vincent smith

HD Torrent.

721 yards of offense in 13 minutes:

Tate postgame:

Beckmann calls the Denard touchdown run:

More interviews and highlights after the jump.

Quotes from after the game. Will update with photos when they're ready.

Rich Rodriguez

Injuries: "Denard seems to be fine, I know that's the first thing you're gonna ask." He'll get treatment and be fine after some rest and ice. No x-rays needed. He was moving around on it. Michael Shaw is "pretty much the same as Denard. Just a little bit sore." Perry Dorrestein is fine, just got "a hangnail or something on his toe."

Today was a good win, the team got better in all three phases. Defense was a little more aggressive than last week, offense controlled the game with the run. "Last week, we did not play well." Improved this week on defense and special teams especially. It was nice to get lots of guys in there, especially seniors.

Team is deeper on offense than last year. "Defensively, we're younger." Completely different years. "I think there's enough positive things that we can grow from and enough negative things that we can fix." The first goal is the B10 championship, everyone is 0-0 in the conference.

Offense didn't have to do a whole lot in order to move the ball, ddn't have to show a lot. Executed well.

All three QBs did well. Didn't think about putting Denard back in at half. "We were moving the ball whoever the quarterback was in there." Needed to just get a couple stops. "I wish he woulda stepped out before he got hit." Needs to scoot out when the touchdown isn't going to happen. "I thought all 3 quarterbacks were very efficient." Devin not as ready as Denard or Tate because he's a year behind. These guys are getting it. "All three of those guys have not hit their ceiling yet. Not even close." It's a tough deal because only one can play at a time. Denard and Tate both more comfortable seeing the field than last year. Seeing things like coaches see them, why a play did or didn't work. Tate maturity - "I'm impressed with a lot of our guys' maturity. There's a lot of progress."

RBs - "It started up front. I thought our line and our tight ends did a good job blocking." Made a couple mistakes, but it was nice to get lots of RBs experience.

Guys come in boys, leave 4-5 years later as "a man, a Michigan Man."

Could tackle better, hit a couple screens on us. Missed opportunities to make tackles. Played more aggressivley, not on their heels like last week.

A couple special teams penalties were frustrating. Would FG kicker have been Broekhuizen? "Maybe." Depending on length and hash.

Team knows Indiana is very good, they can't mail it in and win.

Roy Roundtree

After last week, the players wanted to just return to playing good Michigan football. Different year than last year. "Everybody's playing for somebody." They play their hardest every Saturday.

Offensive skill guys didn't have any trouble with the rotating QBs, because it happens in practice. When Tate came in, he was shocked everyone was yelling his name. Denard - "I'm pretty sure he'll be back this week coming up - get some treatment on it." Roy is very confident whoever QB is. "Minus the MAs [missed assignments] and the penalties, we just keep rollin'."

Defense showed up today. "Wasn't like the slackin' last week." In practice, it was 11 hats to the ball, they did it today.

RVB

RVB is not really amazed at the offense's performance. They've been going toward that for the past year. Expecting to see them make plays.

"Absolutely" more focused than last week. Might have been reading too many press clippings coming into last week. "Circled the wagons and prepared this week like it was a bowl game."

The team used a little more 4-man rush to get to the QB this week. "Persistent, and keep coming after the Quarterback." Had pressures, finally turning them into sacks. As long as the QB is moving his feet, the throws become inaccurate. "If you sack him, it's prettier but you don't necessarily need it."

Better team chemistry this year. Team united, want to play for each other.

"Michigan is noted as a powerhouse in the Big Ten, and we have not lived up to that the past two years." Hungry to be successful in-conference this year.

Tate Forcier

"A lot of people say I'm not staying here, but I'm still here... I love Michigan, I love everything about it... I love Coach Rod, I love these fans, I love everything about Michigan football."

Felt good to be out there competing again. "Coach Rod just told me to be patient and stay ready." He was ready when his number was called. Coach Rod told him to be ready, he knew he would get in this week. Never know when your number's gonna get called, have to be ready to come in. "Coach Rod's the coach. I'm gonna let them make the decisions, and if they go with him, I'm gonna be right there, ready."

