Michigan 52, Appalachian State 14
Coverage is irrelevant. [Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog]
There was Devin Funchess, galloping through and leaping over the Appalachian State secondary. There were Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith, bursting through holes opened up by Ben Braden and Kyle Kalis. There was Devin Gardner, completing all but one pass. There was Dennis Norfleet, catching bubble screens and darting past defenders.
There was offense, making sense at last.
Sure, Michigan's 560 yards on 55 plays came against an Appalachian State team that went 4-8 as an FCS program in 2013, but the coherence and explosiveness of Doug Nussmeier's offense proved undeniable. Funchess more than earned his new #1 jersey, scoring on three of his seven receptions, including a spectacular leaping grab over two defenders in the back of the end zone. Gardner had no difficulty finding open receivers, connecting on 12/13 passes for 173 yards and those three TDs to Funchess before giving way to Shane Morris in the third quarter as the blowout continued unabated.
Green (15 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD) and Smith (8, 115, 2) became the first pair of Michigan running backs to crack the century mark in the same game since Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor accomplished the feat against a hapless Minnesota team in 2007. They found running room. This was to be expected against an undersized, overmatched ASU squad, but this was not to be expected because last year happened. The offensive line held their ground and then some, giving up just one sack and paving the way for 350 yards on 36 carries.
The production excited, but more than that it was the fashion in which Michigan got that production. Screens to Funchess and Norfleet* opened up both the running game and downfield passing. The emphasis on inside zone allowed the line to find their rhythm; after some early stuffed runs, they started opening up big creases, especially when Kalis entered the game at right guard in place of starter Joey Burzynski. Michigan got explosive plays—ten of their first 30 went for ten yards or more—and also showed that they could move the ball methodically; the first scoring drive, capped by a nine-yard touchdown to Funchess, covered 63 yards in nine plays.
De'Veon Smith displayed power and balance on his way to 115 rushing yards. [Fuller]
On the other side of the ball, the defense played up to their lofty expectations, forcing punts on each of ASU's first seven drives, including five three-and-outs. 171 of the Mountaineers' 280 total yards came on two second-half drives with the game well out of reach, as Greg Mattison liberally rotated through defenders. They came through on their promise to be more aggressive, playing lots of tight man coverage and putting ASU QB Kam Bryant under consistent pressure—Michigan's two sacks and four QB hurries don't tell the whole story.
The special teams even managed to chip in a scoring play, as Ben Gedeon caught a punt blocked by Mike McCray and managed to extend the ball just past the pylon to put U-M up 35-0 just prior to halftime.
Only two things came up as real concerns during the game. Jabrill Peppers missed the second half with an ankle injury; Brady Hoke confirmed after the game that his absence was precautionary, and he'll be back on the field next week for Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Jake Ryan looked uncomfortable at times at middle linebacker, getting overaggressive on run defense and allowing a big gain through the air when he didn't get enough depth on a zone drop. If your biggest defensive concern is Jake Ryan, however, your defense is in a very good place.
"We weren't competing against the score, we were competing against our abilities," Hoke said. At the very least, Michigan showed their ability to dominate inferior competition. They certainly drew up the blueprint for how they'd like this team to operate the rest of the year, too. Next week, we'll learn a lot more about just how far they've come.
For now, it's nice to sit back and enjoy a stress-free Saturday.
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*Or "Little Fleetwood" as Hoke (accidentally?) called him in the postgame presser.
August 30th, 2014 at 5:21 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 9:08 PM ^
He is very slow for a running back. I like him too but green really has a nice jump-cut and more speed
August 30th, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 5:34 PM ^
its called coaching...
August 30th, 2014 at 5:41 PM ^
wanted to start with run, but passing to set up run certainly worked. Thought Smith looked more polished as a runner than Green, but 100+ rushing yards x 2 running backs! Would have liked to see Smith get Johnson's touches, but that's a pretty small point. Receivers looked great, and Funchess looked like a guy who should be wearing #1. Defensively, looked like lots of guys got reps and we did pretty well. Didn't hear Ryan's number called a lot; will be interesting to see how guys grade out in the UFR.
August 30th, 2014 at 5:44 PM ^
All Hail #1 and two 100 yard rushers.
August 30th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^
Does anyone know what happened on the defensive series deep in their half of the field, mid 2nd QTR? We had 3 consecutive tackles for no gain, then they went to commerial break, but then it was like they replayed 3rd down again (where Wormley got a sack). Was there offsetting penalties or something?
August 30th, 2014 at 5:53 PM ^
App State was granted a timeout before the snap, but the officials didn't stop play in time.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:39 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^
9 kickoffs and 1 punt. I like that ratio.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^
I realize that there is big, "yeah but it was just App. St." caveat, as the OP said, there was last year so seeing our RB's breaking big run after big run was so refreshing.
I was very impressed with Gardner, his decision-making, and the way he looked completely in control of the offense. It's obvious to me that Nuss was a great hire and that DG is going to really benefit from his teaching.
