Michigan 34, Miami (NTM) 10
WITH AUTHORITY [Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog]
The gulf between box score and eye test is vast this evening.
The box score says Michigan gave hapless Miami their 19th straight loss with authority, outgaining the RedHawks 460-198, moving the ball well on the ground (6.1 YPC) and through the air (8.4 YPA), and ultimately cruising to a 24-point victory.
My eyes saw Michigan cough up three turnovers in the second quarter, allowing Hapless Miami to tie the game at ten apiece and hang around for a while.
The box score shows that Miami scored ten points against the Wolverine defense, but the eyes know those should be charged against Michigan's offense, as those scoring drives covered all of 26 and 21 yards following U-M turnovers.
The box score doesn't contain a giant red "WTF" flag. My eyes saw this at the end of the first half:
You can click to enlarge that picture, or I can just tell you that Michigan ran a four-minute drill with zero urgency or effectiveness. After Michigan tried to run a quick play on fourth-and-1, only for Miami to call a timeout before the snap, Brady Hoke decided to punt on 4th-and-6 from the Miami 37 when the Wolverines took a delay of game penalty coming out of that timeout. The decison to punt was so surprising Miami didn't put out a returner, then called a timeout of the "you can't be serious" variety. Finally, U-M took another delay of game to give Will Hagerup more room to boom a punt that hit the end zone on the fly.* Insert giant red "WTF" flag here.
The box score shows Devin Gardner had an efficient 184 yards and two TDs on 20 attempts, with one lone interception blemishing his stat line. The eyes saw his mechanics, which are all over the place, and at least two should-be interceptions hit the turf or, in the case of Jake Butt's first catch, get rescued by a great effort on the receiver's part. In fairness to Gardner, the box score also doesn't show that his interception was tipped at the line.
A crease, that. [Upchurch]
The box score and eye test agree on a couple things, at least. The offensive line did a fine job opening up holes after Miami stopped packing the box with eight defenders; when the RedHawks had to adjust to account for Michigan's wide-open receivers, Derrick Green went off, finishing the game with 137 yards and a pair of scoring runs on 22 carries. Green showed off patience, vision, and the decisive cuts necessary for success in a zone running scheme, and the numbers say as much.
Amara Darboh also looked good as he stepped into a starting role with Devin Funchess in street clothes; the redshirt sophomore caught six passes for 88 yards and Michigan's first touchdown—when he caught a quick slant and powered through a tackle to poke the ball across the plane—though he did lose a fumble during that stressful second quarter. Jake Butt looked healthy after playing sparingly against Notre Dame, finishing with three catches for 59 yards and a score on a clever fake screen called by Doug Nussmeier.
The defense thoroughly dominated Miami. RedHawks QB Andrew Hendrix could only muster 165 yards with one TD and one INT on 26 passes. The Miami passing game fared a whole lot better than their running game, which managed a paltry 33 yards on 24 attempts. The defensive front looked great, and even without starters Ray Taylor and Jarrod Wilson, the secondary held strong. Jourdan Lewis recorded his first career interception with a leaping grab on the sideline, while Jabrill Peppers impressed with his physical man coverage, forcing throw after throw to sail into the sideline.
The box score, which must be taken into account—our lyin' eyes being what they are—says Michigan turned in a dominant performance, with the final score a bit deceiving thanks to those turnovers. While it took longer than anyone hoped or expected, the Wolverines ultimately dispatched a bad team with relative ease.
On my drive home, however, I'll remember the groans that accompanied Hagerup's ill-fated punt, and the boos that followed the team into the tunnel, and I'll wonder what that kind of first-half performance would result in next week, when a plucky Utah squad coming off a bye week visits the Big House. The mental image isn't a pleasant one.
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*Apologies for initially screwing up this sequence of events; now edited for accuracy, though the general "WTF" feeling stands, of course. This was horrible clock management and an infuriatingly conservative call in a one-score game against an overmatched opponent.
September 13th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^
"Improvement from last week"?? Let's get one thing straight: Miami (NTM) sucks. They got whooped by Marshall, and lost to Eastern Kentucky, both at home. They are FBS bottom feeders. Meanwhile, Purdue has put up two touchdowns and trails Notre Dame by 3 at the half. Yes, THAT Purdue. We turned the ball over 3 times and managed to play a decent second half against a bad team. Such improvement.
