Observations on the ugly win over Northwestern, 17-3!

1-Michigan creates three red zones for 17 points while our defense shuts Northwestern down with 3 points in one red zone. Michigan had 14 points off five turnovers while Northwestern squeezes nothing out of our two turnovers. We end up with almost 6 minutes of time of possession advantage.

2-Henne was 10 of 20 for 116 yards and one TD, but offense only created 16 first downs, and was only 6 of 17 in 3rd and 4th down conversion with 318 yards in total offense. Some drops by Breaston and Butler really hurt the passing offense. Breaston has 3 catches for 34 yards, Mathews has 2 catches for 34 yards and Arrington only gets the one catch for a 14 yard TD.

3-Hart had 95 yards on 20 carries for 1 TD plus 2 catches for 23 yards. Jerome Jackson comes in after the fumble by Minor, and runs for 59 yards in 9 carries. Grady had 23 yards on 7 carries. Minor has 9 yards on 5 carries. Brendan Smith leads a tough Wildcast defense with 11 tackles, Simpson and McPherson have 8 each, and John Gill has an outstanding game with 7 tackles and a blocked field goal. The Wildcats force 3 Michigan fumbles: Henne, Minor and Breaston.

4-Mesko had 6 punts, 4 inside the 20 with Stewart downing 2 inside the 10.
Rivas hits his field goal, and has one blocked while kicking off four times with one touchback. Breaston turns over a punt, and there were no kickoff returns.

5-Defense comes up huge stopping the spread! David Harris leads the defense with 6 tackles, 2 for loss and an interception. Lamarr Woodley has 4 tackles, 3 for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Leon Hall had 4 pass break ups, but only was credited with two, and has 3 tackles, one for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception. Defense limits the Wildcats to 10 first downs (none by rushing), 191 total yards of offense in 59 plays, 3 of 17 in 3rd and 4th down conversions, created 5 turnovers and forced 7 punts. Wildcats were -13 yards in net rushing. Bacher was 20 of 41 for 204 yards, 2 interceptions and 2 sacks. Sutton had 6 catches for 55 yards, but only 7 carries for 6 yards.

6-Mitchell and Boren start at Right Tackle and Guard. Carr said Riley practiced, but he didn't play one down. Carl Tabb gets the start at wide receiver over Arrington, and Carlos Brown does not play. McKinney gets into his first game of the season at defensive tackle. Brandon Harrison starts again with the nickel package while Engelmon starts over Mundy at strong safety. Ecker, Massey and Manningham don't play at all.

Observations on the first half with the Wildcats, 10-0!

1-Michigan creates two red zones for 10 points while our defense shuts Northwestern out of our red zone. Michigan has 7 points off two turnovers while Northwestern squeezes nothing out of our one turnover. We end up with only 2.30 of time of possession advantage.

2-Henne is 6 of 11 for 62 yards and one TD, but offense only can create 9 first downs, and is only 3 of 8 in 3rd and 4th down conversion with one of those as a gift with the Henne fumble on 4th down and a real generous spot. Some drops by Breaston and Butler really hurt the offense which only has 142 yards in 33 plays.

3-Hart has 59 yards on 14 carries plus 2 catches for 23 yards, but gets some stingers that limit his play. Grady has 19 yards on 5 carries. Brendan Smith has 9 tackles for the Wildcats.

4-Mesko has 3 punts, all inside the 20 with Stewart downing 2 inside the 10.
Rivas hits his field goal. Breaston turns over a punt.

5-Defense comes up huge stopping the spread, and Harris leads the defense with 4 tackles while Woodley's sack creates a turnover that the offense turns into a TD. Woodley also has 3 tackles, two for loss and Leon Hall has 3 pass break ups. Defense limits the Wildcats to 4 first downs (none by rushing), 1 of 9 in 3rd down conversions and forces 5 punts. Wildcats are -8 yards in net rushing, and 85 yards in total offense in 31 plays. Bacher is 11 of 24 for 93 yards. Sutton has 4 catches for 32 yards, but only 5 carries for 7 yards.

6-Hard to predict the final score, but it should be at least 24-30 point win.