Michigan 28, Akron 24 Comment Count

Ace

NOW FOR SALE IN THE MGOSTORE

This afternoon in front of a late-arriving, non-sellout crowd at the Big House, Michigan faced off against an Akron team that went 1-11, 1-11, and 1-11 in the last three seasons, started the year with a 38-7 loss to UCF, spent last weekend getting outgained and nearly outscored by FCS James Madison, and is considered the worst team in the FBS. This was a game to work out the kinks in the playbook, get in some good reps for the backups, and give a good show for the fans who probably paid $5 for a ticket from their friend who likes to sleep in on Saturdays.

OR NOT.

At first, it looked like all would go as expected; Michigan forced an Akron punt on their opening drive, and after Fitz Toussaint rushed for a two-yard loss, Devin Gardner completed five consecutive passes, capped by a 48-yard toss to Devin Funchess, who outran the entire Akron secondary en route to the end zone.

Concern started to grow when Michigan's next drive netted zero yards. The first quarter ended with the score at 7-3, Wolverines; surely, Michigan would pull away any time now.

Then Brendan Gibbons missed a 45-yard field goal to start the second quarter, snapping his streak of 16 consecutive makes. After the defense forced a three-and-out, the Wolverines drove deep into Zips territory, only for Devin Gardner to fumble away the possession on a speed option—a play in which Fitz Toussaint had a clear touchdown if Gardner would've pitched. The defense again picked up the offense, as Blake Countess intercepted a Kyle Pohl pass and returned it all the way to the Akron 20-yard line. Any time now...

Three plays later, Gardner forced a pass into coverage that Akron's DeAndre Scott intercepted easily. The Zips were able to mount a plodding drive that oozed into Michigan territory; after taking a delay of game on fourth-and-one, however, Robert Stein's 45-yard field goal clanged off the left upright. Any time now...

Two plays later, Gardner threw the ball to a well-covered Jeremy Gallon; Akron's Justin March came away with the interception. Luckily for Michigan, only 29 seconds remained on the clock. Stein's 55-yard attempt with 0:05 left in the half went wide left, and the Wolverines were happy to kneel out the clock and regroup at halftime. Any time now...

The second half began inauspiciously, with the Wolverines gaining just one yard on three plays before a Matt Wile punt. Akron's ensuing possession went 75 yards in eight plays, ending in a 28-yard touchdown from Pohl to a wide-open Zach D'Orazio, who went unmolested up the seam as the linebackers failed to get depth on their drops and the safeties couldn't close the gap. Akron 10, Michigan 7. ANY TIME NOW...

Devin Gardner bounced back from his turnovers and gave U-M fans a brief respite from PANIC on the next possession, scoring on a 36-yard inverted veer keeper—for seemingly the first time all day, Michigan got great blocking up front, and Jeremy Jackson guaranteed the score by wiping out three Akron defenders downfield. The defense held up their end, too, forcing another three-and-out, and the Wolverines took a 21-10 lead when Jehu Chesson took his first career reception on a crossing route, broke through a few (poor) tackling attempts by the Akron secondary, and jetted into the corner of the end zone. After Michigan came up with another stop, disaster averted, right?

Wrong. Two plays into the fourth quarter, Al Borges tried to set up a screen pass on third-and-9. Facing heavy pressure, Gardner sidearmed a horribly ill-advised throw directly into the arms of Justin March; as noted earlier, March plays for Akron. He waltzed 27 yards untouched into the end zone. ANY TIME NOW...

Michigan's next drive went nowhere, and Wile didn't help matters by booting a 35-yard punt—not even among his two worst on the day—to set up the Zips on their own 39. A 43-yard pass from Pohl to L.T. Smith set up Akron at the Michigan seven. The Wolverines caught a huge break two plays later, when Pohl threw a play-action pass right to Jarrod Wilson (above, Upchurch). Wilson smartly took a knee in the end zone, giving Michigan the ball on the 20. Time to run out the clock, yes?

Well, not quite. Fitz Toussaint started the drive with a 16-yard run, but his two ensuing carries netted a lone yard. After Gardner's third-down pass to Gallon came up just short of the sticks, Wile shanked a 22-yard punt. The Zips went on an 11-play march down the field, and after getting stuffed twice at the goal line, scored the go-ahead touchdown when they spread the field—Pohl rolled right and found receiver Tyrell Goodman all alone. 24-21, Akron. 4:10 left on the clock. Full-blown PANIC.

