Wisconsin Preview

http://picphotos.net/wisconsin-mascot/

Time: 3:30
Location: Big House
TV:  ABC
Weather:  66 and 50% Rain
Line: Michigan -10.5

This game needs no introduction as two top 10 teams are facing off.  Is this a preview of the Big Ten Championship game?  Us Wolverine fans hope so, but we also know that MSU and OSU looms on the schedule.   Wisconsin also has the hardest schedule in the nation with OSU, Iowa and Nebraska in the next 3 weeks.


Tale of the Tape
Michigan offense vs. Wisconsin D = Push
Michigan D vs. Wisconsin O = Michigan
Location = Michigan
Special Teams = Michigan
Coaching = Michigan
Momentum = Push


Both teams have inexperienced QB's under center.  Wilton might have a few more snaps under his belt then Alex Hornibrook who got his first start against MSU last week.  If you want to ponder how either team could lose this game, turnovers from the QB position is a pretty easy target. 

It would be hard to find a team with more momentum then Wisconsin.   They beat LSU in week one and MSU last week.   Many didn't give them much of a chance in either game.  They also struggled with Georgia State in Week 3.   Wisconsin has only played a couple home games and been on the road to Great Lake State two weeks in a row. 


Yell, I love Cheese, all types of Cheese if.......................

• If Wilton plays clean
• Michigan's WR and TE's have a big day
• Michigan's Defense stops Wisconsin all day
• Peppers jumps into the Heisman race

Yell, I'm Lactose intolerant anyways if......................

• Michigan turns the ball over like MSU did
• Michigan's offense can't move it on Wisconsin's D
• Michigan is not used to the physical play of Wisconsin
• Michigan's defense plays average

I like Michigan in this match-up because they know the style of football Wisconsin plays.   They are not Houston and will try to hit short passes, run the ball and play great defense.   Their whole philosophy is to wait for the other team to make a mistake and win a close game.

Wisconsin won't let Michigan run on them, because they know that is a slow death in the Big House.   They will stack the box and make Wilton beat them in the air.    That jet sweep Michigan has been running won't work against Wisconsin either.   Michigan must throw the ball and do it often.   We need huge games from Butt, Darboh and Chesson.  

The Badgers are beat up and their kicker is out for the year and one of their best players on defense (if not the best)  LB Vince Biegel had surgery on this foot this week and is out on Saturday. 

Wisconsin is playing with confidence and got LSU and MSU at the right times.  They also like playing on the road and have won 8 straight road games. They play a physical defense and use time of possession and field position on offense.  They have a very inexperience QB (who did play well in EL) who hasn't felt the pressure of the Big House and best defensive line in the county.   With Lewis back at corner and Taco back at DE,  it's hard to find a weakness on defense for the Wolverines.  Wisconsin needs a good kicker and he is hurt.  They will have to un-naturally risk 4th downs because they can't risk a miss.   This plays right into Michigan's strong defense. 

This will be a physical low scoring game.  I love our TE's and WR's in this one.  Peppers has to be jumping out of his skin in getting to play a top 10 game.   Jimmy will have the boys fired up and they won't miss this opportunity to make a statement.  We have all been waiting years for a real football game in the Big House.   Michigan is back folks and it's time to let the nation in on what is going on here!

Michigan 24 Wisconsin 7

Michigan Thursday: Looks Towards The Big Ten Weekend

Its clear what is the top Big Ten game of the weekend.  It's one of the biggest games of the weekend in all college football between #4 Michigan vs. #8 Wisconsin.  That preview will be tomorrow in its regular time slot. 

Lets look what else is happing in the Big Ten:

MSU at IU:  Both are coming off disappointing loses.   Everyone was riding high on the Spartans after the upset of ND.  Then we found out ND wasn't any good, MSU turned the ball over against Wisconsin and got blown out itself.   IU who likes to score but never plays much defense, lost to Wake Forest last week.   I'm not sure what IU has this year but they could sneak out a win here if they continue to put up points.   MSU is favored by at TD.  MSU 38 IU 34

Minnesota at PSU:  We saw Penn State pretty much lay down in the Big House last week.  They have been hit hard by injuries and just don't have the depth to make them a top tier Big 10 team.  The Golden Gophers do what they do every year, they are 3-0 early and now want to make some noise in the Big Ten.   PSU is favored by 3.   Minnesota 28 Penn State 14

Illinois at Nebraska:  Is Nebraska for real this year?  This program seems to be on the rise and they have been playing pretty good football this year.   Illinois isn't there yet and a 20.5 dog in this game.   Nebraska 31 Illinois 17

Purdue at Maryland:  These teams are pretty much a mystery.  Can Purdue make a bowl game this year?  They will have to win this game if they are.   Maryland is favored by 10.
Maryland 24 Purdue 21

Rutgers at OSU is a 38 point line.

Northwestern at Iowa:  Not a huge fan of Iowa this year, but Northwestern has played 4 games at home and won 1.  Iowa is favored by 13.5.   Iowa 31 NW 10


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• Yahoo's Pat Forde has a nice write up on Peppers.  It's a good read!

• Another visitor this weekend:  4 Star DE Deron Irving-Bey.    Commit watch? 

One thing to watch on Saturday is Wisconsin's field goal kicking.   Their kicker is hurt and during the MSU game it seemed they went for a number of 4th downs to try to score more TD's.    Could be an interesting dynamic for Saturday. 

Wolverine Wednesday: A Few News and Notes

• Insiders are saying that Mone is walking without a limp and getting better, but not in football shape and most likely won't play this weekend.   The coaches may keep him out until Rutgers or even after the bye week.

• BC commit and 2017 recruit DE Kwity Paye is expected to visit Ann Arbor this weekend.

• The talented MSU LB Jon Reschke might be out for the year with an ankle injury.   Riley Bullough missed the Wisconsin game but may make it back sometime this year.

• Iowa WR Matt Vandeberg is done for the year with a broken foot

• Rutgers best player Janarion Grant is also out for the year with an ankle

• Michigan has also offered BC commit athlete Brandon Sebastian.  I'm sure BC is loving Michigan right now, take their DC and now offered two of their 2017 commits.

• There is some positive buzz around a possible commitment from FL LB Shannon Reid this weekend.  He is not rated on Rivals but has offers from the likes of Clemson, FSU, NC, NC State, Arizona, Miss State, Colorado and many more.  He is a composite 3 star on 24/7.

• Sports Illustrated is saying that Peppers will go #5 in next years draft. 

Michigan Tuesday: Big Visit Weekend Coming

In the pre-season, most thought this would be a decent game and a good time to visit Ann Arbor.   The weather should be warm and Wisconsin is brand name.   Most didn't expect it would be a battle of top 10 teams.    So this weekend has plenty of 2017 recruits that are planning to attend for a top 10 match-up. Including a big number of 4 and 5 star guys.  

• Baron Browning TX 5 Star LB
• Alex Leatherwood FL 5 Star OT
• Shaun Wade FL 5 star CB
• Cesar Ruiz FL/NJ 4 Star C
• Jordan Anthony FL 4 star LB
• Jedrick Willis KY 4 Star OT
• Donovan Jeter PA 4 Star DT
• Chuck Filaga TX 4 star OT
• KJ Britt AL 4 star LB
• Markquese Bell NJ 4 Star S
• Chase Hayden TN 4 Star RB
• Shannon Reid FL 3 Star LB
• Brelin Faison-Walden NC 3 star S

This list can change quickly and I will update anything I hear later in the week.