Felt almost ilke a first start again. Thanks the crowd and coaches. How can you not notice that the crowd was supporting him. "Crowd always motivates me. Because you just want to keep hearing that." Michigan has the best crowd in the country, and the team has to to keep them happy.

His injury isn't serious. "I got hit. I got a little dead leg." He'll be fine within a day or so. "I'm healthy, and as long as Denard gets healthy, I'll be happy still." Never 100% as a football player, have to play through a bit of pain.

Hard to wait when you played last year "Denard got the same question last year when I was the guy." Everyone is good enough to play, he'll let the coaches make a decision. No rust. Studied lots of film this week "It was easy out there." Had something to prove when he went out there. "That's what I heard." that he set a completion percentage record. Could have improved a couple things.

Treat every team like a threat. Cites App State. "Treat every game just like you're playing against Ohio State." hould be able to play this well every week. Should be able to have a lot of success this year.

Indiana gave the team a good game last year. Fun to go into away stadiums and have everyone against you.

Vincent Smith

Team executed better today. Did a lot of studying with good focus this week. Made sure they were focused to take advantage of opportunities.

"We just come out and just execute and make plays." Don't worry about what the opponent's doing.

Denard's injury made him think of his own knee injury, even though it didn't end up being as serious.

The offensive line: "They had a awesome game. Just the same, they're very consistent and always do their job up front." Lewan - "He's doing an excellent job. I was telling him that on a couple of runs."

"We have a lot of talent in the backfield, no doubt." Everybody does their part when their number is called. "We all look at it from... if one man falls down, the next man steps up."

Red zone mindset - "We gotta get in."

Craig Roh

Performed better than last week. Pretty good outside of a few plays. This defense is always hardworking, taking positive steps toward learning more. Concentrated and wanted to get everything right today.

Prepared the same as last week, maybe a couple guys watched a little more tape. "I thought our preparation was consistent."

On BGSU's QB: "You know that's in his mind where he's already kinda out of his comfort zone." Backup QB is obviously going to be nervous coming into the Big House.

Impressed with offense? "Yeah. I love our offense. It's very dynamic and explosive."

"I really feel like we have 3 very good quarterbacks coming in that can all run our offense."

Lewan - "I heard he did pretty good. I talked to him after the game, and I'm just excited to see Taylor playing." Been playing against him in practice a few years now, likes to see him develop.

"This team is just so close. Everyone is everyone's friend."

Concentrating coming into Big Ten season. "We... we're ready."

Formation notes: Nothing unusual from Michigan. UMass did not appear to do any substitution, staying in a 4-3 the entire game. They did occasionally shift their front to a 3-4, for what it's worth. This was usually what M went up against, with the standup DE sometimes up, sometimes down:

Substitution notes: The only major change is the one you've already heard plenty about: Taylor Lewan came in on the second series of the first half at left tackle and played the remainder of the game. Shaw and Smith again got all the RB snaps. Junior Hemingway came back and rotated in regularly; you could consider him a co-starter with Odoms and Stonum if you want. The slots were the same rotation between Roundtree, Grady, and Robinson.

Now this looks like what should happen against a I-AA team minus those ever-increasing scores for the opposition in the drive notes section.

Yes. This probably would have been abandoned early if not for the defense's inability to get the Minutemen off the field. Michigan punted twice. The first time Robinson bobbled a snap and got sacked on a play that was wide open. The second came on a drive when they were just trying to run clock.

For a stretch in the second half they ran on 19 of 20 plays and I didn't even notice because those were three consecutive touchdown drives. Michigan threw once in the second half and put up 42 points that should have been 45 with a makeable field goal; it was a dominant performance after Robinson's oops-I-forgot-I'm-awesome-now interception.

It's just against a I-AA team, sure, but it is further confirmation that this offense looks like the best since Henson and Terrell were lighting it up in 2000. We won't be able to say for certain until they get through the Indiana-MSU-Iowa stretch.

Charts?

Charts.

Hennechart comes with a reminder that numbers in parens are screens!

DENARD ROBINSON

(I've added the Downfield Success Rate to the chart on the suggestion of a reader; hover over the column header for its definition.)