Gardner went back to what he'd done best all game, run the football, taking off for a 35-yard gain to move Michigan into Akron territory on the next possession. He found Gallon on the sideline for a 20-yard gain on the very next play, and Michigan got another first down when Gardner's throw to Jake Butt in the end zone drew a pass interference call. Toussaint found a big hole on the left side of the line and took advantage for a two-yard touchdown on the next play. 28-24, Michigan. 2:49 left. Now was the time, yes?

Well, kinda. First, Pohl found Jerrod Dillard for a 24-yard gain, and the Zips moved into Michigan territory two plays later when Blake Countess jumped offsides on a blitz. A 19-yard run by Conor Hundley on third-and-five gave the Zips a first down at the Michigan 27. Despite a holding call moving them back ten yards, Akron kept pushing downfield, with Pohl finding Smith all alone at the 11-yard line after escaping the pocket. Another pass to Smith gave Akron a third-and-one on the Michigan two as the clock ticked down to 0:15. An ill-advised toss play to Jawon Chisholm moved the ball back two yards; the Zips burned their final timeout. Fourth down, five seconds left, ball on the Michigan four.

Greg Mattison dialed up a heavy blitz, and Pohl's desperation pass found only fieldturf, perhaps helped by a missed holding call in the Michigan secondary. The time had finally come, with zero seconds on the clock. Michigan 28, Akron 24, The Horror II narrowly avoided.

In the end, Michigan outgained the worst FBS team outside of Georgia State by seven yards—seven very critical yards, as it turned out. Gardner's 248 passing yards and 103 rushing yards were offset by his four turnovers, including his second pick-six in as many games. The offensive line struggled to open up holes against a very small Akron defensive front. The defense, for their part, allowed far too many passes over the middle and couldn't muster a good pass rush until the game's final play; they gave up big plays, too, as both Raymon Taylor and Jourdan Lewis were beat for big gains over the top.

"This is an embarrassment," Taylor Lewan said after the game. Even with the victory, there's no argument here.

Comments

uminks

September 15th, 2013 at 3:03 AM ^

Hoke has been recruiting well but it will take these young guys a bit of time to make a difference. This year and next we will probably not be a top 10 team. I still think we will go 8-4 or 9-3. A bit worried about losing Schofield and Lewan next season. Gardner may have to scramble a lot more in 2014.

uminks

September 15th, 2013 at 3:03 AM ^

Hoke has been recruiting well but it will take these young guys a bit of time to make a difference. This year and next we will probably not be a top 10 team. I still think we will go 8-4 or 9-3. A bit worried about losing Schofield and Lewan next season. Gardner may have to scramble a lot more in 2014.

Blue1993

September 15th, 2013 at 3:06 AM ^

Hand it to the zips. They played their hearts out. Mich-no. I remember being so destroyed walking out of the stadium after an app st loss. I felt the pain of the loss, but was more distraught that I did not see the traditional hand shake to the opposing team. The quick escape from the humiliating loss was not class like. I thought we should have lined the team up and had every single team member pay respect to the hard fought battle. We expect great play every week no matter the opponent. That is what makes a Michigan man and Team. Great fight Akron! Until we meet again.

nmajali

September 15th, 2013 at 5:31 AM ^

Disclaimer: I'm not one to hate on any of the Michigan kids or coaches, I believe we do have a great staff and talent on the team with a good maturity level, and do appreciate the fact that Michigan is 3-0 today and Michigan under Hoke is in a different world that the coaching of 2008 3-9 team. So all is appreciated.

Now for my point,

QB: DG made a lot of mistakes and he got into the funk early in the game and didn't get out of it. The coaching staff seems to have instructed him to play soft early so as to preserve himself for future games which meant he was trying not to break himself rather than win a game and create separation. He also took big risks seeing that the weak competition would not be able to capitalize on mistakes. That was a very wrong assumption. By the time they had to change that mentality he wasn't able to really get in the game, although he eventually did just enough to keep Michigan in the game, and eventually win. If it had no true repercussions in the future, the coaching staff should've considered subbing in Morris for a couple of series in the 2nd quarter to change the pace of the game (he would've had more motivation to prove himself) I know that is not logical but should've been considered when your QB ended up with 4 very costly mistakes that should've lost you the season.

