Observations on the win over East Carolina, 30-3
Michigan had 5 red zones for 27 points; East Carolina had two red zones for 3 points. The Wolverines scored 7 points off one Pirate turnover.
Offense rolled up 402 net yards, but only 122 on the ground. J.J. McCarthy hit 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards for 3 TDs. The Wolverines had 26 first downs with 6 of 11 in 3rd and 4th down conversions, but only 4 first downs rushing with a missed red zone opportunity on a 12 play-79 yard drive in the 3rd quarter that ended with a fumble. Blake Corum rushed 10 times for 77 yards and a TD, and had 3 receptions for 5 yards. Roman Wilson grabbed 6 passes for 78 yards and 3 TDs. Cornelius Johnson had 5 receptions for 71 yards; Colston Loveland and Donovan Edwards had 4 receptions each for 57 and 33 yards respectively. Freshman Fredrick Moore caught 2 passes, and both Max Bredeson and Darrius Clemons caught one pass each. Donovan Edwards rushed 12 times for 37 yards. Julius Woods had 9 tackles and Michael Edwards had 8 tackles to lead a tough Pirate defense that had 5 tackles for loss on the day.
Defense was led by Michael Barrett and Junior Colson with 5 tackles each. East Carolina was held to 12 first downs, and 5 of 14 in 3rd and 4th down conversions; they had 235 total yards with 103 on the ground. Time of possession ended as a huge advantage for Michigan by nearly 7 minutes, and resulted in 7 more offensive plays. The defensive highlight of the day was the interception by Mike Sainristil in the first quarter setting up Michigan's first TD, and stopping a Pirate drive. Michigan couldn't develop a pass rush; there were no sacks, but the Wolverines had 4 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits, and 2 pass break ups.
Special Teams were not great! James Turner hit a 50 yard field goal, but also missed one. Tommy Doman missed an extra point, and handled both punting and holding duties; he punted twice for 44.5 yards. Doman kicked off five times with 2 touchbacks. Walk-on Jake Thaw had 2 returns for 6 yards, and Karmello English had an 8 yard return on punts. Michigan had no kickoff return. There were no special teams tackles.
The coaches were able to play 76 players including 9 true freshman, 6 on defense and 3 on offense. It is pretty obvious that the offensive line has some work to do to help improve a substandard running attack, and the special teams also has much to improve. The defense was solid as expected.
Bring on UNLV! Go Blue!