We all had a Letterman neck moment on that interception but Robinson recovered to have a very efficient day. The most important bit of his performance were the three deep balls to Grady, Stonum, and Hemingway. The first one was truly impressive since he had the footwork to hop a step back in the pocket, giving himself time to get the ball off:

Even after two games in which Robinson has established himself a quarterback who doesn't suck that's a stunning combo of poise, agility, and accuracy.

The second was a dead-on fly route of 40 yards; the third was Denard IDing a hole in zone coverage and throwing it to an area his WR would be in. All of that is advanced stuff, though standard quality of competition disclaimers etc. Another step forward in any case. Kid can throw:

He added one inaccurate pass to his brief gallery of misses but if those deep balls are hit consistently they take the offense from very good to napalm in cleats. Can this really keep up? As the weeks pass it becomes more and more likely. He is now 19th in passer efficiency against a tougher-than-average schedule.

Receivers?

Receivers:

Not a lot of action with the limited throws but the guys came through. Stonum catching that deep ball under duress is an encouraging item, and Grady pulling in an over-the-shoulder grab is also progress from last year. The other Robinson did have the receiving corps' first flat drop of the season. That's one in 43 opportunities. The receivers are officially exceeding expectations.

And PROTECTION METRIC: 15/18, Molk –1, Team –2.

Not much to see there.

Lewannnnnnnnnn!

Right, well, for the running stuff we need a—

Chart II?

Chart II.

Finally, the RPS number was 6-7=-1.

Those numbers don't seem that high to me; Michigan averaged 7.7YPC minus the kneeldown and Robinson's sacks (UMass was only credited with one but the bobbled snap play was a pass; in any case it's not representative of the line's performance). If you are averaging nearly 8 YPC and running 80% of the time your OL should come out +52 or so.

Another item in Robinson's development: no bad reads on the zone play except one he may have gotten away with but 1) gained 20 yards on and 2) faked out the BTN cameraman to the point where it's impossible to tell if he should have pulled or not. I'm a fan of the play where Michigan pulls the TE all the way around to the outside (detailed in a Tate picture page), which Michigan has been showing intermittently and will destroy the scrape exchange against teams who run it consistently. It's just a matter of time before Robinson rips into the secondary.

Well, then: Lewan?

I have to agree with the hype. Wow. This is his second snap from scrimmage:

"Hello. My name is Taylor Lewan. I am here to inform you that, while you believe you are a linebacker, you are actually a donkey. Let's go for a ride."

And then there's Shaw's 50-yarder:

"I hate you, donkey. Sincerely, Taylor Lewan."

The standard UMass disclaimers apply. However, you are in a good situation when a tackle who seems to be playing somewhere between adequately and well is getting pushed out of the lineup by a redshirt freshman who racks up a 9-1=8 in just under a half of play in his first extended playing time. This is good for this year; it is very good for next year, when it seems like Michigan will be able to plug in whichever LT loses the battle this year without missing a beat.

This is the exact opposite of the MLB situation. At LT, a hyped player is forcing his way through an experienced veteran who's playing well. At MLB, an experienced veteran is not playing well and there's no one to pick up the baton.

Tailback situation any clearer?

I also have to agree with the mounting Smith criticism. In this game he had a couple opportunities to add plus yards on runs that broke open and couldn't do it. He's not breaking or dodging tackles and he obviously lacks the raw speed of Shaw; Shaw is also heftier and seems less prone to missing blocks. I'd say he's earned the first shot at the Big Ten schedule and Michigan should start rotating in Cox, Hopkins, Toussaint, and even Teric Jones to see if they can find something there.

Shaw, meanwhile, was making decisive cuts for the most part. The primary exception was the 30-yard touchdown, on which he came to a total stop in the hole and then burst upfield when it was pretty obvious there was going to be room directly in front of him. I can understand slowing up a bit to set up the blocks, but it looked like Shaw was considering a cutback. I think he's the best Michigan has right now but am hoping Toussaint lives up to Fred Jackson's hype. Or, like, 10% of it.

What about the I formation runs at the end?

It seems like a waste to have a running QB and then line him up in the I-form to hand off when everyone knows you're running. While you should expect to get it anyway against a I-AA team you are vulnerable to that guy tearing off the edge that might get blocked if you just had the QB take it ahead.

