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Game Balls: Jourdan Lewis and Drake Johnson

The defense was exceptional once again, and we saw a new name produce for the offense.

By Peter Putzel
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

These pieces should be pretty easy to write, but at the moment they are becoming a little monotonous what with all the "Ooh, look at the defense, they're soooo good." Okay, I actually really love that part. DEFENSE! And once again, Jake Rudock did just enough to efficiently manage the game and keep the chains moving after what seemed like a first half of 1,000 punts.

Defensive Game Ball(s)

Since starting these weekly pieces, I've taken the easy way out on the defensive side of the field and given the game ball to the entire unit. It's pretty obvious why that is, too, right? I mean, come on! the defense has been playing absolutely lights-out. Back-to-back 105-yard games!? The game ball has to go to everyone, doesn't it? Let's just say everyone gets the highest of honorable mentions, but this week, for as hard as it's going to be, I'll have to pick one person.

Jourdan Lewis

Although Jeremy Clark intercepted Caleb Rowe earlier in the game, two Michigan fumbles really took the air out of the game, and it's possible that I fell asleep. Desmond Morgan also picked off Rowe, but the Wolverines failed to score off the turnover. It was Jourdan Lewis's interception of Rowe that really changed the momentum of the game and gave everyone a case of the good feels. The Wolverines subsequently scored touchdowns on their next two possessions to stretch the tenuous 6-0 lead to 21-0.

Honorable Mention: Desmond Morgan not only had a pick, but led the defense with five solo tackles (nine total) and another pass broken up. Fellow linebacker Joe Bolden added another four tackles, with one for lost yardage. Maurice Hurst, Jr., Matt Godin, and Willie Henry added three sacks to the stat sheet as well. It should also be noted that Mario Ojemudia left the game with what has now been reported as a tear of his Achilles. And a shout-out to the Special Teams unit as they held Will Likely to only 33 yards on seven returns.

Offensive Game Ball

Jake Rudock may have thrown another interception on Saturday, but he did pretty well overall with managing the game and making smart plays...okay, maybe he got lucky on a couple of occasions, but he survived. With De'Veon Smith out of the lineup the rushing duties would fall on Ty Isaac, but after a couple fumbles, we saw another name emerge...

Drake Johnson

Hype and promise, but not much for production until Saturday. Johnson came into the game and gave the Wolverines a spark of life on the ground, touching the ball 13 times for 68 yards (5.2 average) and a TD. He broke one for 20 yards at one point and showed us his potential as a runner, but he also nabbed a 31-yard touchdown catch. Nice day, young man.

Honorable Mention: Jehu Chesson. He had a deep ball in his hands earlier in the game, but let it hit the ground. He then scored on a 66 yard rush for TD. Go figure.

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