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Michigan vs. Purdue Awards

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Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . John O’Korn. You don’t want to see anyone get injured, but O’Korn did a pretty good job in place of the banged up Wilton Speight. O’Korn was 18/26 for 270 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception, and he put up the best quarterback performance of the season. He also led Michigan on its two longest drives of the season (84 and 86 yards), including going 3-for-3 in the red zone. O’Korn also passed the eye test with some very good throws, quick decisions, and scrambling ability. O’Korn should be the starter moving forward.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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Highlights: Michigan 28, Purdue 10

Michigan 28, Purdue 10

John O’Korn (image via Sporting News)

Hopefully Wilton Speight is okay. It sucks when your starting quarterback gets hurt, especially a high-quality character like Speight. It happened early in the game, and Speight was 2/4 for 10 yards, while also taking 2 sacks. He was crushed on a play that looked like it could have been flagged for targeting, since he was already in the grasp of another defender and got hit forcefully to the head. Jim Harbaugh says it’s a “soft tissue” injury, so that leaves something to the imagination.

Hit the jump for more on Saturday’s win.

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Preview: Michigan at Purdue

RUSH OFFENSE vs. PURDUE RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is #42 with just over 199 yards/game on the ground and #48 in rushing average (4.67). That’s the good news. There’s some bad news, though, and plenty of it. First is that starting running back Ty Isaac (112 yards/game, 7.1 yards/carry) left last week’s game with some sort of rib/abdominal injury, and while Jim Harbaugh says he should be fine and ready to go, a rib injury won’t just disappear in a week. Backups Chris Evans and Karan Higdon have combined for 228 yards on 56 carries, which is just barely over 4.0 yards/carry. The other bad news is that Michigan’s offensive line has struggled, particularly on the right side where sophomore Michael Onwenu and redshirt sophomore Nolan Ulizio reside. Purdue is #54 with just under 130 yards allowed per game and #80 in rushing yards allowed per carry (4.09). The Boilermakers’ leading tackler is middle linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (6’2″, 250 lbs.), followed by strong safety Jacob Jacob Thieneman (6’1″, 210) and weakside linebacker T.J. McCollum (6’3″, 235). Fifth year senior outside linebacker Danny Ezechukwu (6’2″, 242) leads the squad with 3 tackles for loss, and Bentley has 2. Michigan will probably mostly see a 3-4 defense, and the defensive linemen aren’t very good. If they can get a hat on Bentley, the Wolverines should be in decent shape.
Advantage: Michigan if Isaac plays; otherwise, Purdue

Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.

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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wins the award for his performance in a 36-20 win over the New Orleans Saints. Brady was 30/39 for 447 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

HONORABLE MENTION

• Cowboys rookie DE Taco Charlton made his first career tackle in a 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos
• Seahawks DE Frank Clark made 2 tackles and 1 sack in a 12-9 win over the San Francisco 49ers
• Rams safety Blake Countess made 2 tackles in a 27-20 loss to the Redskins
• Seahawks rookie WR Amara Darboh made his first career catch (for 16 yards) in a 12-9 win over the 49ers
• Panthers WR Devin Funchess made 4 catches for 68 yards in a 9-3 win over the Buffalo Bills
• Vikings rookie LB Ben Gedeon made 3 tackles in 26-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Bengals rookie DT Ryan Glasgow made 2 tackles in a 13-9 loss to the Houston Texans
• Eagles DE Brandon Graham made 4 tackles and 0.5 sacks in a 27-20 loss to the Chiefs
• Cowboys rookie CB Jourdan Lewis made 6 tackles, 1 interception (for 25 yards), and 1 pass breakup in a 42-17 loss to the Broncos
• Browns rookie safety Jabrill Peppers made 5 tackles, 1 punt return for 0 yards, and 1 kickoff return for 18 yards in a 24-10 loss to the Ravens