I mentioned this in the game column but to repeat: with two veteran TEs who are blocking well and a fullback who exists I'd like to see a Wolverine version of the Gator Heavy formation in which Tim Tebow tanked his way to the promised land. I can't find a shot of it except from NCAA players who complain about how it's an exploit:

Here the guys are using it as an exploit by shoving the leetle tailbacks in instead of the beef, but it seems like M's short yardage formation should be a 2TE set with McColgan and whichever other back is the best blocker (hypothetically Hopkins but probably Shaw right now). Robinson isn't Tebow but he's probably going to be about as effective in heavy since he can dart into any crease that opens up.

OTOH, they're doing pretty well right now without trying this.

Heroes?

Essentially everyone. Special praise for the interior OL.

Goats?

Smith is about it.

What does it mean for Bowling Green and beyond?

Tackle, thought to be a potential weak spot going into the year, now has a competent or better player on the bench. I'm still waiting for the Iowa game to declare Frey a miracle worker; initial returns are excellent. The offensive line is meeting high expectations.

The receivers are catching everything and Denard flashing an accurate deep ball is the second to last thing he needs to add to his arsenal to be virtually unstoppable (the last: a seam with some touch). His progression continues to be remarkable, and while there will be at least a couple bumpy roads in the Big Ten we're nearing the point where Denard is just Denard and we're all lucky for that.

Tailback is the only spot at which it seems Michigan could improve. I'm trying to keep expectations in check after last year but this feels different; this feels like the best offense at M in a long time.

Formation notes: Michigan did all its usual stuff. Notre Dame was interesting: they started the game in a 4-3 instead of the 3-4 they are purported to run. Then they switched around a bit. ND 3-4:

ND 4-3, although it's partially obscured:

Then after halftime they started moving from one to the other when Robinson lifted his leg to signal for the snap. This caused a lot of issues; I'm concerned that Michigan will still be stuck tipping their snap count when a Michigan State team that jumped a ton of snaps last year comes to town. I don't recall them doing that against UConn, so maybe that's just a road thing.

Substitution notes: Nothing too shocking. Grady, Robinson, Koger, and Webb fought over snaps with Odoms, Roundtree, and Stonum taking most of the 3WR snaps. Stokes got some time but was not targeted. Smith and Shaw were the only running backs except in the BEEF MACHINE package, in which Lewan, Washington, and Campbell come in with Hopkins to make sure the Illinois thing Never Happens Again.

Do you know that from time to time I wake up sweating because in my dreams I forget Denard Robinson is on our team?

Like, you just expect him to have ripped Michigan's heart out with a third-and-twelve run. Yes.

Like he's McNabb back from the grave.

Yes. If the Iranian government ever gets a nuclear weapon this is exactly how they'll feel.

Chart?

COMMENCE THE CHARTENING! Hennechart, with a reminder that numbers in parens are screens.

DENARD ROBINSON

Robinson made some errors and had a number of balls batted down on rollouts ND blitzed into but even so that performance is possibly even more remarkable than the UConn one since it came on the road against solid senior corners and guru-approved defenders, not the rag-tag UConn secondary. Robinson's downfield success rate (DO + CA / All Throws Not Marked MA, PR, or SCR, screens excluded) is 71%, even better than the 68% he put up against UConn and up there with a solid game from Chad Henne.

Robinson did reveal some flaws against Notre Dame, most prominently a two-play sequence during which he threw what should have been another Roundtree touchdown on a line, allowing Manti Te'o to break it up, and followed that with a badly overthrown seam to Shaw. When a downfield pass requires some air under it, Robinson is shaky. It wasn't all bad, though. He did lay in a beautiful corner route to Roundtree, though that wasn't caught.

Most impressive to me is the 1 in the BR category on 40 throws in his first road start, and that was actually Robinson going through his progression to his second receiver, finding him open, and then throwing it late because he WOOPed a blitzing Calabrese. We'll see how for real ND's defense is this year, but I'm betting it's actually good. They have a lot of talent and I was impressed with their DC's creativity, but more on that later.

The final word on Robinson's day: I would be praising it if he had zero rushing yards. I mean, look at this:

That guy ran for 258 yards! That guy!

