Harbaugh: Game Against Maryland Saturday Will Be 'The Trifecta'
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Hurricane Joaquin is hurtling its way to the east coast. But "God willing, and the creek don't rise," Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "We'll be there."
The 3-1 Wovlerines will travel to Maryland Saturday for the kickoff of the Big 10 season, and attempt to dodge the tropical storm heading that way. The Big 10 Network has already altered its plan for the game in preparation for the weather, and will not broadcast their pregame shows from outside Maryland's stadium.
"Make sure you hold onto it tight," Harbaugh said of ball security during an in-the-elements game like this one. "It's really one of the most exciting things that I've found for players in all of sports – to go on the road, you have to defeat another team, their crowd is a factor, you have to defeat that, and then the trifecta is defeating the elements. And if you can do all three of those things, at least in my opinion, in my experience, there's nothing to make you feel more like a man than that."
In addition to swirling winds and rain, the other side of that trifecta will be defending against Maryland returner Will Likely. He's returned seven kickoffs for 152 yards this year (a 21.7 average), and 12 punts for 337 yards (including a long of 85).
While Harbaugh said it was a possibility that Michigan will kick away from Likely, he also said that the returner was one of the best in the game.
"He is one of the best college returners the game has ever seen," Harbaugh said. "And the units that Maryland has – the kick return and punt return, they've got a chance to break records that were set in 1949. That's how good they are. … It's extremely exciting for all of our guys that are going to be running down on punts, covering punts and covering kickoffs to contain their kick return unit and punt return unit and one of really the great players in college football, Will Likely."
