Michigan 51, UCF 14 Comment Count

Ace


Tyree Kinnel got his hand on not one, but two punts. [Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog]

I can't sum it up any better than this guy did:

Tyree Kinnel deflected two UCF punts, Chris Wormley blocked two field goals, and Khaleke Hudson demolished a kick returner who appeared to be going out for a light jog. The Knights took an illegal block penalty on a kickoff touchback, sent out 12 players for a punt return, and muffed a short kickoff for a Jordan Glasgow recovery.

So that covers the special teams.

Wilton Speight took advantage of a UCF defense intent on loading the box against the run with several pinpoint throws downfield, finishing 25-for-37 for 312 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. The usual suspects led the way among the receivers; Jake Butt had two touchdowns among his seven catches, Amara Darboh cross the goal line twice and broke the hundred-yard mark, and Jehu Chesson needed only four receptions to tally 84 yards. That more than made up for the running game, which couldn't get much going agianst eight- and nine-man boxes; even with sacks and a punt gone wrong removed, Michigan averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. Fullback Khalid Hill plunged in for two touchdowns, at least, so it wasn't all bad on the ground.


Upchurch

The defense, meanwhile, limited quarterbacks Justin Holman—who exited the game in the first half with an apparent injury—and Nick Patti to a combined 6-for-22, 56-yard performance. A few errors—one of which may have been on the officials—led to an 87-yard touchdown run for Adrian Killins, and the Knights were able to rack up 275 yards on the ground, with a healthy chunk of that coming when the QBs broke contain.

While many fans were concerned about the line play, one Jim Harbaugh didn't share that worry.

"I thought the lines really took care of business today," said Harbaugh. "Both the offensive and defensive lines did a very good job."

Quarterback contain, he admitted, was an issue, but one that he believed Don Brown made the proper adjustments for in the second half.

Rashan Gary had his first big game as a Wolverine, tearing off the edge for his first career half-sack (Ben Gedeon arrived simultaneously) and had two more tackles for loss. Seven different Michigan defenders tallied tackles in the backfield, and Jabrill Peppers was everywhere—he led the team with eight tackles (two for loss), had two QB hurries, and returned a line-drive punt 35 yards deep into UCF territory to set up Butt's second score.

If there's any indication that Michigan has returned to form, it's that the crowd didn't seem satisfied with a 37-point win. Against an overmatched opponent that couldn't even reliably get a kick in the air untouched, the coaches had no need to utilize much of the playbook, which led to some ugly plays but won't reveal anything to Colorado, next week's opponent and Michigan's first that appears to have a pulse.

Comments

Chitown Kev

September 10th, 2016 at 4:29 PM ^

for 2.5 quarters and still won the game by 37 points...

And while I don't like the fact that Michigan looked quite sluggish at times in this game, I have o smile at the fact that I am bitching about this game a bit...like the good ol' days.

991GT3

September 10th, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^

 most are willing to concede or both sides of the ball need more improvement. The QB run is a major concern and thankfully we will not face this issue again until we play Indiana. The offensive line was being push back and I don't know how any coach can say he was happy with that.

Even our skill positons had a bad day. Many dropped passes.

AZBlue

September 10th, 2016 at 5:19 PM ^

I don't think the tempo was the issue. It was the rush allowing rush lanes to open and some mental or scheme errors (that I was yelling at the TV about) on the bubbles where it was 3 on 2 for UCF. Was also frustrated with McCray seeming to not St the edge well on a couple of plays including the one people re saying he was held.

Sopwith

September 10th, 2016 at 4:32 PM ^

but that being said, I couldn't help but watch our defense and think UCF was opening up big running lanes with their scheme and not talent. That was the one thing that wasn't supposed to happen under Don Brown: he is not going to get beat on the X's and O's by running spreads. Sure, the bulk of the yards came on a few plays, but there seemed to be consistent issues on defending the edge on the read option.