Receivers:

Receptions got a bit tougher against a better defense and results were mixed trending towards good. Roundtree brought in two 1s (the one where he got clocked by the safety on a seam and the final one where he was getting interfered with), 2s were about 50-50, and Michigan hasn't had a flat drop in two games. They may not be explosive but the receivers are proving reliable.

Note that Roundtree had a huge game after being mostly ignored against UConn. Also, tight ends evaporated. Odd given the play action opportunities ND seemed to be conceding.

And finally, PROTECTION METRIC: 34/40, Smith –3, Schilling –2, Team –1.

That's night and day from last year. No doubt Robinson has a fair bit to do with that since getting out of your lane against him is doom; even so, Michigan got through a game against Notre Dame with 40 throws without either tackle picking up a protection minus. Someone buy Greg Frey an ice cream cone.

Can this last? I don't know. Michigan hasn't faced an intimidating 4-3 defensive end yet, and might not until Adrian Clayborn comes to town for homecoming. But the initial results are almost as remarkable as Robinson's numbers above.

And, finally, a bighuge run chart that has a shocking performance even to me, the guy who put it together:

So… yeah. The number above that leaps out is Omameh. The lone lineman to exit the UConn game with a minus (it was minus one) put up a 21-2-19, which I have no context on because I just started doing this but if that doesn't stand for a long, long time I'll be surprised.

What happened? The theory of Omameh since he started against Purdue last year has been that the coaches moved him from tackle, where there was an obvious need, to guard because his incredible mobility would be better used there. Against UConn he was tasked with fighting off a beefy, veteran Kendall Reyes. He was kind of bleah doing this. Against Notre Dame he was frequently permitted the opportunity to operate in space when ND went to three man lines, whereupon he did this:

And this:

This isn't some gimpy UConn linebacker. Te'o is a beast. Omameh is great in space. Anyone who doesn't put a first-level guy on him the rest of the year is asking for it. It was only right that Michigan's winning touchdown saw Omameh shove Te'o into the endzone. It was the coda to a ridiculous day.

As for the rest of the numbers: I went into the UFR thinking the offensive line had struggled and that the tailbacks were getting an unfair rap on limited opportunities; I came out of it with… well… that. Michigan averaged 7 YPC on 41 carries, so I think the huge positives are justified. They averaged 5 YPC even if you take out the +10 that was an 87 yard touchdown run. Despite the struggles it was a monster day.

Grimble grumble tailback gaaah?

I was going to be contrarian here, but… yeah. In this grading system tailback is like defensive end on defense: if you end the day with zero you're wasting playing time that a playmaker who makes plays (MAKE PLAYS!) can play in.

It was revealing watching Michigan tailbacks opposite Armando Allen. A large chunk of Notre Dame's production on the ground was created solely by Allen. Michigan did a great job of disrupting run plays; Allen MADE PLAYS that turned nothing, or losses, into big gains. So far this year the only thing a tailback's done that's comparable is Smith's nimble touchdown to open the scoring against UConn. Mike Cox might be a nut who runs backwards to see what it's like but it's probably time to give him a shot; Fitzgerald Toussaint is Chris Perry and Mike Hart but fast and is now healthy. Rotation beckons; hopefully by Michigan State they'll have found a back or two that can do more than take up space.

Do you believe Notre Dame's turf monster conspiracy theories?

Yeah, I do. It rained a lot but that turf was turrible beyond even expectations. They have tarps, you know. Michigan plays on turf and is used to solid footing; ND is used to the crapshow that is their grass. But lo! The results were deadly to ND on the final drive, when cornerbacks slipped twice, opening up simple curl-flat routes that ND was theoretically covering with their defense. Serves 'em right.

Asshat linejudge?

SERIOUSLY

WTF?

Surely you must be grumpy about something, you crab.

Fine: it was frustrating to see Notre Dame crash down against the run so violently without it getting thrust in their face sufficiently. Mets Maize on first down passing:

The thing that surprised me was Michigan's success with first down passes. A quick look at the stats revealed that they were 13 of 17 for 168 yards on first down.

