Winning Times In Ann Arbor
After a historic victory over Ohio State last week, the Wolverines picked up where they left off and delivered a convincing 55-25 win over Illinois on Parents Weekend. Coming into the week, defense was the focus during practice. Illinois possesses a dangerous offense that has the ability to put the scoreboard operator to work. If the defense was able to stop the Illinois attack, then the offense would take care of itself and put up points. That was exactly the case last weekend.
Luke Zana had a dominant game throughout, nailing conversions, penalties, and scoring 2 tries of his own. The rest of the team wasn’t far behind, as many players have really begun to come into form. The maul was a major emphasis offensively for Michigan this week. Lots of reps at practice orchestrated by Coach Linda led to 3 maul-tries in the game. New Jersey native Mike Crismale had 2 tries of his own off the maul, with his parents and brother in attendance, bringing his season total to 3. The dynamic sophomore lock combo of Kiyan Jacobs and Ali Salih each added a try of their own. Junior wing Sam Glusker pulled off some trickeration of his own, chipping, chasing, and galloping in for a try to add to the scoring party. It’s also worth noting the performance that fullback Ty West had, controlling territory with his kicks and dynamic returns. The B side also had a convincing 29-10 win thanks to Lucas Nelson’s 2 tries and Josh Nicholson’s steady play at scrumhalf.
The Wolverines have played themselves into playoff contention, needing a win at Michigan State next weekend to officially clinch a spot in the top 4 of the Big 10. The Spartans will certainly bring the physicality in a highly anticipated rivalry match. Michigan will undoubtedly come into the match with vengeance, with a bitter home loss last season fresh on the mind. Stay tuned for more updates to come as the men in Maize and Blue continue their push for a Big 10 championship.