O-Line: They didn't give the QB enough time to pass on many plays, and no huge holes for the RB, but play calling might have had something to do with their performance. Again their mentality coming into the game was that they are playing a Glazed Doughnut so really they didn't expect to make the D-Line of Akron look better than that of ND. They definitely had no fire in them and I believe that to be their biggest mistake rather than technique.

WR/RB/ TE: honestly, they looked best on the offense , Butt and Funchess had great plays and yard, Chesson turned his first reception into a TD. And in the second half, Fitz saved our lives. So I guess any other mistakes are expected any game.

Defense : mixed reviews and blame there. When they rushed 3 we couldn't get to the QB, when they rushed 4 we couldn't get to QB, 5 same thing.. I guess e had to rush 8 to almost get to him... No sacks against Akron is just wrong. As for the CBs they shouldn't allow those deep balls against Akron or even against OSU..
1st half looked much better than second.. The 2 goal line stands are heroic, but the other team shouldn't have gotten to our 1.5 yard line in the first place. They had a lot of great individual plays but didn't play well as a team.

Coaching: now comes the dissing part... Honestly, this was Brady Hoke's low point at Michigan. I respect the guy a lot, and I respect Mattison and Al Borges a lot, but honestly They made too many mistakes yesterday namely:

a- they didn't prepare the team mentally for the game allowing the letdown
b-play calling : they were not effective on defense or offense most of the game, being conservative at times and taking too many risks on offense at times.
c- they way underestimated the competition and with that almost made Michigan beat Michigan with the don't break yourself mentality.

Honestly this one is on the coaching staff, they were way out coached this game but were lucky to have fielded the more skilled players on the field.

Akron: they played their best game in 4 years, almost mistake free, if the wind didnt push their field goal and if they were more conservative playing in our redone they would've won this game. Honestly they are much better than advertised, not Michigan caliber, but better that a team that hasn't won on the road in like 4 or 5 years. If not demoralized from this game, and barring injuries, they should be able to win at least 3 to 4 games this season in MAC competition, if not more. ( that being said there was no excuse for Michigan not to beat them by at least 21 points)

So there you have it, please tell me if my brain got it right or am I crazy.. Though I will take an ugly win over a loss any day and I Thank God for this win... So hopefully this is a fluke and I never have to watch Michigan ever do that again... Ever..

Go Blue

nmajali

September 15th, 2013 at 7:55 AM ^

I did not choose my words carefully, the actual statement should be "they looked mistake free because bad Michigan play made them look that way". I agree that two bad teams were fielded yesterday, and were it not for the Michigan self inflicted wounds we would've won with ease and covered at least a 32 point spread if not more.
And if it were not for their mistakes they would've beat us by about 14 points, so I stand with one statement there, boy we're lucky we won. And Go Blue.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 15th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^

I understand what you mean now.  You know, it's okay to get pissed off.  When you exchange your hard earned money for a good/service, you expect that good/service to be as advertised.  That doesn't mean Michigan has to win every game.  Heck, they won yesterday's game didn't they?  What it means is that there is a certain level of effort that you expect to see.  There is a certain level of preporation that ought to be visible.  When that is inconspicuously absent, it's okay to get upset.  Remember, this athletic department and this football program had absolutely no problem taking your money when they mailed you that ticket.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 15th, 2013 at 6:16 AM ^

How do you think one of those players would respond if I saw him on campus and said, "Hey *insert name here*, I saw Akron put together quite the game plan against you guys Saturday.  They looked like a pretty good ball club."



What would they say?  Would they just get really pissed off?  All I know is if I was Greg Mattison, that's what I would say to my defense as an openning remark before we start film study.  I want to know how somebody saying that to them makes them feel.  If they say, "yeah, they looked good"... I would respond, "really, because that was AKRON!"  I hope they wouldn't respond that way.  I really hope.



So traditionally after a MEEEEchigan victory all of the players run into the lockerroom and sing The Victors as a team.

Hail... to the victors valliant.

Hail... to the conquering heroes.

Hail... Hail... to Michigan.  The champions of the west.



I hope those players felt good singing that fight song after this game.  If I was Brady, I would tell each and every one of my position coaches to sing along too.  I don't want to see ANY of you not singing the timeless tradition that is our fight song after a Michigan victory.