Ah wait, here.  ROCK PAPER SCISSORS: +12, –13 = –1. I had Michigan down for a negative RPS despite handing out two separate +3s on the Roundtree and Odoms seams. I think this is understandable to some extent since you're taking your running quarterback on the road for the first time ever, but by some point in the third quarter they should have had the confidence in Robinson to start running more play action. Then again, they did manage 7 YPC. I don't know.

I will say this: late Michigan shifted to a few plays that notched up RPS+1s: the fake screen draws. Those worked, and then later opened up the flares that Te'o was crushing earlier in the game. Michigan was caught off guard when ND came out of the locker room and kept shifting between 3- and 4-man lines, did okay anyway until penalties killed their drives, and adjusted to what they saw on the field to pick up yards late, including a final touchdown drive. The adaptability I saw from Magee was encouraging.

Heroes?

Robinson, obviously. Odoms. Roundtree. And Patrick "Die, Te'o" Omameh.

Goats?

The left side of the OL had troubles most of the day; the tailbacks did not MAKE PLAYS

What does it mean for UMass and beyond?

I don't know how you stop this offense consistently if Denard is going to throw like he's throwing, especially if he develops as quickly as a true sophomore starting for the first time can be expected to. His package of skills is great right now; if he develops that extra bit as a passer like he should, it's lights out. Your best chance is to have referees call a thousand ridiculous penalties.

Other developments: Omameh downfield is lethal, the receivers are very sure-handed, Roundtree is still the go-to guy, and Michigan needs to embark on a three-week war to find a Steve Slaton-type object. But the vectors are oh so very good.

Over the next couple weeks I want to see:

• Denard develop some additional diversity in the routes he can throw.
• Cox and Toussaint and possibly Hopkins.
• Junior Hemingway's healthy return.
• Increased involvement of the tight ends in the passing game.

I expect they'll be working on some new run packages but will keep those in the garage until Michigan State.

The dedication video featuring Keith Jackson (via):

The first flyover:

Let's get Denarded:

HD highlights from Dangerous Logic:

More extensive highlights from Wolverine Historian and interviews, after the jump.

Rich Rodriguez

"Obviously, I'm pleased with the victory." The stats were pleasant, though maybe not a surprise. The only penalty in the game came on the first drive, and there were no turnovers in the game. Third down conversions were pretty good at 14/19. "Our goal offensively was no turnovers and execute, and I think we did that for the most part."

At the last team meeting last night, Rodriguez could tell that the team was ready to get out there and play.

"We were halfway down the tunnel" for Brock's walk. It was a touching moment because they know the whole story.

"When they announced 113 thousand - I normally don't pay attention, but by that time the game was pretty much under control" Rodriguez thought it was amazing to have that many fans at the game.

RR didn't realize Denard ran the ball 29 times. He was really sharp passing, with only three incompletions. There are a few things that he can fix after watching film, but his decision-making was great for a guy in his first start. Denard and the rest of the backs did a great job running North and South instead of moving around laterally.

Denard showed a lot of toughness, and he'll only keep getting stronger as he grows. Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith showed toughness as well. "It's a good physical team we played, and UConn's gonna win a lot of games this year." Is there anything about Denard that reminds Rodriguez of Pat White? "Yeah, he runs fast." He also has a sense of feel for the game, and maturity. "If he can carry it 29 times for 200 yards, he'll carry it 29 times again." He probably won't be able to carry that many times so effectively in every game. Rodriguez would like him to carry it a little bit less.

Denard has been showing his potential since the Wolverines recruited him. "That's why we signed him." In the spring, he took another step forward. His experience last year helped, but spring practice helped him understand. "He'll hit some bumps in the road, and he's going to play against a lot of good people, and there's going to be mistakes made." The key is minimizing those mistakes.

"I knew, most of the guys knew, and I don't think it was probably a big secret" that Denard would be the starter. The goal in practice is to get all three guys better, and they've done that. In fall camp, Denard solidified himself as the guy who should take the first reps.

"Part of it is just going from a true freshman to second-year player, and understanding the offense." All the QBs can make all the throws they need.

Will Denard start against Notre Dame? "Stay tuned. I think you'll see him starting."

Devin came in after Denard's injury "Because that was a coaches' decision."

If the team doesn't turn over the ball, they'll have a chance to win. They haven't held onto it in the past, so the key is to take care of it this year.

