (62.7 per game) with four interceptions and two touchdowns allowed.
Thomas said that stingy attitude is fostered in practices:
"Each and every day if our scout team catches a ball on us in our one-on-ones, not only do the coaches get mad at us, but the DBs get mad as well. We know in the game we can't have things like that. So, when you practice that and don't let your teammates catch a ball, then when it comes to the game it will be a lot easier for us."
Thomas was on the punt team last year, when a stunning blocked punt at the end of the Michigan State game turned victory into sudden defeat. The Spartans are the opponents next Saturday (Oct. 29) in East Lansing.
"I was on the field when that play happened," said Thomas. "I just couldn't believe what took place, and we had that bye week after, and during that whole bye week that's the only thing I thought about. I couldn't think about anything else and couldn't wait to get revenge.
"Next Saturday, we've got our chance and our opportunity, and so I'm just excited and ready to go out and play with these guys. I love my teammates, and I love the way that we are playing together, and it's going to be fun playing next Saturday, especially since it's a rivalry game."
Thomas and his secondary mates will look to have things covered.
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