Make it blatantly obvious that it's not about winning and losing.  It's about how you play the game - being a character football team... and next time, if we win, it will be because we deserved to sing that song.

burtcomma

September 15th, 2013 at 7:28 AM ^

Made lots of big plays and lots of big mistakes.....feast or famine.....that is how young teams play guys, get used to it....one minute running loose and scoring quickly going from down 10-7 to up 21-10 with seeming ease and then tossing a pick 6 and going down 24-21 and then scoring in just a few plays again to go up 28-24........on defense, giving up a long pass and then picking one off in the end zone and then giving up another long pass after losing contain and then making a big 3 yard loss on a 3rd and short near the goal line.......

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 15th, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^

That's funny because against Notre Dame they looked nothing like how you just described, unless those were different coaches on the sideline, different captains at midfield for the coin toss, and different players executing the gameplan (term used very loosely).

The worst part, and I think this will show up in the UFR to some extent, the young guys played better than the veterans.

RS Jr. (Graduate Student) Devin Gardner was 50% from the field and had 2 TDs, 3 INTs, and another fumble.

RS Sr. Fitz Toussaint looked good running the ball, naturally, but totally abandoned pass protection fundamentals.  That will show up in the UFR.

RS Sr. Jeremy Gallon did not score. (RS Fr. Jehu Chesson and So. Devin Funchess did)

Sr. Drew Dileo didn't have a reception all game.  He averaged 15 yards on 2 attempts on kickoffs.

Jr. Matt Wile punted 4 times for an average of 33 yards per punt.

___________________________________________

Tell me more about how the youth of this football team hurt them.

OneFootIn

September 15th, 2013 at 8:56 AM ^

I refrained from commenting yesterday, afraid that my emotional state had clouded my thinking. Still not sure how good Michigan will be this year - this display forced me to take back all the readjustments I had made in my head after the ND game.

But after watching the rest of the B1G last night....yikes. Akron would have been the worst loss of the bunch but nobody looks very good. Are Ohio and NW the saviors of the league? Sigh.

blueball97

September 15th, 2013 at 9:27 AM ^

Shouldn't or can't we just take this approach: young inexperienced team has a let down after a big emotional victory, has bad week of practice and thinks it can show up and beat a really bad Akron team. Things start well, reaffirming their belief that Akron sucks, and they get sloppy. Once this happens things get shitty and they cant stop them, the more they press the worse it gets. Rather than calming down and playing football, they try harder and harder making even more mistakes. Devin is simply to good, in spite of his terrible turn overs and they take the lead. Akron becomes Akron and Michigan escapes with a win. Mattison has yet to show any real blitz packages and the defense has played it straight for 3 games doing just enough to win. Borges is tinkering trying to figure out what he can and cant do rather than build consistency and an identity. Overall, we are 3-0 and in the end it wont matter if we continue to win. Take the lessons and the W and move on.

EnoughAlready

September 15th, 2013 at 9:45 AM ^

it's a "young team"?  

On offense: RS-Jr QB.  Two RS-Sr. tackles; a RS-soph center and guard; 4 Senior WRs; a RS-Sr. TB.  A RS-Fr. guard (better than a true Fr. guard).  Two sophomore TEs. 

On defense: Q. Wash and J Black are seniors; Beyer and Clark and Morgan are juniors; the two Gordons are seniors; Countess is a RS-soph/junior; Avery is a senior.  And many of the sophomores already got lots of playing time last year.  It's not like they're totally green and shiny.

I fail to see how that qualifies as a "young team."

vulture

September 15th, 2013 at 9:57 AM ^

You guys aren't giving the coaches enough credit.  The play calling was pure guile. 

Given that you can really only prepare for what you've seen, imagine how much time Urbs is going to waste coming up with defenses for Borges' "RB gets TFL"-play.  

As well, I'm sure he's already having visions of running right up the middle for big gains against Mattison's D.  Imagine the surprise when Mattison unexpectedly starts defending that!  

Check.  Mate.

Procumbo

September 15th, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^

Thank god we won. This way, it's embarrassing for a couple weeks, but then everyone will forget about it. If we lost the game I think it could set back recruiting for years.

