Winovich Plays a Game to Remember in Comeback Win at Northwestern
9/30/2018 1:26:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Chase Winovich was something to see in this game.
If you happened to record the University of Michigan football team's 20-17 comeback win at Northwestern on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 29), isolate on Winovich when replaying it.
The fiery senior defensive end played every snap as if it was the one the outcome of the game depended upon, and that is special. Every player aims to do that, but Winovich did it.
He diagnosed plays so well that on a couple of occasions he very nearly took the handoff from Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson. He bull rushed. He speed rushed. He used swim moves, beating his man with footwork before getting past him with what appears to be a freestyle stroke.
Winovich mixed up his approach, but the one constant was complete and total relentlessness. The Wildcats tried double-teaming him, holding him and running away from him.
But at the end of the day, Winovich led Michigan with both nine total tackles and three tackles for loss, while also registering one sack.
"I think Chase had one of his better ballgames," said Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh. "Just the way he was flying around and hustling all night. I mean, play after play after play."
When Harbaugh's comments were relayed to him, Winovich said, "It was just one of those games where you get out there and you grind. It was definitely one of my most … It was just a great team win. I'm so proud of the way we fought and the way we clawed.
"When we were down, I looked each person in the eye and said, 'This is the part where we have to double down, and all the hard work that we've done in preparation that we've gone through, they can't take this from us.' It was our game, and there was nothing they could do. It just feels great."
That was a senior imploring his teammates, a senior who has one last shot at a Big Ten championship, one last opportunity to pursue a national championship. He helped rally his teammates to the cause, and did so both with pointed words and actions.
Winovich got to running back John Moten IV for minus-four yards in the first quarter.
He stopped Solomon Vault for no gain on Northwestern's first drive of the second quarter, and then dropped him for a three-yard loss the next time the Wildcats had the ball.
Winovich put pressure on Thorson all game long, and finally sacked him for an eight-yard loss on the first drive of the second half.
That play signaled the beginning of the end for the Wildcats, and it was death by the sack.
The Wolverines finished five of the six Northwestern possessions in the second half with sacks, and the other possession ended with a three-and-out as Devin Bush, Josh Ross and David Long provided great pass coverage and breakups on successive plays.
Defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour finished the Wildcats' second drive of the second half by sacking Thorson, and Northwestern's last three drives were ended by sacks by linebacker Josh Uche, defensive end Kwity Paye, and Uche again.
Northwestern was on its own 49-yard line with four ticks left on the clock in regulation when Uche chased down Thorson for a five-yard loss.
"That play secured everything we'd done," said Winovich, "and our mission was finally complete. For me, I had a job to do, and when it was done, it was a sense of relief to take care of business."
The defense shut out the Wildcats and allowed only 37 yards total offense after falling behind, 17-0, early in the second quarter. Thorson was picking apart the Wolverines with accurate throws on quick slant routes and driving on them.
"The coaches just told me to go out there and get after the quarterback," said Uche, a fleet junior from Miami. "He struggled with pressure a lot, and they just wanted us to go get him, and that's what we did. That's what we're taught to do."
Paye, a powerful sophomore from Providence, Rhode Island, also had a two-sack game by getting Thorson late in the second quarter for a 12-yard loss on 3rd-and-7. It was a pain-inflicting statement play by Paye, who hits with plenty of velocity at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds.
Uche was asked about the impact Winovich's great first half had on him.
"We all feed off each other," said Uche. "Whenever one person makes a play, another person makes a play. (Starting defensive end) Rashan (Gary) went down (briefly with an injury), and it was next man up. We did what we were supposed to do."
Harbaugh said, "It was just really impressive. The guys in the middle, (Bryan) Mone and Lawrence Marshall, and then Dwumfour would come in." He also credited the "gritty" play of Gary and Uche and Paye coming off the edges with "speed rushes that looked fast and powerful." Starting defensive tackle Carlo Kemp contributed two tackles for lost yardage.
Everyone stepped up defensively to put the screws to Northwestern, but Winovich was there from the beginning, even when the results were not there for the unit.
That is what teams need -- someone to show the way when things are not going right. Anybody can step up and lead when the team is on a roll, but it takes a special guy to do that when the chips are down.
Winovich also opened up lanes for teammates by taking on plenty of double-teams. I had not recalled him receiving quite that much attention before, and asked him about it.
"I was getting a lot of chips there," said Winovich, noting the second blockers coming into him. "Especially once Rashan went out. But even when Rashan was in. It's to be anticipated. I had so much going in my mind because there were no subs with Rashan down. … I wrack up some TFLs and tackles in the first half, and in the second half they come back and say, 'OK, let's try switching things up.' But the evidence is there, it didn't work for them and we were able to step up.
"I just had business to take care of, and had to try to cause some pressure in any way possible. I had a sack, and I think it should've been a half sack on the Kwity one, but I was having fun. You know, for me, it's work. But at the same time, I enjoy it. It's just who I am."
It is a passion play for Winovich, who wears his emotions on his sleeve and his long blond hair down his back.
He is a lot of fun to watch no matter what the results, but he usually gets those, too.
Winovich is second on the team with 32 tackles, and far ahead of any other defensive lineman in that department. He leads the team with both 10.5 tackles for lost yardage and three sacks.
It has been a special year for the Winovich, a Pittsburgh-area kid who played tight end and linebacker before beefing up and finding his niche at defensive end. And, thanks to leading the Wolverines in many ways here against Northwestern, it could still be a special year for Michigan.