Michigan is very high on Leatherwood who committed to Alabama and will continue to try to flip him.  Baron Browning is said to be a Texas or Ohio State lean, Michigan needs a great visit to be a player in his recruitment.   Maybe the most important recruit this weekend is Cesar Ruiz who is the top Center in the country.   He has always had Michigan near the top of his recruitment.  He plays at IMG from New Jersey.  Cesar seems to have a great relationship with LB coach Chris Partridge.

Jeter just committed to ND last week and Wade is a Ohio State commit.

• Jimmy confirmed Clark's ACL and will try for a 6th year
• He said expect to see Watson, Long and Hill get his snaps
• Mone is still questionable for this weekend, if he practices this week he will have a chance to play.
• Jimmy talked about Kareem Walker and it seems he is working out with the team and his academics are going well.  They are probably leaning towards a redshirt as he continues to improve his class work.  Sounds like he is not practicing but working out.
• Drake Johnson was dressed on Saturday and is working on a soft tissue injury.  Sounds like he may play this year. 

Michigan Monday: Things We Learned This Weekend

Les and Cam gone at LSU:   Both guys obviously have ties to Ann Arbor.   I never understand why coaches have such at hard time at adapting.   Les is a players coach and very good recruiter.    His style of offense is just completely outdated.   I also don't understand why he didn't make changes in the off season, after he nearly got fired last season.  I would have waited until the end of the season, but it was clear a change had to be made.   He did win a lot of games at LSU and even a National Championship that we all remember too well.    Let us not forget where LSU went many years ago to hire a head coach when they had an opening - MSU. 

ND:  They aren't as good as we thought they were.  Which sort of spoils MSU's win over them a week ago. 

Wisconsin: Is pretty darn good.  Many had thought Wisconsin would be average this year.  They have a very difficult schedule, a new QB, and a no name defense.   They have now knocked off two top 10 teams and play another on Saturday.   Many of us on Michigan's schedule looked towards MSU, Iowa and OSU as being the big tests the Wolverines had to pass this year.   Saturday will be just as big or bigger.

MSU: Does have issues and Wisconsin exposed them.  It will be hard for them to move the ball on talented defenses this year.

Nebraska:  I'm not sure they are back after a close win over Northwestern but they are going to be in the hunt in the Big Ten West.

Iowa: 14-7 over Rutgers?  Might be some issues in Iowa.

Michigan

• Jimmy shows us something new every week on offense.  He will do whatever it takes to win.   He also doesn't like to pull out starters until under 4:00 minutes left in the game. 
• Taco and Jourdan make the defense so much better.   Jourdan locks down a side of the defense and Taco's consistent pressure always moves the pocket and gets the QB nervous.
• It looks like Kenny fixed his field goal and extra point issues from the week before.   He still makes me nervous in a big/close game.
• Jeremy Clark will be missed.  He was a consistently good DB and will be hard to replace.   He also gave Michigan flexibility at the safety position, which struggled against Colorado.  It would be great if he could get a injury redshirt.
• RB depth is unbelievable - Michigan has 5 starters at the RB position.  They also have a highly touted freshman who is redshirting and Drake Johnson who is hurt looking for a 6th year.  
• Mo Hurst could be a high NFL draft pick if he continues to play like this.
• Special teams is better this year because Michigan has it's starters on that squad.  When that happens, injuries like Jeremy Clark will also happen.

A Look Ahead to Wisconsin:

• 4-0 wins over MSU and LSU.  Struggled against Georgia State.
• Ranked #8 in both polls
• Give up 11.8 points per game, which ranks #7 in the country
• Score 30 points per game (66th in the country)
• Played two QB's this year
• Play Michigan, OSU, Iowa and Nebraska in the next 4 games
• ESPN Big Ten Power rankings is #2 behind OSU
• Michigan is a 10 point favorite on Saturday ( Hello Big Ten Power Ranking people?)

Penn State Post Game

Robin Buckson- Det News

Michigan has played 3 non-conference games prior to Penn State coming to the Big House on Saturday.  We have seen balanced offense, we have seen an opponent pretty much stop the run, and we have seen the passing game carry the offense.   We haven't seen the Michigan offense run over an opponent yet. 

Until Saturday afternoon, where the Wolverines put up 326 yards on the ground and 5 RB's scored touchdowns.   Usually you have a back that goes for 200 yards on a day like this.   That didn't happen for the Wolverines, Smith lead all rushers with barley over 100 yards (107) and Higdon was next with some impressive running with 9 carries for 81 yards.

This game was over in the 1st quarter and it was clear to pretty much everyone.   I had a minor concern at the start of the second half when the Wolverines looked a little flat to start the half.  It didn't matter and Penn State's big comeback bid was a field goal.   Penn State is not Penn State and Michigan is finally Michigan. 

It was also great to see Lewis and Taco back.  It made a huge difference in how the Wolverines played on defense.  Penn State had one good player and it was clear it was Barkley, but even he couldn't even keep PSU in the game. 

Cheers

• Welcome home running game
• Welcome home great coaching
• Welcome home great defense
• Welcome home another dominating performance on national TV
• Mo Hurst was pretty much un-blockable
• No turnovers on offense
• 5 RB's with TD's
• Lewis and Taco playing

Jeers

• Clarks ACL deciding it was time to tear
• The defense gave up a couple big runs from Barkley
• Stribling had too many PI calls

Yes, the game was nearly perfect until Jeremy Clark went down.  Now, Don Brown has less flexibility and experience in the Wolverines backfield.   My guess is we will see more young players including Lavert Hill, Keith Washington and even David Long.

The schedule quickly gets tougher next week, as the (soon to be) top 10 Wisconsin Badgers come to the Big House looking to knock off it's 3rd top 10 team of the year.   I think we found out that ND is not very good and MSU has some issues.   Wisconsin seems to be legit and can play some defense.   Jimmy and the offense staff has it's hands full this week in preparing for it's first real test of the year.   I like Michigan's defense against Wisconsin's young QB and offense.   It will be a physical game and I'm looking forward to it! 

Side Notes:  ND sorry about that winning percentage thing.  I guess you can hand out the #2 jersey each week now.   Colorado loses to Harbaugh a week ago but beats Hoke the next week as Colorado upset Oregon last night.

Penn State Preview

Time: 3:30
Location: Big House
TV: ABC
Weather:  70 and Cloudy
Line: Michigan -19

The Big Ten season is here and Michigan opens at home against a big name program that has struggled of late.   Penn State has struggled after the NCAA hit them hard over worst thing that has ever happened to a college football program.  The program still doesn't understand what is going on and even celebrated Joe Paterno last week.  ESPN called them tone deaf and this is the best term I could think of. 

If you believe in karma, Penn State is on the wrong end of it.  

This match-up favors Michigan in almost every aspect.  Penn State's injuries also remain a huge concern.   Running back Saquon Barkley Penn State's best player missed most of the game last week with an ankle injury. Nyeem Wartman-White blew out his knee and will miss the rest of the year.  Both Jason Cabinba and Brandon Bell were not available against Temple.

