Michigan 59, Central Michigan 9
Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog
The feeling was boredom, interspersed with brief moments of Norfleet-related anticipation that ended an ankle-tackle away from being actual excitement.
Boredom, in this case, was a great feeling—a pleasant return to normalcy for Michigan. A home opener against a directional Michigan school, a 50-point lead heading into the third quarter, a fourth quarter spent looking up numbers of various freshmen and walk-ons while fretting about burned redshirts; this is how it's supposed to go, fergodsakes.
The Wolverines got on the board before the Big House crowd even got a chance to see the much-anticipated new offense, as freshman defensive back Dymonte Thomas screamed off the edge to block a Central Michigan punt on the opening drive of the game; senior receiver Joe Reynolds scooped up the loose ball and took it 30 yards to give Michigan a 7-0 lead.
A muffed punt by Dennis Norfleet, recovered by Delano Hill at Michigan's seven-yard line, led to an inauspicious start for Devin Gardner; after his first pass of the season was dropped by Devin Funchess, he telegraphed a quick out to Drew Dileo, and CMU's Jarret Chapman jumped the route for an easy interception.
Michigan's defense held strong, though, forcing the Chippewas to settle for a field goal. Gardner was in fine form on the subsequent drive, picking up a first down with his legs, then buying time for Drew Dileo to find a wide open hole in the Central defense on a 3rd-and-4 for a 36-yard catch-and-run. On the very next play, Gardner stood tall in the pocket, couldn't find an open receiver, and waltzed untouched into the end zone for a 22-yard score (right, Upchurch).
From there, the Wolverines didn't look back. A 38-yard run on a Dennis Norfleet reverse set up a one-yard touchdown run for Fitz Toussaint, who looked back to his old self—aside from missing a couple open cutback lanes—in rushing for 57 yards on 14 carries. After another Gardner hiccup—an overthrow to Gallon that resulted in his second interception—led to a second Jason Wilson field goal, cutting the lead to 21-6, the redshirt junior quarterback roared back with an 11-play, 76-yard drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to his favorite target, Jeremy Gallon. After Raymon Taylor jumped an Alex Niznak throw to the perimeter, nearly taking the interception back for a touchdown, Gardner finished the first half with a four-yard scoring run, again making his trip to the end zone look downright easy. Despite the pair of turnovers—and a punt block for a touchdown that didn't count towards the yardage numbers—Michigan held a 243-139 edge in total offense and a 35-6 halftime lead.
The onslaught didn't stop there. Michigan's opening drive of the second half featured a 45-yard play-action pass from Gardner to Reynolds; two plays later, Toussaint tallied his second score of the day from two yards out. After another quick defensive stop, freshman running backs Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith combined to run on each of Michigan's ten plays, including a 30-yard Green scamper on a zone stretch and the five-star's first career touchdown on a goal-line scrum.
Sacks by Brennen Beyer and Mario Ojemudia forced another three-and-out, and from there the backups took over. Freshman quarterback Shane Morris quarterbacked the next drive, completing a 36-yard pass to Devin Funchess before Thomas Rawls rumbled into the end zone from five yards out, giving the Wolverines a 56-6 lead as the third quarter expired.
The rest, as they say, was academic. The fourth-quarter monotony was broken briefly by a 36-yard punt return by Norfleet, who was one man away from scoring; a Morris interception on a tipped pass; and a forced fumble by freshman cornerback Channing Stribling just two plays later, recovered by Delonte Hollowell. That third play led to a 30-yard Gibbons field goal—his 14th consecutive make, tying a school record held by Remy Hamilton*—that gave the game its final margin: 59-9, Michigan.
Funchess sporting his new Ron Kramer Legacy jersey (Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog)
Aside from the two picks, Gardner looked like the superstar he's expected to be in his first year as the full-time starter, averaging 10.8 yards per attempt and rushing for 52 yards on seven carries; CMU couldn't keep him in the pocket and couldn't stop him when he escaped, including one play in which Gardner comically olé'd an awaiting defender hoping to hit him on the sideline.
His ESP-level connection with Gallon showed, as well; Gallon caught four passes for 47 yards and had a second touchdown catch wiped out when Taylor Lewan wandered downfield illegally rode his donkey too far even from the generous blocking zone they give linemen on play-action these days. Funchess and Reynolds both impressed, as well, and while each left the game due to injury, those dings appeared minor. Brady Hoke said after the game that Funchess left the game due to a cramp (an unfortunately-placed one, given the rather sensitive area he clutched after his long catch), while there was no report on the status of Reynolds.
Defensively, Beyer was a consistent presence in the backfield as a lineman in Greg Mattison's nickel package, tallying a sack and another TFL. Cam Gordon, playing in place of the injured Jake Ryan, looked fantastic in tallying a pair of sacks among his 2.5 TFLs, lining up at both strongline linebacker and defensive end and playing both well. Desmond Morgan took to his new position as the MIKE with aplomb, leading the team with seven tackles despite heavy rotation in the front seven. While the much-balleyhooed Frank Clark recorded a lone QB hurry, his backup, Mario Ojemudia, came up with a sack and looked like a very solid option at weakside DE.
Of the true freshmen to see their first action—and there were many—it was Stribling who impressed the most; he was Michigan's field corner when they went into the nickel package, and while he gave up a couple catches, he showed off his playmaking ability by stripping CMU's Andrew Flory after one of those receptions. Linebacker Ben Gedeon also played well in his first career action, tallying four tackles; "The Freak" didn't look out of place at weakside linebacker.