September 13th, 2014 at 9:37 PM ^
Just as examples: the secondary stayed tighter over their receivers, the running backs decided to run into holes instead of away from them, the line continues to show improvement in communication.
Step off the ledge. Miami isn't even decent by any stretch, but we're in a far better place than we've been in a long time (not saying that much with that though).
September 14th, 2014 at 7:02 AM ^
One half of the secondary played tight...the other...burned
September 13th, 2014 at 9:39 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:58 PM ^
I have never said "fire Hoke". And I'm not on a ledge. I'm just pointing out a simple fact: we looked "better" against a really bad team. I mean, really bad. Hoke is not a very good coach, in several obvious ways, but I'm not in the coaching carousel camp. He gets the rest of the season. But this team is not very good, and stands a chance of having the same or a worse record than last year. Which will force the issue.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 10:21 PM ^
Never said Nussmeier and Mattison were incompetent, either. And it's obvious Hoke is a great recruiter. And it's also obvious that Dantonio and other coaches do way more with way less. Hoke doesn't manage games well, makes odd decisions, doesn't rein in coordinators who stick to game plans that aren't working, doesn't challenge his players when they underperformed but rather claps his hands and plays the nice guy. They love him. He's a great D3 coach whom you'd love to have your son play for.
Regarding the schedule, Rutgers, PSU, and Maryland are tossups. Utah is a loss. MSU is a loss. Ohio depends on how well their QB develops. I can see five losses. Hope I'm wrong.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 10:45 PM ^
Dantonio took over a team that was getting worse year by year and had a nice turnaround his second year. Hoke took over a team that was improving and has produced worse results each year. To say nothing about talent development.
I do appreciate your positive spin on things but disagree that today's game can really be taken as much more than escaping with a decent win over a bad team at home. Let the games be played, but Utah and Rutgers scare me. PSU's QB has moments of brilliance.
Oh, and to answer your question, PSU last year.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^
But let's call a spade a spade. A 24-point win is hardly in the realm of "escaping". Escaping would be needing a last-second goalline stand against Akron to win.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^
Point taken. But it was an underwhelming 24-point win, if there is such a thing.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
No doubt it was underwhelming.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
Next weekend will be very telling.
Indeed ... as will the UFR for this game.
If the UFR shows continued improvement at the individual level, then maybe -- just maybe -- this game represents a jerky step in the right direction. But we won't really know until the next data point is registered.
So yeah ... next week will be telling.
September 14th, 2014 at 3:25 AM ^
Hoke did not take over a team that was getting better. He was given an excellent offensive core that had no depth or underclassmen, and they mostly graduated after the Sugar Bowl season. Same goes for defense with guys like Martin and Van Bergen.
Look at the Oline depth chart now. That's all RR's doing.
September 14th, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^
- lost six of its last eight games, all by double digits
- lost its last three games by a combined 88 points
- was 6-18 in the conference over the prior three seasons
But at least those squads passed the eye test.
September 14th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^
Yes, and that team went 11-2 in the fourth year with a QB that was in his 2nd year as the starter (only a junior).
It is the 4th year of his program and this is the year to see that type of progress. Let's see where this thing goes from here. If he can turn it around (that means a record with at least 9 wins and a win at MSU or OSU-some would say both), then he most likely will be back next year as coach.
At that point next year will determine what direction this thing goes, but to get a next year he needs to show something this year.
I saw some positives in this game (specifically the running of D.Green). I am not making a judgement, because they came out pretty flat to start the game. Next week will tell me more about this staff. The games that are going to matter moving forward are Utah, PSU, MSU, and OSU. True progress will be measured in those games.
September 13th, 2014 at 11:40 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 12:36 AM ^
To actually answer the question. How do we even know there was improvement? We faced a terrible team and looked pretty underwhelming when beating them. To me, all you have to look at is Northern Illinois. Seriously, you don't think they could beat Miami oh by 24? This team looks like a 7 win team right now. I'm going to keep watching and hoping for the best but I don't see any reason to read into any of these MACrifice games until Hoke and this team competes with someone with a pulse.