Tale of the Tape

3rd Downs = Michigan Defense
Coaching = Michigan
Talent = Michigan
Chad Henne vs. Christian Hackenberg =  Henne


Michigan better not need 1 second to win this game.  In fact,  I feel a lot better for this game then I did Colorado or even UCF.   My worst fear this year, is a spread team that will go Indiana on Michigan.   That fear exposed itself in the first quarter of last week and the Wolverines weathered the storm. 

Penn State is now a spread team and wants to play with tempo.  This is the first year they have run the spread as they try to move away from Hackenberg.  They have hit a couple big plays and their QB leads the Big Ten in passing with 828 yards.   They rank 117th in 3rd down conversions going 9 of 33.   The Michigan defense ranks #1 in the nation on  3rd down going 4 for 38.   If you remember the RR days (I know you do), the worst thing a tempo spread team can do is go 3 and out, because they do it fast and don't give their defense anytime to rest.

If Michigan welcomes Jourdan Lewis and Taco back.  Penn State's offense will be in for a long day.

Yell, this is how we start a Big Ten season if.....................................

• Michigan is running through PSU's young LB's
• Jourdan Lewis is 100% healthy
• Michigan's WR's have a big day
• Smith runs for over 100 yards

Yell, How many damn spread teams do we play? if.........................

• Penn State hits big plays down field
• Saquon Barkley is able to run the ball
• Speight turns the ball over
• This is still a game in the 4th quarter

Penn State is struggling with injuries, depth, coaching, and not being able to move on from it's past.  James Franklin is 6-10 in Big Ten play and only 3 games over .500 in his career in Happy Valley.   These programs seem to be going in opposite directions.

The only reason the line is under 3 touchdowns is because Penn State is a big name program.  The only threat here is that Michigan over looks this game for a ranked Wisconsin next week.   I doubt that will happen after last weeks wake up call and it shouldn't be hard for the team to be ready to play a brand name school. 

Penn State is 2-1 and has struggled against pretty poor completion, with their loss coming on the road to Pitt.   They will meet the #4 team in the country on Saturday at the Big House.  Penn State's QB Trace McSorley has a name right out of "Back to the Future" and will try to throw over the top of Michigan's defense, while they try to hit big plays with Barkley on the ground.  

Michigan should be able to move the ball on this defense without much trouble.   I would love to see our running game take a step forward.   Wilton should also be able to find open wide receivers with a nice mix of run and pass.    Penn State's best chance is to play fast and try to catch Michigan's defense off guard.    I like Michigan's chances with Lewis, Taco and Gary playing a ton.    Penn State is not Oregon and I think Michigan is excited for Big Ten play and jumps out big early.

Michigan 44 Penn State 12

Michigan Thursday: Big 10 Big Weekend Games

Before we get into the Big Ten games this weekend, we have a few recruiting notes:

• Brevin Jordan the top TE in the 2018 class got offered last night. 

• Commit J'Marick Woods will visit A2 this weekend

• 2017 DE and BC commit, Kwity Paye got offered last night as well

• 5 Star DB and FSU commit Stanford Samuels III says he will take an official to Ann Arbor this Fall

Don Brown took the blame for the big plays against UCF and Colorado that the defense gave up.   He also said he was very proud of the number of hits the defense had on the Colorado's QB's during the game. 

“Like I told the kids yesterday, all the mistakes belong to me, so if anybody wants to point the responsibility I don’t want them to have any. It’s right here. That’s the way we handle it, and I just tell them I want you to play as hard and as tough as you can and all your mistakes belong to me.”

“Twenty-three quarterback knockdowns Saturday. Twenty-three. I don’t know if I’ve ever had 23 in a game. And I counted every one. That’s a lot.”


Big Ten Games of the Week:

#1.  Wisconsin at MSU- Wisconsin exploded up the rankings after beating LSU in week one and now they have two back to back trips to Michigan to play the Spartans and Wolverines.   That follows hosting OSU at home, road to Iowa and then Nebraska at home.   Wisconsin could lose all 5 games in a row.   MSU is favored by 5.   MSU 24 Wisconsin 17

#2. PSU at Michigan - Come back tomorrow for this preview

3. Nebraska at Northwestern - The Wildcats have been struggling this year and opened with two straight losses.   We're still not sure how good Nebraska is.  The Wildcats always win one game they shouldn't every year.  Nebraska is favored by 7.5.   Northwestern 23 Nebraska 24

Wolverine Wednesday: Jourdan in Jordans This Saturday

Players and insiders are saying that Jourdan Lewis will be back on the field against Penn State on Saturday afternoon.    This is obviously great news and will make a good defense even better.    I would expect that Stribling would be on the other corner and Clark would be put in the nickel and work some time at Safety on passing downs.   I like this formation to protect against some of the breakdowns against the secondary in the Colorado game. 

Taco and insiders are also saying he will be back on Saturday as well.    Mone still a week or two away and same with Furbush.   Both have been limited but in practice. 

• Jake Butt was on the Midnight SVP SportsCenter last night.  He did a nice job.

• Visitors expected this weekend include:  Toryque Bateman, Nico Collins, Oliver Martin, and  Donovan Peoples-Jones.   RB commit Kurt Taylor is expected to take his official visit as well.

Your moment of Zen for the day:  click to run

Michigan Tuesday: Peppers Turns Wow into POW!

Jabrill Peppers might be one of the best athletes to ever wear the Maize and Blue.  With that said, he just did something that has never been done before.  He won the Big Ten Player of the Week for Defense and Special Teams in the same week.  Peppers did share the defensive player of the week award with Ohio State's Jerome Baker this week.

For the season, Peppers leads the country with 9 1/2 tackles for loss through three games. He's also the nation's leading punt returner with a total of 173 yards.

Michigan has had a Big Ten POW each week of the season.  Mike McCray won for Defense in week one and Wilton Speight won the offensive award in week two.

• Insiders are saying that Drake Johnson is probably done for the year and Michigan will look into a 6th year of eligibility for him.  If anyone deserves a 6th year it's Drake.  That kid has been crazy unlucky with injuries.

• Quinn Nordin also seems to have a hamstring injury.  Hopefully, Kenny can work out his issues from last week.   Come on, Kenny!

• Many Michigan fans threw up in their mouths a little bit when Ann Arbor resident and former ESPN top man Mike Tirico said, (during the MSU/ND game) that every week a player gets to wear the #1 jersey because ND has the top winning percentage in college football.   Well, it seems that percentage is so close now that if ND were to lose one more game and Michigan continues to win, that Michigan would have regained that title.   Maybe ND can then hand out the #2 jersey.   ND plays Duke this week, so its probably not going to happen this week.

• Jimmy killed it on the Dan LeBatard Show today.  Listen to the podcast on ESPN radio.   That is the perfect way to interview him.

Michigan Monday: Answers a Question and Does a Quick Look Ahead to Penn State

Let's first answer a question by regular BHB reader ScottyDoggs:   He asks if Michigan can get back to OSU level of play and will Michigan ever dominate OSU again? 

