Observations on the win over Wisconsin, 38-17
Michigan converted 3 red zones for 18 points; Wisconsin gained two red zones for 10 points. The Wolverines forced 3 turnovers, and converted all three into 14 points; Wisconsin got a late 4th quarter turnover, and ended the scoring with the final 7 points.
Offense picked up 15 first downs, and acquired 365 yards in 74 plays; they were 10 of 24 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Cade McNamara was 17 of 28 for 197 yards and 2 TDs; he ran twice for 6 yards. J.J. McCarthy ran for a TD, and threw a 56 yard TD. Roman Wilson caught 7 passes for 81 yards. Cornelius Johnson caught 2 passes for 47 yards and 2 TDs plus a 2 point conversion. Daylen Baldwin caught a 56 yard bomb for another TD. Erick All caught 3 passes for 28 yards. Mike Sainristil and Luke Schoonover caught 2 passes each so 8 different receivers were involved on the day. Hassan Haskins ran 19 times for 47 yards; Blake Corum ran 15 times for 46 yards. We dominated time of possession with 9 more minutes which led to 19 more offensive plays. Jack Sanborn had 13 tackles for the Badgers.
Defense held the Badgers to seven "3 and outs" and forced the Badgers into 8 punts with 6 sacks, and 2 offensive turnovers. Wisconsin managed 12 first downs, 201 yards on 55 offensive plays with only 43 rushing yards on 32 attempts; the Badgers converted 4 of 15 in 3rd and 4th down situations. Graham Mertz was 8 of 14 for 115 and a TD; he left the game after his 3rd sack, and never returned. Chase Wolf was 3 of 8 for 52 yards; he was also sacked 3 times. Chimere Dike had two receptions in the last 30 seconds of the second quarter for a TD. Kendric Pryor had 3 catches for 25 yards, and Jake Ferguson had two receptions for 28 yards. Clay Cundiff caught a late 4th quarter 25 yard TD pass to end the scoring on the day. David Ojabo led the defense with 7 tackles including 2.5 sacks plus a forced fumble. Daxton Hill had 6 tackles plus an interception.
Special Teams were solid today! Jake Moody hit 3 field goals, and boomed 8 kickoffs for 6 touchbacks. Brad Robbins punted 4 times for a 44.8 yard average with 3 downed inside the 20; Joey Velazquez recovered a punt return fumble at the 5 yard line setting up a red zone score. A.J. Henning had 3 punt returns for 37 yards. The only area we didn't look good in was kickoff returns with Kalel Mullings fumbling, but it was receovered by Chris Hinton.
Michigan has improved, and looks a lot better; they are a contender now. We had 19 quarters of turnoverless football until 4th string quarterback threw a late interception. There are 3 major opponents who will give them problems: Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. Hopefully, this game will propel them to an even better game next week at Nebraska. Go Blue!!!