Observations on the Double Overtime win over Army, 24-21
Michigan scored 21 points in four red zones opportunities; Army also converted four red zones into 21 points. The Black Knights scored 14 points off 3 Wolverine turnovers; Michigan came back with 7 points off three Army turnovers.
Offense gained 23 first downs, 108 rushing yards with 232 in the air for a total of 340 yards in 76 plays; the Wolverines were 10 of 17 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Shea Patterson was 19 of 29 for 207 yards with two fumble turnovers; he rushed 8 times for -18 yards after 4 sacks. Zach Charbonnet carried 33 times for 100 net yards and 3 TDs plus 2 receptions for 6 yards. Christian Turner gained 20 yards in 3 carries. Ronnie Bell led the receivers with 7 catches for 81 yards. Sean McKeon grabbed two passes for 35 yards, Nico Collins had 2 receptions for 32 yards, Tarik Black had 3 catches for 24 yards, and Nick Eubanks grabbed 2 for 29 yards. Offense has not made a successful transition to the new scheme designed by Coach Gattis, and the play calling in the game left a lot to be desired. Elijah Riley had 13 tackles for Army including 2 sacks, a forced fumble plus a fumble recovery. Cole Christiansen had 12 tackles including a forced fumble; in all, the Black Knights forced 4 Wolverine fumbles on the afternoon.
Defense looked bad, but in the end, it stopped the Army in overtime when needed to preserve the victory! Michigan allowed Army 58 rushes for 211 yards and 15 first downs with 43 in the air for 254 yards in 63 plays; the Black Knights were 8 of 19 in 3rd and 4th down conversions with a 3 minute time of possession advantage. Connor Slomka pounded the Wolverine interior line 29 times for 92 yards. Kelvin Hopkins ran 15 times for 52 net yards and 2 TDs, but fumbled twice, and lost one of those to end the game; he hit 2 of 4 passes for 43 yards. Kell Walker had 5 carries for 39 yards including a 31 yard romp, but he also gave Michigan a turnover on a fumble; Sandon McCoy gained 15 yards in 6 carries for a TD, and Artice Hobbs gained 13 yards in 3 carries. LaVert Hill had a big 20 yard interception in the 3rd quarter after a pressure by Khaleke Hudson that stopped an Army red zone after a Black Knight penalty that moved them from our one to the six; had they converted that opportunity, it would have given the Black Knights a 21-7 advantage. Khaleke Hudson had 12 tackles and Jordan Glasgow had 11 tackles to lead the Wolverine defense. Aidan Hutchinson had 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss with 0.5 sack and a forced fumble, and his tackle for loss in overtime left Army with a 3rd and 11; he followed that play with the sack and forced fumble on the final play of the game. Brad Hawkins also had 10 stops; both Carlo Kemp and Josh Ross had 9 each. Kwity Paye's pass rush created a sack and forced fumble on the final play of the day; he recovered the fumble to end the game, and had 7 tackles on the afternoon. Josh Uche had 8 tackles and a fumble recovery. Jordan Anthony played almost the entire second half at MIKE Linebacker, and had 4 tackles; there were few substitutions on defense, but Ben Mason and Mike Danna came in for Donovan Jeter and Aidan Hutchinson. Jeter got the start, but was in on no tackles while Mason only assisted on two as did Dana. Ambry Thomas was another starter with no tackles. In all, the defense was credited with 91 tackles for Army's 66 offensive plays.
Special Teams gave the Wolverines the biggest highlight of the first half when Michael Barrett executed a fake punt with a toss to Daxton Hill for 25 yards to set up the TD drive. Jake Moody hit the game winning field goal; it gave the Wolverines their first lead of the game, and he also had three kickoffs for touchbacks. Giles Jackson has 3 kickoff returns for 70 yards, but had a 45 yarder called back on an illegal block by Barrett. Ronnie Bell almost fumbled the game away; however, his fumble was covered by Josh Metellus, his second fumble recovery of the day. The officials blew the whistle on his first fumble recovery that negated a defensive touchdown; the play was not reviewable. Army was forced to punt only four times by our defense; they nailed two inside our 20. Will Hart only punted once; it was a 61 yarder with a 12 yard return to net 49 yards. Cole Talley missed a 50 yard field goals as time expired in regulation to set up the overtime. Quinn Nordin missed a 55 yard field goal to end the first half. Michigan took 9 penalties for 58 yards while Army took 8 for 78 yards in the hard-hitting affair. Neither Donovan Peoples-Jones nor Jon Runyan played, but both are expected back for Wisconsin.
Michigan gets a Bye Week, and then travels to Madison for the Big Ten opener with the Wisconsin Badgers on September 21; obviously, Harbaugh and his troops have significant work to do to prepare for that battle. Go Blue!