Love or hate Urban Meyer but the man can do to things; coach and recruit.  His philosophy is to load up on fast athletes and that will give match up problems.  Pro-style QB's don't want to go Columbus because that system doesn't translate to the NFL.   His only NFL QB of note, was actually a Jimmy reclamation project in Alex Smith.    Urban recruits speed everywhere, even at the QB position.

Jimmy, wants to win with power football, defense and good QB play.   The one thing I have seen Jimmy do while at Michigan is adapt.   That is why I think he is a great coach.   Lloyd Carr was not good at adapting, RR only knew one way, and Hoke trusted his coordinators way to much which equaled little to no change.    Watching Peppers in his own program and OSU blow out the Wolverines in the Big House last year got him thinking more about speed and play making.   I don't know if Chris Evans would be in the program if OSU didn't blow out Michigan last year. 

Jimmy knows you can't win like Bo did in todays game, but he still believes that great coaching, great defense and great QB play.   Yes, Michigan will be on OSU's level soon if not this year.  Will Michigan dominate the Ohio State series again?  Not with Urban Meyer there.   He has been successful at every level and will continue to re-load every year in Columbus.   The good news is that Urban tapped out at Florida and could do it again at Ohio State.   I think Michigan MBA grad and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross should offer him 15 million a year to leave C-Bus for the Dolphins.  Pay back for the Yankees paying Drew Henson.  

A look ahead to Penn State:

Penn State is 2-1 with a loss to Pitt and wins over Kent and Temple.   I have seen bit and pieces of those games and PSU has seemed to struggle in all 3.   They give up 27 points a game and James Franklin is squarely on the hot seat.   I thought he was a great hire, but he hasn't found the magic formula in Happy Valley.  Even QB Christian Hackenberg took shots at him for his poor play after Bill O'Brien left.

Michigan is favored by 17.

3:30 Kick on ABC

This is a Jimmy type of game.  Penn State is not going to surprise you and I expect Michigan to come ready to play and shouldn't have much trouble with the Nittany Lions.
------

• Memo to Iowa, don't ever schedule the best team in the FCS. Please learn from Michigan's mistakes.   This is why the Big Ten has a rule you can't schedule the FCS any longer.

• Michigan is still #4 in the AP.  Louisville jumped them after their blowout win over FSU.  MSU is #8, Wisconsin #11.

• Mike Weber at OSU is pretty good, so is Donnie Corley for MSU.  Damn those guys not understanding the best instate players go to Michigan.

• It seems that Tom Brady hit every position group in his pre-game speech. 

 

• A guy I missed in Cheers section yesterday was the play of Khalid Hill.   He has been outstanding in the FB/TE role and made a great block on the Darboh long TD!

Peppers Post Game

David Guralnick, Detroit News

I had a bad feeling about this game after the UCF game (BTW did you see UCF took Maryland to two OT's last night?).  If Michigan has a kryptonite its a tempo spread team.  If the other team has a decent QB, Michigan looks like they are lost in a foreign country without a map or GPS.

When Michigan is down 21-7 and we just watched Louisville embarrass #2 FSU , I thought Michigan might have a hard time stopping the Buffalos at any point on Saturday.   I had a few choice words in my head ready and waiting for Mr. Don Brown.   I'm also yelling things like Michigan never plays well on BTN and I hate Matt Millen. 

Then Don Brown put the #1 recruit in the nation in the game and Gary responded.   The defensive line finally started creating a pass rush and putting pressure on the senior QB Liufau.  Eventually, it even knocked him right out of the game after a Wormley tackle.

As far as the offense, Michigan started the game running the ball well but kept throwing incompletions.  At one point, I was calling for O'Korn because his mobility was something I thought Michigan needed.   I was wrong, the running game kept going and Speight started to find his mid-range passing game to Jake Butt.     By the end of the third quarter, it was evident that Michigan's large offensive line was wearing down Colorado's defensive front.   

That touchdown right before halftime was huge and the difference in the game. 

I haven't mentioned Jabrill yet.  He had his best day in a Wolverine jersey and was freaking everywhere.   He had 9 total tackles, 3.5 TFL's, 1 Sack, 2 rushes for 24 yards, 2 KO returns for 81 yards, and 4 punt returns for 99 yards and a TD.   There wasn't a better player on the field (well the greatest QB of all time was actually on the field!).

Lets get to the cheers and jeers:

Cheers

• Peppers was fantastic!
• Jake Butt clearly didn't enjoy dropping a couple of balls last week.  He caught 7 for 87 yards.
• The offensive line opened some nice holes for the running backs
• Smith ran hard
• Gary was a difference maker when he got in the game.
• The overall team didn't fold when they got down big at the start
• The punt team, got two blocks and had some nice returns from Pepp.  It kept Michigan in the game early.

Jeers

• Wilton had a few highlights but struggled most of the game.  I thought he was hurt after the fumble, because he couldn't get the ball to the WR's.   That scramble and throw to Perry was his best play of the day.  He was 16 of 30.
• Don Brown has to have a better plan when Michigan plays spread teams.  He did adjust but Michigan can't get behind big against OSU for example and win that type of game.  Ask Oklahoma.
• Kenny Allen- his punts seem to be line drives and missed two very makeable field goals.  A couple of extra points didn't look good either.
• Michigan's safeties had a tough day deep.  Michigan needs Jourdan Lewis to get healthy quick and take some pressure off the safeties.
• Nike for not making a #5 Jersey

Yesterday cleared up a lot of questions in college football.  Ohio State is for real and the talent and experience Michigan many had thought in the off season is now equal or trending higher for the Buckeyes.  Michigan State is also for real after taking it to ND in South Bend.   Those two road games are going to be very tough for the Wolverines and they will need to play much better then they did yesterday.  Luckily, Michigan now has a great coaching staff and can fix issues they witnessed in the game.

Michigan's next two games are against Penn State and Wisconsin at home.  Neither play the spread and I expect Michigan could look pretty good against both teams.   Michigan also really needs Jourdan Lewis and Taco back.  I hope they are healthy for Penn State. 

Colorado Preview

Yahoo.com

Time: 3:30
Location: Big House
TV: BTN
Weather:  70% Rain - 76 degrees
Line: Michigan -19


Michigan and Colorado have played 4 times and Michigan leads 3-1.   You would think there probably isn't much history to the series.  We know that 1 win was one of the most historic wins in Big House history.   We will see that replay enough on Saturday, so no need to mention it here further.  

Colorado is no push over folks.  Yes, Michigan is nearly a 3 TD favorite but I believe Colorado will give the Wolverines some issues.   They have experience in the defensive backfield and a senior QB.   Their DC Jim Leavitt worked for Jimmy in San Fran and knows his offense well.

Michigan played two poor teams in the first two weeks and got a spot on ESPN and ABC nationally.   A 2-0 PAC 12 team comes to town and the game ends up on BTN.   Which is a clear sign there is a ton of big games on TV this weekend. 

Tale of the Tape
Wilton vs Colorado DB's =  Close win for Wilton
M DLine vs. Colorado OLine = Michigan DLine
Colorado QB Sefo Liufau vs. Peppers =  Peppers
Coaching = Michigan

Colorado will push the tempo and spread the Wolverines out.  It's no secret what the Wolverines have struggled with in the past.   Michigan and Don Brown has it's first real test of the year.   We will see what he has in store for QB Sefo Liufau.  I hope Jourdan is back and healthy, because I think Colorado will test the Michigan secondary as much as possible. 