The screens were awesome to see, especially to Funchess. Obviously they wanted to gain yards with those plays (and did) but they are so integral in setting up the offense against better defenses. Now that DC's will have film on Nuss' offense (at least some of it) I think they're going to over play Funchess, and that will open up something else.
Is there anyone who wasn't excited about seeing our RB's running for daylight over and over? I know, I know, App. St. but we could do anything remotely close to that against Akron and UConn last season, so there is obvious improvement.
The defense look like what Mattison calls a, "Michigan Defense" -- finally. There were a few little mix-ups (which are to be expected early) which gave App. St. some gains, but I love the aggressive bump-and-run look in the secondary -- we've got the talent, let's let them line up and play.
All in all, happy with what I saw and especially what I saw from the OL -- they're going to be good by the end of the season.
August 30th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 8:09 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 6:27 PM ^
He redshirted last year
August 30th, 2014 at 6:40 PM ^
Redshirted last year. RS Freshman this year. Pretty respectable day for him.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^
I see this version of the Horror as Brandon trying to delete and repeat the last seven years. It's almost as if this is the start of what should've happened after '06.
August 31st, 2014 at 12:43 AM ^
I always thought that was the basic idea.
The Horror basically signaled Michigan's decline for most of the last decade.
This was their way of saying no more of that and trying to start a new era on the right foot by playing (and crushing) the team that started the slope before.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^
It was awesome to see a big, physical Michigan WR wearing #1 again. It's been too long. Funchess is perfect for it.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:00 PM ^
Nice to watch the offense, but I already hate the waggle again. Both QBs faced unblocked defenders while running away. Put that shitty play away for the rest of the season plz.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^
I don't remember them running it at all.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
i don't remember seeing Pipkins much until the 4th quarter. I wasn't counting, but it looked like Mone got more snaps. Henry was a beast. I like the attacking defense that doesn't let the other team dink and dunk the shit out of us. Jarrod Wilson was completely invisible as we would hope and it looked like Jeremy Clark had a good game.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^
So this is what sports feels like. I CERTAINLY MISSED IT.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:44 PM ^
Megatron: Johnson :: Optimus Prime : Funchess?
Funchess isn't "mini," he is the same size as CJ. What about Optimus Prime instead of Minitron?
August 30th, 2014 at 7:48 PM ^
I rather liked those Funchdowns.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:56 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 7:59 PM ^
There is a ton of talent on this team, I feel that our O-line can shape up to become a real solid line and it will be interesting how Glasgow will affect the line. I was at the game and I saw that our defense does get to the ball quickly. But the main thing I took away from the game was how dominant our wide recievers were. Our WR were fast and big. I think our Wideouts are special.
August 30th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 8:11 PM ^
The Clarks, Frank and Jeremy, had an excellent day on defense.
I would expect DG to take more chances next week although I hope receivers continue to get wide open.
August 30th, 2014 at 8:12 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 8:52 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 9:01 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 9:05 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 10:14 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 9:14 PM ^
App State apparently called timeout beforehand, so the first third-down play didn't count (although it seemed like no one on the field was aware of this).
August 30th, 2014 at 9:00 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 10:27 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^
I saw Funchess blocking downfield nicely on a few plays. Chesson too.
I am starting to think that we have a real gem on our hands with Jeff Hecklinski.
August 30th, 2014 at 10:18 PM ^
I thought he should've taken over playcalling duties last year. Let Borges design them and Heck call them in games.
We've got some REALLY good coaches, then we've also got a few guys that I wouldn't cry about if they moved on/retired. Jackson, Ferrigno, Funk and Smith.
They're our coaches for this year and this team, and we're 1-0, so they have my support 100% - no question. But going into the season if those 4 would've been replaced with another RB, TE and Special Teams/OL/DL coaches...I wouldn't have cried. But it's who we have and I hope they lead this team back to elite and to greatness.
Definitely don't want to lose either coordinator, Heck, Manning or Mallory.
My (realistic) dream staff:
OC/QB: Doug Nussmeier
DC: Greg Mattison
RB: Mike Hart
WR/TE: Jeff Hecklinski
OL/TE: Tom Manning
DL/Special Teams: Mike Mallory
LB: Roy Manning
CB: Curt Mallory
S: Marcus Ray
I especially like splitting the TE duties with Kevin Koger on the staff as a GA...But this staff gives you youth and experience. College and NFL experience. Michigan ties and guys with no ties to the maize and blue. And it frees up Mattison to work with the DL and LBs.
August 30th, 2014 at 10:27 PM ^
How much do you know about Hart and Ray as football coaches? Yeah, I enjoyed watching them play, but are they actually good at coaching, much less better than the guys we currently have?
August 30th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 11:07 PM ^
Purdue sample size, as well.
In all serious, hopefully Hart keeps moving up the latter of success.
August 31st, 2014 at 12:45 AM ^
Hart appears to be a solid position coach.
August 31st, 2014 at 6:45 AM ^
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