Michigan Monday v. Miami is up

Michigan Monday vs. Miami is up over at The Ozone. As always, there's a lot of material there, but the opening statement sums things up well:

The Michigan Wolverines did exactly what they were supposed to do in their 34-10 win over the Miami RedHawks on Saturday, it just took them a little while to actually do it.

When the offense had the ball:

The one aspect of this game that jumped out at me more than any other was how much better Derrick Green looked compared to a week ago.

I'm not saying his problems are over, I'm saying it's good to know that he actually has the ability to see a hole and his brain can tell his legs to head towards it. Usually, the message from his brain to his legs ends in, “This seems like a good place to rest.”

Thoughts on Gardner:

Every week Gardner throws about four passes that should be intercepted, and whether Michigan wins or loses generally depends on how those throws end up. 

I don't know if he is lacking confidence, but I imagine that his coaches lack some confidence in him, even though they would never admit it.

For me, whether or not this can become a high-powered offense depends more on Gardner than it does the offensive line right now. 

On the stout run defense:

There's no need to show much defensively against Miami, but somebody in the front seven should be able to bring a running back down in the backfield. Obviously the front seven is doing something right because nobody is running on them, but it's almost like they just put up a wall at the line of scrimmage and don't try to cross into the offense's territory.

I don't understand how they are so good against the run, but I can certainly acknowledge that it's happening. Is it because they haven't yet played a team who lives on the run? At least in some part, definitely. I'm just wondering where the penetration is.

On the secondary:

The pass defense had some issues in terms of personnel. 

It was good to see Peppers get some extensive time at cornerback instead of nickel. He responded well and I wonder how long it will be until he's starting.

It was also good to see Dymonte Thomas out there at safety for some snaps. He's a big hitter who is still looking to become the player that so many saw when he was a five-star prospect out of Ohio.

On special teams (blistering comments on clock mismanagement)

Lastly, I suppose this would be the best place to talk about an instance in this game that pretty much characterized everything wrong with Brady Hoke as a head coach.

The crowd was booing from the first time Hagerup was sent out onto the field. They've grown tired of this mentality at a time when it shouldn't even be in effect. This is Freaking Miami Freaking Of Freaking Ohio. They didn't win a game last year. Are you that unsure of your team or your own ability to coach them that you think not getting six yards with under a minute to play is going to allow them to go the 40-odd yards necessary just to get a crack at a long field goal attempt? How does this instill confidence in anybody?

The execution was horrific, but the mentality was even worse. Brady Hoke went full Ferentz, and you never go full Ferentz.

There's much, much more, but I've already quoted too much as it is. Read it all if you're starving for content prior to the UFR's coming up mid-week.

EDIT:  So, going forward, I'll probably continue to link to Michigan Monday if no one else does. (Brian linked there after ND, and someone else did the week before against ASU. I don't own MM or have a particular claim on it . . . just think that Gerdeman is one of the better reads out there.) However, I think my use of block quotes was egregious, and so I will shorten that down a bit. On a different yet related note, I'd love for someone on the staff to watch the OSU game weekly, and provide a similar synopsis of the Buckeyes for MGoBlog as we head toward the end of November.