I expect that the Colorado coaching staff, noticed how the UCF QB's got loose last week and will run Sefo has much as possible (he has 120 yards rushing in two games).    I also assume Don Brown fixed that issue during the week.

Say I love Aspen in the Winter if........................

• Wilton is accurate and hitting Michigan's talented WR's and TE's
• Michigan finds some type of running game
• The defense is prepared for the up tempo spread
• Michigan's D creates 3 turnovers and has 0 on offense

Yell, I have seen this sh** before if...............................

• Colorado's offense looks a lot like Indiana's
• A senior QB leads a team with nothing to lose
• Wilton is turning the ball over
• Michigan struggles to run the ball

I think this game could be an ugly one.   I hope Michigan prepares to come out and play like they did in the opener and not against UCF.   They can't over look this team.  Colorado has an experienced team and it's a program on the rise.  With that said, they have lost their last 22 match-ups against ranked teams.    Michigan should win this game but if they over look the Buffalos for Penn State, Michigan will find themselves in a close game. 

I think Michigan does run the ball and finds match-up problems with their talented tight ends.   Colorado again will be able to move the ball between the 20's but will find a hard time scoring touchdowns against a talented Michigan defense when the field shrinks.  Jourdan Lewis plays and gets a pick.    Peppers spy's on Sefo Liufau and doesn't let him scramble much.   Michigan pulls away in the second half.

Michigan 34 Colorado 13

Michigan Thursday: Looks At The Weekends Big Ten Match-ups

There is not a ton coming out of Schembechler Hall this week.   We still don't know if Jourdan or Taco is going to play yet and probably won't until 3:30 on Saturday.   Lewis did participate in practice on Monday.

• I guess Dylan McCaffrey is actually taking another un-official visit this weekend.  He must be saving the official for another game. 

• Per Wheat's press conference on Kareem Walker:  How has Kareem’s [Walker] attitude been?“Great, great. Working hard. I think he’s put on about 10 pounds of muscle. He’s looking good. You know, he’s really, really upbeat. He’s ready to go. He’s ready to go.”

Michigan - Colorado is a decent game but the Big Ten is full of nice match ups this weekend. 

Oregon at Nebraska:  Brady Hoke is back in a Big Ten game!  The Ducks are 2-0 and Cornhuskers are 2-0.   The Ducks are actually getting +3 in the game.   Both of these teams are questions marks and like the athleticism of the Ducks and a field goal.  Oregon 28 Nebraska 14

MSU at ND: I think Notre Dame can score and I have a ton of questions on MSU offense so far.   ND wins this game big and is a -7.5 favorite.    ND 32 MSU 10

OSU at OU:   Oklahoma is a desperate team and OSU has been beating up on cupcakes and is on the road.   This will be a shoot out and the Buckeyes are a small favorite at -1  OU 42 OSU 38. 

Western Michigan at Illinois:  Western is good folks and Vegas knows it.   They are a field goal favorite in this game.   I think this will be a low scoring slugfest.   WMU 17  Illinois 13

Maryland is playing on the road in Florida again against UCF.  Watch out!  Scott Frost will fight you!

Wolverine Wednesday: Bad Memories

I have many bad memories while watching games in the Big House.   Rocket, App State, FSU, Ricky Foggy are just a few that stand out.   One I will never forget is what Colorado and Kordell Stewart did to Michigan on the final play.    After it happened, I remember looking around at the 110,000 people in complete silence and disbelief.   I will never forget that feeling.  

It seems Colorado hasn't either.  They will wear the same jersey combination they wore in 1994.   The good thing for Michigan is we have Jim Harbaugh and he remembers as well.  I'm guessing this might come up in his pre-game speech.   On a side note, Jimmy worked with Colorado DC Jim Leavitt at San Fran, he coached the LB's.   Leavitt was rumored to be a candidate for Michigan's DC before Don Brown was hired.

• Mitch McGary's once promising NBA career seems to be at a cross roads.  His suspension of 4 games was just increased to 10 for not following the rules of his suspension.   He was already a long shot to make the Thunder's roster.

• DB Darnay Holmes will not make it to campus this weekend for a visit.

If you haven't seen Rich Eisen address the team last weekend, it's worth a look:

Full 5-minute @richeisen speech to @UMichFootball after last Friday's practice with @CoachJim4UM kneeling in awe. pic.twitter.com/2RovePxmuC

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 12, 2016

Michigan Tuesday: Why We Love Jimmy!

There are many reasons to love our head coach Jim Harbaugh.  He is a Michigan Man, great head coach, lives and breathes football 24/7, great recruiter, great QB coach and a great motivator.  He came back to Ann Arbor to rebuild the best program in college football.

Those are all great attributes and certainly things you want in a head coach.   To top all those off, his memory and off the cuff comments are just the best!  Here are two just from Monday:

On remembering the former Michigan assistant coach and Colorado head coach, Bill McCartney when both families were in Ann Arbor when Jimmy was young: 

“I do. Great family. Love the McCartney's. They had the best cereal of anybody in the neighborhood. We had Cheerios; no flavor. We had Wheaties, but you could go to the McCartney's, they had one of those little carousels under the cabinet with Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops—a wide assortment. Ten or 12 different kinds of cereal. And Lindy was great. If you were hungry you could just come in and get yourself a bowl of cereal. Loved ‘em for that.”

 

On what looked like a pick and eat, during the UCF game.  (In Jerry's Seinfeld's voice,  No Pick! No Pick!)

 

"I have never eaten a booger in my entire life," Harbaugh said with a laugh. "That might have looked like what was happening. But I think if you rub your nose and then you bite your fingernail, that's not eating a booger now.

"There was no booger eating. Let me clear the air ... for clarity here, for the record, I have never eaten a booger in my entire life."

Both of those comments are just the best.  

• 2017 IMG Academy 4-star center Cesar Ruiz will announce his decision on 12/18.   Many expect him to come to A2.   I hope he silently commits before then (mostly if he plans to enroll early).   

• Jimmy, said they should know on Monday during practice if Jourdan Lewis will be able to play this weekend.   I would like him on the field for Colorado if he is healthy.  

• Son of former Lions pass rusher and current Nebraska commit, Robert Porcher IV will use one of his official visits for a game in Ann Arbor.

• 2017 Flint recruit Deron Irving-Bey was selected to the Army All American game on Monday.  Seems to be a MSU vs. Michigan recruitment.

• 2017 Michigan commit Dylan McCaffrey is expected to use his official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend. 

Michigan Monday: CMU Needs To Send Michigan a Thank You Note

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past two days you know that Central Michigan upset Oklahoma State on a Hail Mary/hook and ladder play.   The play actually never should have happened as the officials made the wrong call, giving Central an un-timed down after a 4th down intentional grounding call on OK State.   We now know the officials made a mistake and that play never should have happened.   What was interesting is that OK State decided to throw the ball out of bounds instead of punting.   I wonder why they didn't choose to punt?   I think we all know that answer!   Congrats to Central on another nice win.  How about the D1 football programs in Michigan?   Both Western and Central with big upset wins against power 5 conference teams and Michigan and MSU both un-defeated. 

