Observations on the win over Ball State, 34-26!

1-Michigan had two turnovers to Ball State's one, and Ball State creates 9 points off the two turnovers. Michigan creates four red zones for 20 points, and our defense stops two Cardinal red zones for 7 points. Michigan created a 9 minute time of possession advantage, and it results in an 18 play advantage.

2-Henne was 17 of 25 for 155 yards, 1 TD with 1 pick (also for a TD). Team had 24 first downs, and was 8 of 13 on third and fourth down conversions for 485 yards of total offense on 64 plays. Arrington had two receptions for 25 yards. Carson Butler gets his first TD with a 7 yarder, and had 4 receptions for 49 yards. Breaston had 7 catches for 50 yards, one run for 11 yards, returned two punts for 22 yards and has 5 kickoff returns for 133 yards; he have us 216 yards of total offense. I would hardly consider Breaston's efforts and contributions over the last three years to the Michigan offense as "worthless" as ESPN announcer and former Ohio State Buckeye, Kirk Herbstreit, implies. His statement was unprofessional and inappropriate. Oluigbo caught one for 14 yards; it was his second catch of the season.

3-Hart had 154 yards on 25 carries plus two catches for 8 yards. Jerome Jackson comes in as Grady is not dressed and gets 68 yards on 6 carries for the opening TD of the game. Minor comes in to get a 34 yarder on his first carry and races 40 yards for a TD; he finishes the game with 108 yards on 12 carries plus one catch for 9 yards. Henne had 2 scrambles for 11 yards. Rushing attack has 352 net yards in 46 carries.

4-Defense held the Cardinals to 14 first downs, two by rushing; however, they wore down in the second half. Ball State creates two second half touchdowns, goes one for two in the red zone with a rushing touchdown. Harris led with 14 tackles, three for loss and one sack. Leon Hall finishes with 5 tackles and a pass deflection. Burgess gets a sack, and two tackles; however, he re-injures his ankle and left the field. Crable forced a fumble with his sack and ends up with two tackles, both for loss. Davis was 18 of 33 for 250 yards, and Bostic had 46yards in 12 carries for one TD plus 4 catches for 15 yards. Johnny Sears get burned by Donte Love for a 64 yard TD, and Love finishes with 6 catches for 107 yards. Cardinal offense has 297 yards in 56 plays (47 yards in net rushing), and is 2 of 12 in 3rd down conversions with 3 sacks. It was a 4th down stop with 2:46 to go in the game at the Michigan 7 that sealed the win. Our defense could not force any Cardinal turnovers until an interception with one second to go by Ryan Mundy.

5-Special teams saw Mathews, Breaston and Hall on punt returns. Mesko punts four times (one is a kickoff) for a 40.5 yard average. Ryan punted a 30 yarder with a minute to go. Rivas hits 4 extra points, 22 and 23 yard field goals and kicks off 7 times for 434 yards and one touchback.

6-Penalties, dropped passes and turnovers completely killed us today: 3 personal fouls: Branch, Trent and Jamison. Overall, 8 penalties for 71 yards. Boren had an illegal procedure, Butler had a hold, and three others. Mistakes were mental and physical, but credit a scrappy Ball State team for taking advantage of the opportunities and staying in the game until the last few minutes.

7-Here is a summary of Spring/Summer Fall Injuries: Offense-Jake Long-shoulder, Ruben Riley-ankle, Tyler Ecker-ankle, Mike Massey-shoulder, Mario Manningham-knee, Michael Hart-back/ankle, Kevin Grady-shoulder, Alex Mitchell-hand/knee, Steve Schilling-mono/shoulder, Justin Boren-ankle, Jerome Jackson-ankle, Antonio Bass-knee, Mike Kolodziej-undisclosed (back); Defense: Prescott Burgess-ankle, James McKinney-knee, Chris Graham-leg/hamstring, Morgan Trent-hand, Willis Barringer-hand, Jamar Adams-undisclosed, Ryan Mundy-shoulder, Brandent Engelmon-shoulder, Rondell Biggs-undisclosed, Tim Jamison-ankle, Johnny Sears-undisclosed, etc. These are the documented injuries, and probably not the overall list. We are a bruised and battered team, and have two weeks to recover enough to give our best effort in Columbus.

8-Tabb started his second game over Arrington. Brian Thompson started today at fullback over Oluigbo.

Observations on the first half with Ball State, 24-12!

1-How frustrating is it that this is the first game since at least 1986 that a Michigan football game has not been televised, and fans must listen on radio?

2-Michigan has two turnovers to Ball State's zero, and Ball State creates 9 points off the two turnovers. Michigan creates two red zones for 10 points. Michigan creates an 8 minute time of possession advantage.

3-Henne is 7 of 10 for 52 yards and 1 TD with 1 pick (also for a TD). Team has 12 first downs, and is 4 of 6 on third down conversions for 267 yards of total offense in 33 plays. Arrington has two receptions for 25 yards. Carson Butler gets his first TD with a 7 yarder, and has 2 receptions for 12 yards. Breaston catches a pass that counts as a run for 11 yards, catches two passes for 12 yards, returns two punts for 22 yards and has two kickoff returns for 47 yards; however, he drops a sure TD pass.

4-Hart has 83 yards on 12 carries plus one 3 yard pass while Jackson comes in as Grady is not dressed and gets 32 yards on 4 carries for the opening TD of the game. Minor comes in to get a 34 yarder on his first carry and races 40 yards for a TD; he finishes the half with 78 yards on 4 carries. Henne has 2 scrambles for 11 yards, but takes a big hit.

5-Defense holds the Cardinals to 3 first downs, one by rushing in 5 possessions for 4 punts. Harris leads with 8 tackles, forces a fumble and one sack. Burgess gets a sack, and two tackles; however, he re-injures his ankle and left the field. Hall and Trent have pass deflections. Davis is 6 of 12 for 40 yards, and Bostic has 14 yards in 5 carries.

6-Special teams sees Mathews, Breaston and Hall on punt returns. Mesko punts twice (one is a kickoff) for a 48.5 yard average. Rivas hits both extra points, a 22 yard field goal and kicks off 4 times for 248 yards and one touchback.

7-3 Penalties by Butler (holding), Hood (personal foul) and Trent (Personal foul).