Purdue came ready to take down No. 8 Michigan in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday. The confident, all-black-uniformed Boilermakers showed early signs of giving Michigan a fight with some offensive tricks and went into halftime up 10-7. In the end, Michigan’s defense and a better offensive performance in the second half gave the Wolverines enough to close it out, 28-10.
Let’s give out some much deserved game balls.
Offense: John O’Korn
Michigan’s offense got the spark they much needed after Wilton Speight went down.
Hit on Speight pic.twitter.com/tgY2vXwe2y
— David Noe (@DavidRNoe) September 23, 2017
It seemed like a late hit on Speight, but he went off the field with the chance for John O’Korn to step up and lead this offense.
He went 18-for-26 for 270 yards with some toughness and grit. Tight ends Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry combined for eight catches for 130 yards and one touchdown. O’Korn also was impressive escaping several sacks and gained solid yards, but had one tipped ball that was intercepted.
Defense: Chase Winovich
Michigan’s defense is going into the bye week with tons of confidence after holding Purdue to only 189 yards total.
Chase Winovich had a career day with six solo tackles and three sacks for a loss of 24 yards. He now leads the Big Ten Conference in total sacks with six over the first four games, and Devin Bush is right behind him in second with 4.5 sacks.
Chase Winovich's three sacks vs. Purdue were the most by a Wolverine since Brandon Graham had three vs. Michigan St. in 2008.
— Drew Hallett (@DrewCHallett) September 24, 2017
He was all over the field, and the Boilermaker offense only had so many tricks up their sleeve, scoring just 10 points.
.@Chase_Winovich was an absolute animal today. #Michigan #MichiganFootball #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/Al5ADZWMCs
— Eric Upchurch (@EUpchurchPhoto) September 24, 2017
Honorable Mention: Chris Evans
Chris Evans came up big with 14 carries for 97 yards, had a 49 yard run, and also found the end zone twice. Purdue’s defense was very impressive stopping Michigan’s run game several times. Ty Isaac gained the most yards in the first three games, so it was great to see Evans get in there with a huge game on the road.
Excellent run by @Kidnplay_abc123 to give #Michigan the lead. pic.twitter.com/Uka4DztMg5
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) September 23, 2017
Miscellaneous: Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh was proud of this team and shared this text with the family of recruit Rick Sandidge.
Coach showing off his GIF's JH is funny 〽️〽️〽️ pic.twitter.com/J8OfjSi7eJ
— Keshia Sandidge (@Kesandidge) September 24, 2017
Michigan moves on to the bye week to prepare for their in-state showdown against Michigan State on Oct. 7. The defense continues its dominance and is ranked first in the country for yards allowed with 203.3 allowed per game.