• Per Jimmy's post game, Jourdan is now working through another issue.  David Long didn't dress either.

• Jimmy called out UCF's run blitzes as a reason the running game didn't really preform on Saturday.   I'm willing to accept that for some of the runs, I think the offense line should also take some blame.

• Michigan is a 19.5 favorite over Colorado on Saturday.

• Michigan up to #4 in the AP.

A look ahead to Colorado this weekend:

• 3:30 Kick, on BTN
• They play at Michigan this weekend and host Oregon the week after.
• Averaging 326.5 yards in the Air
• Averaging 261 rushing yards
• ESPN Power PAC 12 Ranking has Colorado ranked #7
• Colorado got 2 total votes in the AP and Coaches Poll. 

Central Florida Post Game

              Chris Wormley gets the block!  
David Guralnick, Detroit News

The important stat of the game was the final score of 51-14.   Michigan threw the ball well and played incredible special teams in blocking multiple punts and a field goal.   I like how when Central Florida put a ton of guys in the box to stop the run, Michigan passed and passed effectively.   Wilton played well and threw for over 300 yards, 4 TD's and more importantly didn't throw a pick. 

With all that said, I thought the Wolverines didn't have their best game on Saturday.   The offensive line was not able to find a running game and UCF ran for 275 yards. Michigan ran for a total of 119 yards.  Most of UCF's yards were on a few plays but those still shouldn't happen against a Michigan defense.   I can see the QB break away for one nice run, but UCF QB's had 67 yards total yards on the ground.  I don't even want to talk about that 87 yard sweep for a TD.    Michigan's leading rusher was Smith with a total of 38 yards on ten carries.

Cheers

• Wilton was sharp all day (does he have a strange throwing motion?)
• The Michigan offense is flexible enough to adjust during the game
• UCF had 56 passing yards
• Special teams had a great game
• Gary had a 1/2 a sack and two TFL's
• Peppers was everywhere
• No injuries

Jeers

• The offensive line run blocking
• The defense giving up 275 yards on the ground
• Michigan's top rusher had 38 yards
• 87 yard TD should never happen
• Butt had a couple of drops (did have an overall nice game)

I know Jimmy was trying to send a few messages by keeping the starters in the game.  I would have liked to see O'Korn play the entire 4th quarter.   I think he needs experience playing in this offense if he is needed. 

Next week, Michigan will play a real opponent in the Big House.  Colorado has an senior laded team and also has two blowout wins under their belt.   I expect the team will work on a few things this week in practice.

Antwuan Johnson and Carter Dunaway De-Commit

Well, the Wolverines got a few pieces of bad news today as a 2017 and 2018 commit both decide to look elsewhere for their future education and football program.

2017 TE Carter Dunaway de-committed in what seems like a suggestion from the Michigan coaches.   Cater was the first commit for the 2018 class and his father played for Bo.  Seems the Wolverines might be in a numbers crunch for this class and asked Carter to look at his options.  Carter is a low 3 star recruit in the 2017 class.

2018 LB Antwuan Johnson also decided to open up his recruitment.  I don't get too concerned about a class that is so far away from signing day.   I don't even think these kids should be able to commit so early.  They have two more years of high school football to play (including this season) and there is plenty of time before signing day 2018.   Johnson said he didn't have a close relationship with Michigan's LB coach and that is the reason he is de-committing.   That seems like a convenient excuse for wanting to look at other options.  Chris Partridge is Michigan's LB coach if you're wondering. Johnson is considered a 4 star recruit for the 2018 class.

Central Florida Preview



ucf.edu

Time: Noon
Location: Big House
TV: ABC
Weather: Rain, 90% at 1:00
Line: Michigan -35.5

If last week was the best opening weekend ever, this might be the worst second weekend ever.   There are zero ranked vs ranked teams playing each other this weekend.   This game falls into that category. 

Michigan is #5 in the country and UCF won a football game last week which is their first win since December 4th, 2014.  That is a long draught and Scott Frost the former OC from Oregon is trying to install that offense.   Against, South Carolina State last weekend they scored 38 points and had 462 yards of offense.  

Tale of the Tape:

UCF Spread vs. Don Brown's Defense = Don's Dudes
UCF's kicker vs. Michigan weather = UCF's Kicker
#5 team in the nation vs. 1 win since 2014 = Blow out

When you're a 5 touchdown favorite there really isn't a ton to breakdown.  UCF has a good kicker and a brand new coach that is trying to recruit athletes to fit his system.   They do have a senior QB in Justin Holman who has started 10 games for the Knights.  I'm pretty sure he hasn't ever seen a defense like the one that is waiting for him in the Big House.

Wonder out loud if Michigan gets a free trip to Disney World if they win this game if.......................

• Michigan gets two hundred yard rushers out of the group of  Smith, Issac and Evans.  (this will happen at some point!)
• Michigan stays healthy
• No Turnovers!
• Michigan's defense doesn't struggle with the Oregon offense with out Oregon's players.

Say, are we really watching this BS in the rain, if.................................

• The rain causes Michigan problems on both sides of the ball
• The defense still has trouble stopping the spread (example IU)
• Wilton has trouble throwing a wet ball

This game should be similar to last weeks.   With a senior QB and an offense that will run tempo in a spread, this offense could give Michigan some issue between the 20's.   I don't see UCF getting a ton of TD's but probably will kick a few field goals.   The UCF defense won't stop Michigan and I think Kenny might not have to worry about punting again. 

Jimmy will keep most of his injured starters out this week and we will get again see more of the fabulous freshman (17 of them played last week).  Jimmy needs to give O'Korn more then the one series he got last week. 

Michigan 51 UCF 9

Michigan Thursday: Asks A Question About Peppers on Offense

desertsun.com

Chris Evans seems to be freshman that is going to make a significant impact on offense this year.   His playmaking ability and speed is a great change of pace to Smith and Isaac power running style.    We all know that Peppers wouldn't play offense in the pre-Big Ten season, but with Evans now available, it bring us to one big question:  Does Peppers need to play offense this year?

I think the answer is no (but he probably will later in the year).   Peppers is a great athlete no doubt, right now he is playing LB, CB, Nickel, and Safety on defense.   That is a lot of assignments on the defensive side of the ball.   Let's not forget he is returning punts and kickoffs as well.   With all that said, I think Peppers will have some offensive packages later in the season but right now Jimmy seems very happy with Evans and his role on offense. 

I was a little concerned how long Peppers was in the game on Saturday after the score got out of hand.  I know the defense wanted a shut out but it's not worth a Peppers injury in garbage time.   Please send out other player if Michigan gets up big against UCF this weekend.

Another Freshman hat tip goes to Michael Onwenu who played on both lines (offense and defense) on Saturday.  With Mone out a couple of weeks, Big Mike will probably see more time on defense now.  

Big Ten Week 2 Big Games

In the past, I have previewed every Big Ten game on Thursdays during the season.   Some games are so bad they aren't even worth a preview.  So this year, I will take a look at some of the bigger Big Ten games coming up this weekend.

