Observations on the win over Miami, 16-6!

Observations on the win over Miami, 16-6!

1-Each team earns two red zones, Michigan comes up with 13 points compared to the Red Skins 6. Michigan gets 3 points off one turnover, Miami gets no turnovers. Michigan offense shows it is no threat to anyone, and Michigan football program is now on par with mediocre MAC schools. Miami had a dominating ten and a half minutes time of possession advantage.

2-Threet was 6 of 13 for 63 yards plus 5 rushes for 26 yards; he overthrows receivers consistently in important 3rd down plays. Sheridan hits 4 of 5 for 40 yards in relief, and runs for another 10 yards. Odoms comes up with 3 catches including a 50 yarder for 57 yards. McGuffie grabs 3 including a 27 yarder for 32 yards. Clemons, Shaw and Stonum grabbed 4 passes between them for another 14 yards. Apparently, Shaw left the game after one half due to a groin pull. A pretty bleak passing offense that was 10 of 18 for 103 yards, and only 2 of 11 in 3rd down conversions for only 15 first downs. Notre Dame and other Big Ten schools are "licking their chops."

3-Rushing offense nets 178 yards with McGuffie getting 74, Shaw ran twice for 45 yards, McGuffie runs 6 times for 22 yards, Brandon Minor got a 15 yard TD in his only carry, Moundros had one carry for 7 yards, and Grady gets three carries for 6 yards. The best thing the offense did was zero turnovers. Someone should inform Rodriquez that it is a Michigan tradition along with a Big Ten tradition to run "smash mouth" football as it is obvious that we no longer have that capability.

4-Defense keeps Miami's offense out of the end zone, and wins the game since the offense was incapable of doing so. The held Miami to 252 net yards, 16 first downs, 45 net yards in rushing with 8 of 21 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Radebaugh was 20 of 33 for 191 yards, and if it weren't for 3 drops, a great end zone pass break up by Harrison and a couple overthrows, the game story may have been quite different. Jamal Rogers had 9 catches for 78 yards, and 4 kickoff returns for 89 yards. T Merriweather had 77 yards on 21 carries.

Harrison and Thompson led the defense with 8 tackles each. Mike Martin got his first sack, Graham and Taylor also had one each; Ezeh recovered the fumble that the offense converted into a TD. Defensive back had 5 pass break ups including 2 by Harrison. Mullins led the Red Hawk defense with 10 tackles, 4 for loss.

5-Special teams looked good, but not great. Lopata hits one of two field goal attempts, and one of two extra points on a bad snap or hold. Boubacar Cissoko returned three kickoffs for 66 yards with one negated by a holding penalty by Hemingway. Mesko punted 7 times for a 45 yard average, but Richardson punted 7 times for a 54 yard average including a 74 yarder. Warren returned 5 punts for 26 yards. Wright boomed 4 kickoffs for 66.5 yard average.

6-I see no more than 5 wins for this year's group with such a poor offense. Wins are possible over Toledo, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and hopefully Michigan State. I can't see us beating Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame on the road nor Wisconsin or Illinois at home unless we get a huge difference in turnovers.

7-Walk-on Nowicki logged significant playing time at Left Tackle with the arm injury to Ortmann. Thompson and Mouton started at linebacker over Panter and Evans; otherwise, not much change from last week's starters other than Threet for Sheridan. Hemingway started for injured Mathews. Horn did get in for kickoff returns. Demens, Herron, Chambers and Logan played on special teams. Ferrara, Koger and Roundtree still have no seen action on offense although they are supposed to contribute.
Observations on the first half with Miami, 10-3!

1-Offense converts first drive into red zone TD; Miami converts one red zone as well, but only for a field goal. Michigan gets 3 points off one turnover, Miami gets no turnovers. Offense starts in similar fashion to Utah game, scoring early and then looking pretty bad the rest of the half especially in the 2nd quarter.

2-Threet was 5 of 10 for 58 yards plus 5 rushes for 26 yards. Odoms comes up with 3 catches including a 50 yarder for 57 yards. Michigan was only one of six in 3rd down conversions with eight first downs. McGuffie and Clemons each caught a pass for negative yardage.

3-Rushing offense gets 110 yards with Shaw running twice for 45 yards, McGuffie runs 6 times for 22 yards, Sheridan gets 9 and Moundros 7 on one carry each. Grady gets two carries for 3 yards.

4-Defense thwarts Miami's offense into only 13 net yards rushing, 8 first downs, 140 yards of total offense with 2 of 8 in 3rd down conversions; however, due to a paltry Michigan offense, the Red Hawks gain a 4 minute time of possession advantage. Radebaugh was 12 of 20 for 127 yards. Mouton led the defense with 5 tackles, Harrison had 4 including a nice pass break up before the end of the half. Mike Martin got his first sack, and Ezeh recovered the fumble.

5-Special teams looked good, but not great. Lopata hits one of two field goal attempts. Boubacar Cissoko returns a nice kickoff negated by a holding penalty by Hemingway. Mesko punted 3 times for a 47 yard average, but Richardson punted 5 times for a 54 yard average including a 74 yarder.

6-We look similar to last week without facing a much more potent Utah offense and without the turnover at the end of the first half. It looks like a low scoring affair.