The only major points of concern were Gardner's two picks—hopefully those can be chalked up to opening-game rust, as he otherwise looked like a Heisman candidate—and the play of the safeties. Jarrod Wilson and Josh Furman blew a couple assignments, though there's a good chance that neither is starting by mid-September—strong safety Thomas Gordon sat out the game for a "violation of team rules" and Courtney Avery could factor in at free safety when he recovers from knee surgery, hopefully in time for next week's game but more likely for Akron. The offensive line had its moments, good and bad; Al Borges called for a lot of zone running plays instead of asking for his two new guards, Kyle Kalis and Graham Glasgow, to pull; Kalis played a very solid game, featuring a bone-crushing body-slam on Gardner's first touchdown run, while Glasgow and center Jack Miller had their ups and downs.
Michigan's fans trickled out of the stadium throughout the fourth quarter, content that their team took care of a MAC opponent like Wolverines should: devouring them alive. There was little reason to stay, more competitive football games to watch, and celebratory beers to drink. Cheers to a new season, a 1-0 record, and zero heart attacks.
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*If you've just woken up from a three-year slumber, this is somehow not a joke.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:21 PM ^
Huh, I thought only the fourth quarter was boring. When we're marching up and down the field and scoring on every drive, that's never boring to me. Agree about the feeling of returning to normalcy though.
August 31st, 2013 at 10:59 PM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
I meant that the fourth quarter was boring, period, and that the game overall was probably pretty boring to any non-Michigan fan. Guess that wasn't clear from the piece, which is my bad.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:22 PM ^
Stribling, see you in uniform #2 in 12 months.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:57 PM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 12:51 AM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 12:56 AM ^
Your username and avatar are remarkably apropos
August 31st, 2013 at 8:23 PM ^
Will Akron keep it under 80? Seriously that one could be scary.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
Jarrod Wilson played ok at safety, he made a few plays. Furman on the other hand was responsible for 2-3 of CMU's big plays.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:40 PM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
Good point. Hadn't thought of that.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^
I agree that he made a few nice plays. He almost had a really nice interception in the end zone if Countess hadn't fallen into his legs to jar it loose.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:44 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:40 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
It looked like Furman blew the coverage.
September 1st, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
Just watched this replay and you are absolutely correct. Mattison better clean that up for next week.
September 1st, 2013 at 12:13 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 8:41 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 8:50 PM ^
For all the whining, the change certainly did its job.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 8:56 PM ^
Nice write-up, Ace!
I'm looking forward to reading the UFRs on this. I think I'll learn a lot more from those than I did from watching grainy streaming on my laptop.
My sense is Gardner will be much better passing in the coming games.
I really liked what I saw with Morris. I think we'll be okay at backup QB.
August 31st, 2013 at 8:57 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^
He's very poised and confident under pressure. He can escape the rush and still diagnose the play downfield at the same time and then make the appropriate throw or scramble. He looks very similar to Vince Young to me.
September 1st, 2013 at 12:48 AM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 1:55 PM ^
You are certainly entitled to this opinion. However:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=260040030
and
August 31st, 2013 at 8:59 PM ^
Gardner only had 15 attempts. That's a pretty small sample size for any game. I don't feel comfortable drawing conclusions from that.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^
...is that he'll make the other team very unhappy if their pass rush loses contain.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:00 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:18 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:26 PM ^
I disagree. Gate 10 was extremely disorganized and they had trouble shuffling students to the right areas. We'll have to get to the ND line by noon if we want anything below row 50. DB is going to make it hard on students (outside of the diehards) to get interested. One game was a short term investment.
August 31st, 2013 at 10:42 PM ^
Anyone claiming they had to wait 3 hours to get "good" seats TODAY is exaggerating. If you can't get a decent tailgate in by 2:00, you're sleeping in too late.
ND will probably be worse, but I think by the end of the season most people will realize that only the diehards show up super early and good views can be had with a more reasonable arrival time. Particularly for noon starts (if we ever have those again).
August 31st, 2013 at 9:04 PM ^
Can we not put the word "Heisman" anywear near Gardner for a little while, especially after a game where he threw two picks on 16 attempts? We're living up to the entire college football world's stereotype of celebrating a "September Heisman."
It was a good game. Offense dominated a very bad MAC defense, like they should. Defense looked awesome with a good portion of CMU offense being attributable to backup safeties.
I think it's really hard to take too much from this game. Next week will be a much better barometer.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^
The Heisman Trophy needs to go away. It's becoming an ESPN popularity contest. I care about that trophy as much as I care about the Jets quarteback situation.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:23 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:25 PM ^
They also all had the first name "Devin" per Brett.
September 1st, 2013 at 2:36 AM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 11:41 PM ^
Heisman favorite is the Louiville QB, Bridgewater.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:24 PM ^
We could talk about the his epic whiff on one of Devin's picks.
September 1st, 2013 at 7:34 AM ^
Lets just not talk about the poor trainer you had to rub on Funchess's man parts on the sideline after his cramp
September 1st, 2013 at 2:25 AM ^
Can you care more about Tim Tebow finding a roster spot as a QB?
September 1st, 2013 at 1:27 AM ^
September 1st, 2013 at 7:59 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:06 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:47 PM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 9:08 PM ^
Has Urban flipped Dymonte Thomas yet? Please advise
August 31st, 2013 at 9:19 PM ^
It must be because recruits' parents prefer Urban to Hoke as a father figure with his strong Christian values, ethics, and overall genuine and authentic nature. Urban is a character guy who places academics and integrity first...a true molder of men.
August 31st, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^
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