Penn State at Pitt:  This is an old rivalry game that has been dormant for some time.   I'm not sold on Penn State yet as they seemed to struggle week one.  We know Narduzzi would love to have a win over a Big Ten team.  Pitt -5 in this game.   Pitt 24 PSU 14

Cincinnati at Purdue:  Does Cincy still have Gunnar Kiel that 5 star QB that signed with ND and then transferred to the Bearcats?  He had some serious concussions and injury issues last year.   Cincy loves to throw the ball and doesn't play a lot of defense.  On a fun side note, Cincy has a Safety named Mike Tyson.   I think this combined score could get over a 100 points.   Cincy is -6 in this one.   UC 51  Purdue 48

North Carolina at Illinois:  This is an interesting game.  NC was a pretty good team at the end of the year and almost beat Clemson in the ACC Championship.  Illinois hasn't been a good team for awhile but Lovie Smith is there now and trying to change the culture.   UNC is -9.   I like UNC in this game but wouldn't be surprised if Illinois gives them a good close game.   UNC 28 Illinois 24

Iowa State at Iowa:  This is another rivalry game and they play for some corn trophy.  Iowa State lost to North Iowa last week and now will hit the road for another instate game.   Iowa is a solid team and won't lose this one at home.   Iowa -15.  Iowa 31  ISU 10

Weird game of the week:  Maryland travels to Florida International on Friday night.  Maryland -10.

Wolverine Wednesday: Is Ranked Higher

Side Note:  If I ever run for President, I'm going to have 3 day weekends once a month.   They are just so nice and we clearly need more of them.

Michigan is ranked #5 in the AP poll and #6 in the Coaches poll.   Coaches don't watch anything but their team and the team they are playing that week.   They have no idea or life outside of their program during football season.  So how can they rank other teams?    Jimmy by the way, no longer participates in the coaches poll.

Did Michigan's schedule get harder after Saturday?  Colorado blew out CSU and Wisconsin had a defensive battle and win against LSU.   Since I seem to be a fan of doing Side Notes today, here is another one.  How happy are we that Les Miles is not our head coach?  I think Les is a very good recruiter and was very close to being out of work after last season because his offense is too run heavy.  To show everybody he could change, he did the exact same thing against Wisconsin and his offense was very predictable again!   I don't know if its Cam Cameron or Les, either way they better find away to open the offense a little bit, they just have too many skill players to continuing to try to play in a box.

Wisconsin is now #10 in the AP and ESPN ranks Wisconsin #3 in the Big 10 Power rankings.
Colorado got one AP vote and remains un-ranked

I didn't watch the Penn State game but they struggled against Kent State until the 4th quarter.  They play @ Pitt this weekend which could be one of the better match-ups this weekend.   The best opening weekend ever, seems to be followed by Cupcake Saturday.

• I have always been a fan of Pewee Pipkins who is now at Texas Tech.  It seems he had a good first game and won the game ball.   I hope nothing but the best for him and hope he doesn't have any injuries this season.  Sitting out a season, was probably exactly what he needed.

• Another guy we have an eye on this season is Brady Hoke, DC of Oregon.  He of course had this to say after his first game:  “It was a tail of two halves a little bit,” Hoke said. “First half, I thought we played on edge a little bit. Came out second half, didn’t feel that same edge, and gave up some plays that we can’t give up.” “We didn’t tackle very well,” Hoke said. “We gave up some big balls down the field, and we competed for some of them, but we’ve got to come away with some of those as well. We’ve got to do a better job coaching.”  Brady's unit gave up 28 points to UC Davis.  Did I mention how happy I am that Jimmy is our head coach?

• Insider reports keep coming out on Mone's timeline.   I think its still safe to say 3-4 weeks.

• New jersey numbers:  Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. from #8 to #17, Alex Malzone from #12 to #10, Nick Eubanks from #1 to #18, Josh Metellus from #23 to #13

I'm usually concerned about playing a ton of freshman and burning red shirts in the first game, but I trust Jimmy on this and his ability to recruit any talent gaps.    It's also great for future recruiting when guys play early.   Michigan set a record on Saturday with the number of true freshman that got playing time. 

Michigan Tuesday: Recruiting Bullets and Some Player Development

Some recruiting news and notes from the weekend:

• Michigan needs WR's in this class and have their sites set on number high profile guys.   One of those guys is CT WR Tarik Black who visited this past weekend.   He called the visit "incredible" and he will take a few more visits before deciding, he will be at Auburn this weekend. 

• Most recruits don't get to play at the Big House before they join the Wolverines.   Paramus Catholic 4 star LB Drew Singleton did that on Friday night and stayed an extra day to watch the Wolverines on an un-official visit.

• Michigan commit from Florida Kai-Leon Herbert visited the Gators this past weekend and then took down his Michigan stuff on twitter.  Not a great sign.

• IMG Center Cesar Ruiz will take his official to A2 for the Wisconsin game.

Regarding Bryan Mone injury, Glasgow said, he played a series after he hurt his knee, which is a good sign it's not too serious.  Insiders are saying no more then two weeks for Taco and probably a month for Mone's injury. 

Two guys I'm really excited about their development are Mike McCray and Grant Perry.   Lets talk about Mike first. 

Mike has been a guy that has been battling injuries even before he got to Ann Arbor.   If I remember correctly the highly recruited LB from Ohio had limited action during his senior year in High School after getting hurt during his senior season.   After that, Mike has rarely seen the field as multiple injuries have limited his playing time while in Ann Arbor.   One of the biggest concerns of the off season was, what will Michigan have at LB?  Mike answered that on Saturday with 3.5 TFL and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.  I couldn't agree more to what Jimmy said during his press conference regarding the middle LB play (the bold is mine and the point I want to make from his statement): Yeah, a top performer on defense. I really like our inside backers. Devin Bush played well, too. Mike McCray was outstanding. Ben Gedeon was pretty darn close. Those two played outstanding. Feel like we’re more athletic. Feel like we’re in great hands in terms of two real good players up the middle.  A perceived weakness before the year, actually may now be a strength.


Grant Perry was an instate WR recruit that was headed to Northwestern.   It was a done deal as the Wolverines never really came calling and he was headed to a great school to play football.   Then Jimmy called right before signing day and Grant changed his mind and got a chance to play for his childhood favorite team.   Grant got an opportunity last year to play early as a freshman and made a major mistake during is first game, he cut off a route in the Utah game that lead to one of Rudock's 3 picks on the day.  The rest of his season wasn't anything to write home about. Then you saw him have a very good Citrus Bowl that has lead to very good first game of his sophomore year.   He is becoming a very good slot WR and I expect him to have a strong season with the likes of Chesson, Darboh and Butt getting a lot of attention from the defense.

Time to put Week one behind us and now focus on week two and Central Florida.   BTW, did you see what Colorado did to Colorado State this past weekend?  They won 44-7.   That could be a decent ball game. 

Michigan Monday: Updates Injuries on Labor Day!

Jimmy spoke today at his regular Monday press conference and gave us some much needed updates:

• Taco and Mone will miss next weeks game.   Mone's knee injury seems more serious, but we still don't have details.  Sam Webb is saying 3-4 weeks for both players.  Sounds like it's not season ending for either.  Which is really good news for both players.   Poor Mone misses all of last year and then gets hurt again in the first game.

• Ben Braden might be back next week depending on how he practices

• DeVeon will be back next Saturday

• Seems Drake Johnson and Furbush injuries are more serious and sounds like neither will be back next week.

