Michigan 51, UCF 14
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:
@AceAnbender @mgoblog
— Mike Wint (@gbMWint) September 10, 2016
my wife: "hey they punted and it didn't get blocked"
Me: "that was a throw"
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.
September 11th, 2016 at 9:30 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 5:54 PM ^
Okie State will be awarded the national title.
Harbaugh is going to fight Frost behind South Quad at midnight.
Don Brown is already selling his house, has reisigned, and is packing his suitcase.
Speight only threw four touchdowns. He's way behind Barrett.
I need a drink.
Bring on the Buffaloes.
GO BLUE.
September 10th, 2016 at 10:52 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 6:08 PM ^
I've been listening to wtka and reading the comments here and one things for sure......some of you need to get a grip. It's game 2 of season 2......is everything working perfectfully....no.....is there any reason to believe this coaching staff won't improve this team....no. Again....please get a grip......wow!!!!!
September 10th, 2016 at 6:24 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 6:23 PM ^
September 10th, 2016 at 6:33 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 6:54 PM ^
September 10th, 2016 at 7:09 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 7:10 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 11:12 PM ^
September 11th, 2016 at 9:29 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 6:57 PM ^
Under Rodriguez or Hoke, this is a 37-35 victory today folks.
Let's keep things in perspective.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 7:07 PM ^
Most OL's are going to struggle when the opposing DC decides that above all else, all game long, we're going to sell out on the run. Hannibal can complain (whine) all he wants, it's a known fact unless the opposition is woefully outmatch. Obviously, as bad as some people imagine UCF to be, they weren't outmatched enough for Michigan to be able to run the ball into a soldout/stacked box. Is that a problem worthy of all the hand wringing? I don't know for certain, but I don't think so. There are two main reasons that DC's are willing to sell out like UCF's DC did: 1) they don't think the opposing QB can punish them with his arm. This is MSU versus Michigan with Denard and Gardner. Basically, they weren't scared, so they took it to them; 2) because it's their ONLY chance to have any chance. We saw the former versus UCF, with a bit of uncertainly/unknown about whether Speight could win the game with his arm.
September 10th, 2016 at 7:42 PM ^
September 10th, 2016 at 8:02 PM ^
too soon
September 10th, 2016 at 8:14 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:38 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:57 PM ^
September 10th, 2016 at 10:51 PM ^
i'm hoping that this team is a playoff team and possible national champion...
September 11th, 2016 at 2:09 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 11th, 2016 at 8:35 AM ^
In both games, the running game was bad. But only in one game did Michigan rightfully slaughter their opponent.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:22 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:56 PM ^
The defense is still prone to qb scrambles. The offensive line was not impressive. I think Speight and the receivers still have to work on timing. All those issues I think can be ironed out in the upcoming games.
September 10th, 2016 at 8:38 PM ^
I couldn't help but think about having football version of the Jumpan logo, what with Kinnel wearing 23 and fully horizontal in the top photo.
September 10th, 2016 at 8:49 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:50 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 8:57 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2016 at 11:23 PM ^
September 11th, 2016 at 1:19 AM ^
September 11th, 2016 at 1:27 AM ^
Yeah and they only won by 28, winning by 37 is a complete disaster so glad to see their run must be up finally.
September 11th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
In all fairness WKU is a pretty good team this year. They'll go to a decent bowl. On the flip side, I do think UCF is WAY better this year than last year. They're probably a fringe bowl team if their starting QB stays healthy.
September 11th, 2016 at 1:21 AM ^
Alabama beat WKU by 28, Clemson beat Troy by 6. I wonder if their fans are chicken littling as hard as many here?
September 11th, 2016 at 9:09 AM ^
September 11th, 2016 at 9:41 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 11th, 2016 at 10:09 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 11th, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
I was happy with the offense except for a few three and outs in the second half. Speight looks on point with his touch.
More concerned about the D getting gashed on the ground around the edges and by the QBs. Some of that should resolve itself when Jourdan Lewis comes back which will allow us to stack more in the box. But still, I wasn't expecting UCF to score two TDs. I thought we'd keep them out of the end zone.
September 11th, 2016 at 11:15 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 8:44 AM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 9:08 AM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 10:10 AM ^
crappy teams to start the year and get everyone's feet wet. Nice to blow out UCF, but I honestly did not think the team played all that great. O-line play was average and I didn't like how we lost contain too many times on defense.
It will be a lot tougher this week as Colorado runs an up tempo offense and has a lot better athletes then UCF. They also have a very good defense, Michigan will need to play a lot cleaner game this week. I have confidence our coaches will correct the problems, but expect a much tougher game this week.
I hope we get some guys healthy, would be really nice to see Taco and Lewis playing this week as we could really use them.
September 12th, 2016 at 10:22 AM ^
"We are Michigan and we want blood" - Fans
Comments