Observations on the first half with Western Michigan, 7-6

Michigan scored 7 points in their only red zone on their first drive; Western Michigan came up empty on their only red zone. The Broncos scored 3 points off two Wolverine turnovers.

Offense started well, but ended up the half with three "3 and outs" and an interception. Offense was one of six in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Bryce Underwood hit 8 of 13 for 70 yeards, and ran 5 times for 18 yards and a TD. Jordan Marshall ran 8 times for 20 yards, and caught 2 passes for 17 yards. Savion Hiter ran 3 times for 8 yards, and caught one pass for -1 yard. Michigan had 16 rushing attempts for 46 yards with 116 total yards and 7 first downs. J.J. Buchanan caught 3 passes for 37 yards. Jalen Hoffman caught a 13 yarder, and Andrew Marsh caught a 4 yarder. Well, so much for the new "explosive" offense that was advertised; the Wolverine offense laid an egg in their debut. Dillon Moore had 5 tackles to lead the Western Michigan defense including an interception.

Defense held Western Michigan to 94 total yards with 35 on the ground and 7 first downs; the Broncos were 2 of 9 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Broc Lowry hit 9 of 13 for 59 yards, and ran 10 times for 10 yards. Aveion Chenault had 4 receptions for 37 yards. The Broncos held a 5 minute time of possession advantage that resulted in 3 more offensive plays. Dominic Nichols led the Wolverine defense with 5 tackles including 2 sacks and a quarterback hit. Troy Bowles was in on 5 tackles, and Snowden Smith had 4 stops.

Special Teams were not very special as Andrew Marsh fumbled away a punt return which led the the Bronco red zone opportunity. Cam Brown punted 4 times for a 46.2 yard average with one downed inside the 20. Jacob Baggett had a touchback on his only kickoff.

Second Half will most likely continue to be a low scoring defensive struggle. If we don't establish a running game and dominate time of possession in the second half, this game could go right down to the end of the 4th quarter. Go Blue!