The wind was a big factor in the game. "I think it was a factor somewhat, particularly in the kicking game."

"I felt, from the first series, on that long drive, that we had some fast guys in the space that they may have problems with."

"I will enjoy the next three hours and ten minutes. Try to get me five hours of sleep tonight, and my wife will probably get a chance to sleep a bit tonight." The program has been through a lot, but the focus has never wavered. They have tonight to enjoy the win, but after that, it's Notre Dame time.

After last year's disappointing finish, it was important to start the season on the right foot. "I want our guys to get some confidence." The key now is to maintain the level of intensity.

The defense played hard and tackled well. "We gave up a couple big plays, the one on the tipped pass that the guy made a good play on." The defense had to be ready, because UConn was playing at a fast tempo.

"I'd like to score more than 30, but I like the fact when you don't have to punt." It was good to get Will Hagerup some experience on his only punt of the day, though.

"Everybody likes a win. Everything is better. The food tastes better, you're in a better mood, everybody's happy." Michigan's 110,000 fans (RR estimates there were 3,000 cheering for UConn) deserved the win. The goal and expectation at Michigan is to win championships, but there's a process to get there.

Brendan Gibbons's missed extra point was a snap/hold issue. The missed field goal was due to a stiff wind knocking it short. Rodriguez was going to kick another field goal at the end, but though they'd have a chance to get the first down and run out the clock. "Seth Broekhuizen is still battling for the job."

"One of the goals as a coach when you coach college football is for your players to truly enjoy the experience of being a student-athlete." It's easier to do that with a win.

James Rogers was really poised, and made a couple nice plays. "We're probably going to kick ourselves watching the film defensively, because it looked like we had a couple opportunities to get some BIG big plays: interceptions and something like that, and we just missed out on the ball." The secondary was well-prepared.

Jeremy Gallon's fumbled punt was a tough one. "He's going to be a very good punt returner. Terrence Robinson will be fine too." Both guys will still play in the return game, though Rodriguez was not pleased with the overall play of the unit today.

Obi Ezeh's fumble recovery was a huge play.

The only real injury was Carvin Johnson "I don't know what his status is." (Afterwards, it was revealed he's day-to-day with a sprained MCL). Junior Hemingway's hamstring is injured, but "our hope is that he'll be able to go this week." Terry Talbott is still working through a clearinghouse eligibility issue.

David Brandon

"They practiced hard, and they've got a chip on their shoulder; they've got some things to prove. Hopefully today was the start of something good."

Winning the home opener is a big deal, but there's a lot more season to go. "They're just going to go back and work hard - and I know they will. We've got a big game next week; let's see how it goes. But I'll tell you what: I love the start, love the start."

On Denard Robinson: "I'll tell you what, he's the fastest guy on a football field that I've ever seen." His toughness in taking a bunch of hits against a big UConn team is underrated, as well. He can outrun guys even when they have the angle on him. His passing stats were as impressive as his running. "If you think too much about the run, he's gonna burn you."

There will always be critics, even with a big win. "We'll let [the plaers and coaches] enjoy this, because they deserve it."

The Stadium Rededication was designed to be special, which was the reason for the multiple flyovers, fireworks, etc. Brandon challenged the marketing team to come up with some special things.

"Brock is an inspiration to this team. He's got a share of this victory today, too." When he touched the banner, "I held it together pretty well until that moment, and I'll tell you why. I sat with him, we planned this whole thing. I told him how we needed to make this happen and he was great about it. I'm getting ready to leave, and he kinda called me over and said 'Mr. Brandon, would it be OK if I touched the banner?' That's what he wanted to do, and that's what he did."

Vincent Smith

The big victory felt good, because that's what the team has been working hard to achieve. "We just wanted to come out and just play."

The first touchdown run "felt a little bit weird because I was like on my injury, coming out and just catching the ball. I wasn't expecting to break that many tackles and just head upfield and score." The knee is 100%, and even Vincent was a little surprised by that.

With the team so focused, they're able to run the offense at a faster tempo. They knew which plays were going to be effective against the UConn defense. The team has been running that tempo in practice, so they were ready to play that fast.