September 13th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^
Many of us have been worried about the Utah game since the off-season began, and it's quite clear now that we stand a very good chance going into conference play with a 2-2 record. Utah is a good team that can put up points. That's enough to beat this team.
Speaking of conference play...while Ohio is a crap shoot now, given their performance against a mediocre VT team, is anyone watching Rutgers play PSU right now? Suddenly, I'm nervous about October 4th. Rutgers isn't good, but their defense is good and they're playing their hearts out now. I see a replay of the UConn game, with possibly a different ending.
And let's not talk about Maryland's comeback attempt today. Everybody keeps saying we'll be ok because the B1G sucks, but we aren't proving ourselves to be much better. 6-6 and a lousy bowl game. With a lot of clapping on the sideline.
September 14th, 2014 at 2:41 AM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
I haven't seen Utah play this season, but from what I've read about them Utah could well be a good team. They had a lousy record last season, but played a brutal schedule and lost a number of very close games after suffering a number of key injuries. Utah did upset Stanford, so they at least showed the ability to close the deal on one occasion. Anyway, they are supposedly improved this year and will be healthy when M gets them, so Utah should be a solid opponent.
September 13th, 2014 at 9:23 PM ^
As annoying as that end of the 1st half was, do you think Hoke would have done the same against OSU or MSU, or any opponent of signficance for that matter?
September 13th, 2014 at 9:28 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 2:38 AM ^
Because somehow terrible things keep happening to him which make him look incompetant...but it's never his fault
September 14th, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:28 PM ^
I agree with that, but unfortunately this staff is also just as likely to not notice the play clock running down either.
September 14th, 2014 at 12:26 AM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:38 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^
Never apologize to these heathens, Ace. It only incites them.
September 13th, 2014 at 9:45 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:57 PM ^
Dumbest punt EVAH?
Shit man - it wasnt even the dumbest punt in the past 10 years by Michigan. Go back and re-watch the 4th quarter of 2005 Michigan/OSU game if you want to see the leader in the clubhouse in the Dumbest Punt Ever tournament.
September 14th, 2014 at 1:31 AM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 7:21 AM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 9:56 PM ^
Classic win against an overmatched team. Lots of turnovers no take aways, good teams will capitoalize on these mistakes and we will lose. Someone please tell me who the next coach will be?
September 14th, 2014 at 2:38 AM ^
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September 13th, 2014 at 10:19 PM ^
From the wording, the inference is that the team was booed at the end of the first half - not what happened. Comments flying around in our vincinity indicated extreme dissatisfaction with the call as with our clock management. But no one was booing the team. Some irritation with the coaches.
I really have to wonder why it's so difficult to find refs who do things the right way. Is it that hard of a job? Bob Ufer used to call them "$250 an hour men" At that hourly rate, are there not people lined up to take that job, is it not possible to fire someone and give the job to the next guy? I'm glad the team didn't let the first atrocious call ruin the day, although it did appear to set them back for a while and Miami took full advantage... even the Miami fans in the row behind us were shocked at the blatant PI that wasn't called.
It's good for them to learn how to soldier on despite unfair setbacks. and I think we saw a lot of progress in soldiering on today. Gardner was looking a lot more poised and that was very heartening to see.
September 13th, 2014 at 10:22 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^
After watching this game, does anyone really believe that Hoke is the guy who will lead us to national prominence?
September 13th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 11:10 PM ^
I admire your ability to both completely avoid answering the question and produce an idiotic comparison in the same post.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:17 AM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^
I ended up with a +1 both you and LG. You're each correct (about Hoke and that CMU loss) in my mind.
September 13th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
I see what you did there. That CMU team that beat Sparty a few years ago ran a great spread offense and they had an excellent QB, some playmakers. That QB is in the CFL and one of his WRs is one of the best playmakers in the NFL right now. Im pretty sure their Left Tackle was the #1 pick in the NFL draft too.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=292550127
Miami of Ohio had none of that.
September 13th, 2014 at 11:25 PM ^
And Miami lost today, by 24 points.
September 13th, 2014 at 11:27 PM ^
September 13th, 2014 at 11:13 PM ^
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