• Mike McCray got the most helmet stickers and was named Big10 Defensive player of the week.

• Kareem Walker is working through some academic issues and will work more on academics then football in the next few weeks.   I expect we won't see him this year and he is headed towards a redshirt.   I hope he doesn't transfer.

Speaking of helmet stickers:

Hawaii Post Game

Detroit News

The line was 40 points and I thought Kenny might not get a chance to punt in this game.   Michigan didn't punt and the Wolverines scored 63 points against a well traveled Hawaii team. 

Michigan's first team defense looked early that they might not even give up a first down.  I'm not sure what the Hawaii coaching staff was thinking,  by continuing to try to run the ball into the strength of one of the best defenses in the country.   The only time the Rainbow Warriors moved the ball all day was when they spread the Wolverines out and threw the ball. 

Michigan was a bit more banged up then originally thought.  Jourdan Lewis, Ben Braden, Drake Johnson and Mo Hurst didn't play at all.  DeVeon Smith hurt his ribs early and Taco turned an ankle.   Mone who missed all of last year, also go hurt and will have an MRI on a un-known body part on Sunday.

The rest of the game was pretty much a cake walk for the talented Wolverines.   Wilton started as expected and nervously threw a pick on the first play of the game for the offense.   After that he calmed down and connected on 10-13 throws for a total of 145 yards and 3 TD's.   I liked how he rebounded and was pretty accurate after that first mistake.   I'm pretty sure at the end of the game, Michigan was putting helmets on kids in the student section to run the ball or play QB.

The nicest non-surprise of the day was the play of freshman Chris Evans.  He had over 100 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns on only 8 carries.  In game one, Chris more then lived up to his camp hype.

Michigan looked great in a 63-3 win over a poor team.  Still there is room for some cheers and jeers for game one of the year!

Cheers

• Chris Evans was impressive in his first game
• Peppers was everywhere on defense
• At least 13 true freshman played in the game
• No Punts
• Michigan's defense looks to be dominate at times
• Michigan ran for 306 yards
• 63 points scored!
• The Michigan defense out scored the Hawaii offense with two touchdowns

Jeers

• The first pick was not a good throw or decision
• The only deep ball thrown was another bad throw
• Michigan's defense still seems to struggle when an offense spreads the field
• Gary whiffed on a sack and got a penalty on a 3rd down in the red zone
• The injuries don't seem serious but did hit important starters

Hard to find issues in a 60 point win and Michigan looked pretty darn good on both sides of the ball.  I even thought the LB's played pretty well.   I was impressed with Mike McCray he seemed like he was around the ball a ton and even had a couple of sacks.  Jehu look 100% recovered from his knee injury in the Citrus Bowl.  You have to love the opening win and all the players that got game action.    If Michigan can continue to be hungry and build on this performance, they will be a difficult team to beat all year.

Hawaii Preview

Location: Big House
Time: High Noon
Weather: 75 and Sunny
TV: ESPN
Line: Michigan -40

It's finally here, after New Years Day we wanted to play football again the next week.  Michigan put their best game of the year together in the Citrus Bowl and it's been a long 8 months since. 

Football officially started last night and I tried to watch as much as I could.  What I watched was pretty poor.  Yes, you expect some poor play opening weekend but I was surprised how bad it actually was.  App State almost had another victim and probably should have as their kicker missed an extra point and a field goal, both which could have been the difference in the game. 

Michigan Football is back, they will be wearing new Jumpman uniforms and Michigan is ranked in the top 10.   You have to love it!

Tale of the Tape

Michigan vs. a 40 point spread = Michigan win


Hawaii has played a game already and still is a 40 point dog to Michigan at the Big House.   They played in Australia last weekend, went back to Hawaii, and now will play at noon in the Eastern Time Zone.  Their body clock must not have any idea what time it is or where they are at.    They have been practicing at Saline High School for a couple of days to prepare for Saturday.

They did score 31 points against Cal last week.   Their spread offense could give Michigan problems, like Indiana has in the past.  Jimmy hired Don Brown to be able to stop these type of offenses.   This will be an interesting test for Michigan's defense.  

The one thing we know for sure, the Hawaii defense should not be able to ever stop Michigan's offense.  I don't expect Kenny to have too many chances to punt on Saturday. 

Hawaii won 3 games last year and played two Big Ten Teams.   Ohio State beat them 38-0 and Wisconsin beat them 28-0.   That doesn't bode well for the Rainbow Warriors at the Big House against one of the best defenses in the country. 

Say, We should play this game in November in Hawaii next year my friends if..........................

• Wilton plays with confidence
• Smith and Isaac both go over 100 yards
• One of the freshman WR's stands out
• The offensive line looks very good
• The defense pitches a shut out
• Gary gets his first sack in the Big House

Say, I'm going to burn all my Hawaiian shirts if....................

• Michigan's defense struggles against a spread offense
• Wilton is turning the ball over
• Michigan doesn't leave the game 100% healthy

I have no problem with this game, I think Michigan should always open against a MAC School or a team like Hawaii.   If the NCAA is not going to allow at least one pre-season game, then Michigan shouldn't open against a power team.   Play them in week two or three.

Hawaii is not good at football right now, but they did score 31 points against a PAC 12 team last week.  There is a threat this could be a shoot out but I'm excited to see how they do against Michigan's Dline and DB's.    I expect, the Rainbow Warriors will have trouble finding the end zone in Ann Arbor.   I hope a number of players get to play and we even see O'Korn take snaps in the 4th quarter. 

Michigan 42 Hawaii 3

Michigan Thursday: A Couple of Recruiting Tidbits

This weekend kicks off college football and the official visit season for the 2017 recruits.   Here are a few items to be aware of this weekend:

• Instate WR Donovan Peoples-Jones will take his first official visit to Nebraska this weekend.

• Speaking of WR's (we need some!) 4 Star WR Tarik Black will be in Ann Arbor this weekend for an official visit.   He might be on commit watch.   Michigan is very high on DPJ, Nico Collins and Oliver Martin, this might be the best chance for Black to be the first WR in the class.

• Don't forget that Paramus Catholic is playing at the Big House on Friday night at 6:00.  The game will be on ESPN U.   I don't believe the Michigan staff is allowed to attend due to recruiting rules.

• 5-star OL Alex Leatherwood will take his official to Ann Arbor for the Wisconsin game.

---

• Tom Brady will be the honorary team captain for the Colorado game.  Thanks to Goodell he doesn't have anything to do for the first 4 games of the NFL season.

• Mike Weber has been named the opening day starter for Ohio State.   We all remember the Mike Weber recruiting saga.  Speaking of former Michigan RB recruits, expect to see a lot of Damien Harris for Alabama this year as well.

• Kyle Kalis has an interesting quote from this Mlive interview:  "The big thing for me is having coach Drev as my coach. I can't stress (it enough). Coach Drev has helped me so much," he says. "I credit it all to him. The way he's coaching me ... I wish I could have had him longer. I'll say that."I wish I could have had him longer

The weekend of big games doesn't seem to translate to tonight:

Charlotte vs. Louisville
App State vs. Tennessee

Still College Football is Back!!!

Good game on Friday Night:  Kansas State vs. Stanford