On Denard: "I knew what he can do, and he just needed to be put in the right positions and come out and just play." The offensive line did a great job clearing the holes. Smith didn't think Denard would run that ball 29 times. Despite the heavy workload, "he always gets up. Very tough."

Denard Robinson

Denard's first start was pretty much everything he's dreamed about. "I've got my offensive line to thank, and my coaches for putting me in the right situation."

The quarterbacks found out last night that Denard would be the starter. Rodriguez also told the other guys to be ready. "I was just playing well, and I'm going to continue to play well. That's how it gonna be." Despite that, Denard's not guaranteed to start next week.

Setting the QB rushing record: "That's crazy. That's a dream come true, I guess."

Denard didn't know how many times he'd be carrying the ball, but he was ready to do whatever the coaches asked of him. "Coach told me to be ready, and I was ready."

Denard didn't have first-game jitters, because he saw the field a lot last year, even though this was his first start. "My team, my offensive linemen, all the seniors told me 'we got your back.'" He din't have to try to win the game by himself.

The biggest change from Denard 2009 to Denard 2010 is knowing the offense more, staying focused more, and "giving my all in the offseason."

UConn's players were trying to take Denard's shoes at the bottom of the pile. They got one of them on one play. "Trying to slow me down, I guess. Or slow down the offense, because the offensive line was just killin' 'em."

"I knew I always could throw the ball, that was never a question. It was just, getting the offense down at, that's basically what it was."

Denard wouldn't say what the design of the play was for Terrance Robinson's 43-yard reception. After leaving the podium, Denard (jokingly) told Rodriguez that the media was trying to steal the play.

Denard took a shot to the hip when he had to leave the game for a play. "I feel alright, pretty good, pretty good." He had confidence that he was going to be able to come back in.

The adrenaline takes over during games, so Denard doesn't really feel the nerves.

"It was a pretty good feeling" to have the offense rolling along in rhythm.

Are you going to wear shoelaces against Notre Dame? "(laughing) I'm not changing anything."

JT Floyd

"It was definitely a tribute to our coaches and our preparation" to beat a good team like UConn. It was good to finally have a chance to show everyone what the team is capable of.

"James played a heck of a game, man. I'm proud of him, man." He's been waiting a long time to play, so it's good for him to get a chance.

On forcing UConn's only fumble of the day: "I just put my hat on the ball. When you're in position to make plays, the coaches put you in position to make plays, good things happen."

On Denard: "Aw man, he's a crazy animal to tame. He gives every defense problems." It's good to see him get a chance to show off some of what he can do.

this game is a step in the right direction. "We're at no point to stop working. We've still got a lot of things we've gotta do." A good game for the defense should be a mental boost for the young defense.

David Molk

"You're blocking, and two seconds later you just see Denard 20 yards upfield. There's nothing better than seeing that."

"It's amazing how far he's progressed in such a short amount of time, and really without any true game experience, and now he's just building and building and building on what he can do." His patience and knowledge of the game are the biggest jumps.

The goal of the offense is to get first downs all up and down the field, and wearing down the defense. There was no specific key to converting third downs, everyone just did their job and worked well.

It was nice to see a lot of young guys get out and have a chance to perform.

29 carries won't wear Denard down. "He's just a tough kid. He's tougher than I am. He'll push through anything."

Craig Roh

"We were hungry, we were so hungry." The team was hungry last year too, but the defense didn't pay as well.

When people talk about the defense not being any good "if they can give even, a little bit more of a morsel of motivation, then we're just gonna come out and do what we did today."

Getting stops and turnovers at critical times is huge. Getting the 3-and-out right at the beginning of the game really boosted the defense's confidence. "It's great. Confidence is obviously a big thing. The whole team is going in hungry, and nervous too. So, winning this gives us a huge confidence boost."

It was nice to see somebody else chase Denard. "I had to chase that guy all spring, and let me tell you, it's not easy catching that guy."

There were no real surprises from UConn. "I felt like what our coach told us was exactly what happened."

"I'd say in spring, we were molding into what we would become, and what you see today." That was more of a learning experience, and fall camp is when the intensity came in.

Craig's hybrid position is a perfect fit for a guy with a hybrid skill set like him. He can take pass drops, rush the quarterback, etc.