Observations on the scrimmage with Eastern Michigan, 55-0!

1-Michigan has played Freshmen Kevin Grady, Mario Manningham, Brandon Harrison, and today we added Antonio Bass and Brandon Logan. It looks like two other possibilities still loom in Carson Butler and James McKinney. The rest of the group (13) should redshirt unless something unusual happens: Andre Criswell, Jason Forcier, Eugene Germany, Tim McAvoy, Chris McLaurin, Zolton Mesko, David Moosman, Chris Richards, Leterryl Savoy, Justin Schifano, Johnny Sears, Mister Simpson and Corey Zirbel.

2-Max Martin got his first start as a Wolverine, and scored 2 TDs and gained 117 yards on 26 carries. Martin looked sharp with great cutbacks, and his a bull to tackle. Kevin Grady adds 8 carries for 30 yards, Jerome Jackson gets 7 carries for 40 yards and a TD, Alijah Bradley gets 7 carries for 13 yards and a TD. We end the game with 30 first downs, 16 by the run and 233 net rushing yards.

3-Chad Henne rebounds for 13 of 19 for 147 yards and 3 TDs. Matt Gutierrez comes in and completes 7 of 9 for 86 yards. Kastl and Wilde got some reps at the end. Avant catches 8 for 93 yards and 2 TDs. Manningham, Breaston, Grady, Massey and Tabb had 2 receptions each, and Brian Thompson catches his first TD pass. Offense allows one sack (Riley), but converts on 10 of 14 in 3rd down for a 13 minute time of possession advantage resulting in 30 more offensive plays. We had 465 yards in total offense in 84 plays while only being forced into two punts all day.

4-Lamarr Woodley led the defense with one sack with 6 total tackles. Grant Mason also logged six tackles. Morgan Trent pick off his first interception as a Wolverine. David Harris has 3 pass break ups to go along with 3 tackles. The Eagles were forced into 9 punts, and gained 10 first downs, 6 in the air and one by penalty. No red zone opportunities for the Eagles, and 2 for 12 in 3rd and 4th down conversions for 134 net yards in 54 plays. Defense records 8 tackles for loss and 5 pass break ups to go with 2 sacks and one interception. Alan Branch started at Nose Tackle over Will Johnson and Gabe Watson, but it looked like Will Johnson got most of the action there. Bohnet was 13 of 25 for 118 yards, 1 interception and one sack. A.J. Bennett had 5 catches for 42 yards, and their big play was a 33 yard reception by Travis Lewis.

 

5-Alex Mitchell plays most of the game at right guard in place of Matt Lentz, but Kraus started at Right Guard and Bihl started at Center. Mitchell got some good repetitions today, and should really contribute to improving our offensive line. Tim Jamison finally played and got his first sack. Charles Stewart and Brett Gallimore also saw action as 3rd stringers, and it was nice to see virtually every upper class walk-on in the game. Brandon Harrison really looks like he'll soon be a starter at safety, and Antonio Bass will definitely contribute during the Big Ten season. Matt Gutierrez got the game action he needed in case of injury to Henne. Morgan Trent solidified his position as nickel today; he is a real solid athlete. Neither Jeremy Van Alstyne nor Doug Dutch played today.

6-Special Teams looked great today with Ross booming 10 kickoffs, five for touchback. Breaston had a great punt return. Kickoff and punt coverage was excellent except for Riley's one 38 yard return. Rivas and Bloomsburgh nailed their only field goal attempts. We were perfect on extra points with Rivas, Bloomsburgh and Moore converting. Tabb had a nice 39 yard kickoff return effort to start the second half.
Observations on the first half with Eastern Michigan, 38-0!

1-Special teams set up two red zones, and we cashed in with all five red zones for 31 points. Breaston's punt return of 66 yards set up the first score, and a high snap over the EMU punter's head set up the second red zone. Ryan sent out seven kickoffs with 3 touchbacks, and we only had one punt by Ryan. Rivas made all extra points plus a 37 yard field goal to end the half.

2-Max Martin get his first start as a Wolverine, and scores 2 TDs and gains 73 yards on 19 carries. Kevin Grady adds 4 carries for 26 yards and Jerome Jackson gets 7 yards on 2 carries. We end the first half with 75 net rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs.

3-Chad Henne rebounds for 13 of 19 for 147 yards and 3 TDs. Avant catches 7 for 79 yards and 2 TDs. Breaston and Grady have 2 receptions each, and Brian Thompson catches his first TD pass. Offense allows one sack (Riley), but converts on 6 of 8 in 3rd down for 16 first downs and an 8 minute time of possession advantage resulting in 18 more offensive plays. We have 261 yards in total offense in 47 plays. Bohnet is 7 of 17 for 81 yards, 1 interception and one sack.

4-Lamarr Woodley leads the defense with one sack with 6 total tackles. Morgan Trent pick off his first interception as a Wolverine. David Harris has 3 pass break ups to go along with 3 tackles. The Eagles were forced into five punts, and gained 3 first downs in the air. No red zone opportunities for the Eagles, and are zero for 8 in 3rd and 4th down conversions for 61 net yards in 29 plays. Will Johnson starts his second game over Gabe Watson.

5-Antonio Bass plays so it looks like he won't redshirt, but hasn't caught a pass yet. Alex Mitchell plays the entire first half at right guard in place of Matt Lentz.

6-I sure hope we play our 2nd and 3rd string guys for the entire second half. There is no reason why we need to play any 1st string player the rest of the game. It is downright embarrassing to have to beat up on an inferior opponent like this. Richardson leads the Eagles with 9 tackles while Woodruff has 8, and Howe beats Riley for one sack on Henne.