Being mad about a 51-14 win is exactly where I'd hoped this program would be this year. 

mgoblue98

September 11th, 2016 at 12:57 AM ^

not sure it was UCF's scheme as much as Michigan's defensive schemes.  I guess we will find out in the UFR.  I know on the 34 yard TD, Gedeon ran to the playside B gap and the play went into the playside A gap.  That seemed like a bust on Gedeon since there is no safety behind him.  UCF had trips to to the boundary side, so Delano Hill was lined up as the inside defender.  The other safety, Thomas, was lined up as the edge defender on the field side.  It seems that they may have been misaligned and that at least one player (Gedeon?) missed their assignment.

MGoRedemption

September 10th, 2016 at 4:34 PM ^

I had a tour of the press box today. Got to meet John u bacon, Todd mcshay, and John Faulk. Saw Ace but it looked like he was busy so didn't bother him. Got to watch the 1st half in the press box. Amazing view. Really surreal feeling. Since its the press box you're not allowed to cheer. Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Cool story bro

Steve333

September 10th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^

After the first two punts got blocked, I was hoping they would let the rest go so Peppers could get a return. He finally got one. He's so close.



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BLHoke

September 10th, 2016 at 4:37 PM ^

I saw multiple people "This is not a playoff team" today... Well, maybe not. That said, did OSU look like a playoff team during their championship run? MSU last year? Clemson right now coming off a championship appearance they probably should have won? Even Bama early last year turning the ball over 6 times vs Ole Miss... The key is, the talent is finally in place. They're not playing a bunch of starters at the moment. The coaching is DEFINITELY in place... And the schedule sets up nicely towards their weekly improvement.



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I Love Lamp

September 10th, 2016 at 5:21 PM ^

We have played two teams we should've beat, not the best competition we will see, but we've covered a 40 and 35.5 pt spread, and have outscored our opponents early on 114-17, for an average of 57 to 8.5. Yes we need to work on some things, but we are fine. Next up, a Colorado team that will be tougher than UCF, and I believe we will look good next week.

BlueSwave34

September 10th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^

Yeah we won 51-14. Ohio St is currently struggling up 6-3 against Tulsa so be happy with the win and let the coaches coach and they will correct the mistakes. We were also missing 3 future NFL PLayers on D today. I'll take 51-14 all day long



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BlowGoo

September 10th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^

We were playing with one hand tied behind our backs by design.

Banged up players got a week to recover, and mercifully, injury bug didn't get us.

We had control. No need to show our hand on either defense or offense. Playing mostly straight up limited offensive and defensive adjustments, too.

Very happy with this game. Will DEFINITELY take it.

This team is ramping up nicely, so enjoy the ride, people!

Amaznbluedoc

September 10th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^

Agreed and it was smart to rest the injured players.  It was great seeing Speight open up a bit and make some better passes including those down field.  Still, there are some question marks and if we want to compete against the tough teams in the B10 and nationally, we need to establish a run game (in spite of loading up the box) and defend against the run better.  The kicking and special teams have solidified and the secondary and receiving core look great.  Now we have to tighten up the rest of the issues and playoffs, here we come.

OkemosBlue

September 10th, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^

Harbaugh will never bad mouth a player or coach in public, and, at the moment, it's impossible to tell exactly what wrong (if anything) with offensive line.  They might have been too many UCF players in the box, and Speight needed to check to another play on occasion, but too many UCF players came free to be comfortable and there was litttle push, especially in first half.  The Defense was missiing three starters and lost contain on QB and got edged once (probably a hold on McCray, but where were the other defenders?.  Still QB and that one WR were fast and Brown plays a gambling defense.  Same with play up middle.  All in all, a perfect victory!

BornInA2

September 10th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^

Most of all hurray that we didn't have a nail-biter against a vastly inferior team.

But boy, some sloppy play out there today. Two long runs where McCray couldn't get off blocks. Speight not very accurate on long throws. Running game/run blocking woes.

On the other hand, osu is looking like they will take a big 6-3 lead over Tulsa into the locker room at halftime.

taut

September 10th, 2016 at 4:56 PM ^

A fairly satisfying win overall, but we have pretty high standards these days. A couple years ago we'd be grinning more than analyzing what we need to improve. That's a good thing. Can't complain too much about a game that was never in doubt, especially with what other decent teams did this week and last.