I wouldn't have thought this competitive of a game would be possible, even on Michigan's worst day and Akron's best day. I could be wrong, but based on past performance isn't Akron probably substantially worse than the CMU team Michigan beat 59-9? It wasn't just mistakes or fluky plays: Michigan got outplayed on the LOS and in general didn't show themselves the superior team in any way. Can effort really overcome talent to this great of a degree? I guess the only answer is yes.

Well, anyway, tomorrow is another day.

MGoUberBlue

September 15th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^

We were down by three with 4:05 to play, marched down the field to score in 1:15, which unfortunately was too soon.  We came from behind a couple of times and won the game.

The team made the big plays when it counted.  A win is okay.  I am not embarrassed or pissed off or any of that nonsense.  That's why they play the game.

Akron had some very good coaching in Tommy Bowden and Chuck Amato and will win more than three games this year if they continue to play like they did yesterday.

Ernis

September 15th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^

This was a trap game. They are called such for a reason. Yes, it was bad. We should feel bad, to a point, but then you get over it and move on. At the end of the day, we have as much at stake as we did at the start of the season. We have lost nothing but maybe some pride - we can still win the B1G and hell maybe even the MNC. Of course, not if we continue to play like we did yesterday... but why would that be the case? These kids will learn, grow, and move on. This performance should not be considered any more valid than previous performances in terms of predicting the rest of our season.

Oh and as for ND, their game v Purdue was also a trap. They also escaped. It happens.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 15th, 2013 at 1:51 PM ^

So you're saying that there exists not one person who is justified in being upset at a moderate - high degree after that game?  I don't know about you, but regular season ticket holders paid approximately $90 to attend that game.  They don't have a reason to be upset?

This performance should not be considered any more valid than previous performances in terms of predicting the rest of our season?  You think this despite the fact that it is the most recent iteration?  It is the closest data point for demonstrating where we are as a team now.

Ernis

September 15th, 2013 at 2:32 PM ^

Upset in terms of frustration, embarrassment, etc... sure. Anger, doom and gloom? I think it's a bit of an overreaction. The sky is not falling. This happens to good teams at times. Do I think we'll win out and take the crystal ball home? Not likely. But we are still undefeated, and that's what it takes.

As for predictions, recency does not equal primacy - and this is only one data point. Like I said, it was a trap game. No one should have expected to see M's best performance yesterday, while a below average performance would be more likely than for other games. Were we worse than expected? Yes. And Akron was better than expected. This dynamic combined to nigh-disastrous results, but the crisis was averted. I doubt this team will look so unprepared again.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 16th, 2013 at 3:36 AM ^

Can you supply some supporting evidence or logical proof (just an explanation of your thought processes) for why recency doesn't equal primacy?



I mean, I'm not going to look at Michigan's 1997 season as a sign of us trending upwards today... because that happened in 1997.  I would argue that the 1997 season is totally irrelevant... so primacy of a data point would at least be a function of recency.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

September 16th, 2013 at 3:44 AM ^

I can pay $10 to go see two bad teams play eachother at Saline High School.  Is it wrong of me to feel a little put off when I pay $90 to see what is advertised to me as being one of the best college football teams in the country play a game... and I get mediocrity?

And yes, the players aren't getting paid in cash.  They are receiving free education.  Also, I never claimed that the players aren't being screwed over in all of this either.  It's kind of irrelevant whether they are or aren't.  I still paid an athletic department $90 and received nothing that was promised to me.



like buying an xbox on ebay and receiving just the empty box.

MaizeJacket

September 16th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^

Any time now....  while watching the game.  It's really not all that uncommon to see a powerhouse struggle with a patsy for a quarter or two, but 99% of the time in the 2nd half the quality depth shows up and you wonder why you were even worrying in the 1st half at all.  I have to chalk this up to just plain inexcusable preparation by all involved.  Neither the coaches nor the players gave a damn about this game and did it show.  However, the best thing that could come out of a game like this is that a) you win the game anyway, which Michigan did, and b) it wakes everybody the F up and scares them into insane obsessive overpreparation for the next few weeks at the very least if not the rest of the regular season.

 

I usually exercise the 24-hour rule concerning any reaction or discussion about a football game, but I had to extend that to 48 for this one.  Whew.  Pleased to report my fingernails are growing back and heart rate and blood pressures are back to normal.