Michigan 29, Air Force 13
Quinn Nordin got his second school record in three games. [Eric Upchurch]
Michigan had their J. Walter Weatherman game today.
You could practically hear "...and that's why you don't schedule Air Force" echoing through the stadium as early as the first quarter, when the Falcons somehow used 6:13 of game clock to drive 24 yards in 12 plays for a field goal to knot the game at three apiece.
While Michigan's defense played up to their lofty standard, Air Force lingered in a contracted game that featured only 11 full drives from each team. The Wolverines could only move the ball in fits and spurts, generally going in the right direction until they hit the red zone, where all-too-familiar problems from the season's first two games cropped up again. Whether it was blown blocks, conservative playcalling, or missed opportunities, those problems forced Michigan to settle for field goals on all four of their trips to the red zone.
"They were doing a really good of disguising coverages, disguising blitzes," quarterback Wilton Speight said, noting Air Force did a particularly good job in the red zone.
"They had a better call than we had most of the time down there in the red zone," said Jim Harbaugh. "We'd like to score more touchdowns in the red zone. I think that'll come. We're moving the ball."
Speight finished an underwhelming 14-of-23 for 169 yards in what's become a typically uneven performance. He had a few excellent throws and lost some yardage to drops—most notably on a third-down pass that clanged off Kekoa Crawford's hands in the fourth quarter—but also missed a couple open receivers and couldn't lead the offense to a touchdown until the game's waning minutes.
DPJ couldn't be stopped once he got his eyes on the end zone. [Upchurch]
Fortunately for Michigan, while the offense found their footing, the other two units were rock solid. Quinn Nordin tied a program record with five field goals in five attempts, including a 49-yarder with room to spare to give Michigan a 9-6 halftime lead.
After the defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, it looked like Michigan would finally break the game open. Donovan Peoples-Jones fielded a Charlie Scott punt that outdistanced the coverage, sprinted past the first wave, reversed field, and then tightroped the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown, the first of his Michigan career.
"My punt return team did a great job of blocking," Peoples-Jones said. "It made my job very easy. It just opened up like the Red Sea."
"I feel like great things are going to happen for Donovan Peoples-Jones," said Harbaugh.
Air Force countered with a rare explosive play, however, as receiver Ronald Cleveland got a step on Tyree Kinnel and took at third-down slant 64 yards to the house only four plays later.
That proved to be Air Force's only completion of the afternoon.
Somewhere in there is Air Force's quarterback. [Upchurch]
The defense, and the defensive line in particular, controlled this game. Against an offense that avoids negative plays at all costs, Michigan recorded nine tackles for loss and had three sacks on just 12 Air Force dropbacks. The three-man line of Rashan Gary, Mo Hurst, and Chase Winovich controlled the A- and B-gaps, allowing the back seven—led by Devin Bush and Mike McCray, who both finished with a team-high 11 tackles—to flow to the ball unencumbered.
By the second half, they were kicking the Falcons off the field with ruthless efficiency. Gary damn near beheaded quarterback Arion Worthman while forcing a third-quarter fumble the Falcons were fortunate to recover, inducing a roar of bloodlust from a previously stagnant crowd.
Their dominance meant two more field goal drives, plus a miss from Air Force's kicker, were enough to all but put the game away. Michigan was in clock-killing mode when Karan Higdon broke down the left sideline for a 36-yard touchdown with 1:02 to play.
"They play a brand of football that I really like, which is keep jabbing away," Harbaugh said. "They make you go beat them. They don't beat themselves."
That held true in this game. Frustratingly, it took the offense far too long to put the game away and still have fans feel comfortable heading into Big Ten play. Next week's trip to Purdue, a reinvigorated program under first-year coach Jeff Brohm, is looking far more perilous than it did a few weeks ago.
"We'll keep forging ahead, keep making improvements," said Harbaugh. "I like where this team is at right now."
September 17th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 7:45 PM ^
1 for 10 in the red zone. Last in the Big Ten.
Not good, Bob.
September 16th, 2017 at 9:29 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
and it's nonsense for people to zero in on Speight's mistakes, as if every other QB in the world doesn't make mistakes.
A few minutes ago I sat down in front of the TV. The Louiswille QB threw an incompletion in double coverage. He won something last year.....
September 16th, 2017 at 11:38 PM ^
And as soon as Speight runs for 1571 yards and 21 TD's we will stop caring about his passing accuracy/decisions so much.
September 17th, 2017 at 6:27 AM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 5:25 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
Our coaches need to design plays that work for WS. 30 yard fade passes in the end zone don't. He overthrows them every time. They have to run misdirection plays - they don't. They need to run slants - they don't. As much as it pains me, coaching is the problem. I'm sorry, but in JH year 3, this just dosent jibe.
September 16th, 2017 at 5:37 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 5:49 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:00 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:38 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:44 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
Bah gawd, tho...
That take was hawt. *dabs* I do declay-uh.
September 16th, 2017 at 6:13 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:22 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:36 PM ^
Really, Sparty? "Web sight?"
Don't join a web "sight" and then, seven days later, pose as a veteran.
Go back to RCMB and tell them how shitty Michigan is. You'll find that bridge a more comfortable place to live under.
September 16th, 2017 at 9:26 PM ^
September 17th, 2017 at 12:34 AM ^
will get banned because he's a troll.
September 17th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 5:48 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^
Consider the characters' reactions to the Michigan game they are watching as alums. You will learn from how they express a certain appreciation for how Michigan played back in the 70's. The screenplay was written by Larry Kazdan, an alum, and he recorded what it was like back in the day. The look and feel of the game days provided by Bo's football teams are not significantly different from what Jimmy's teams leave you with, save Bo almost invariably had good QBs..
September 16th, 2017 at 7:02 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 10:18 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:04 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:10 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:07 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:44 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 7:10 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
You're not you when you're hungry...
September 16th, 2017 at 5:53 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:12 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:29 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:32 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:41 PM ^
Must have been a prior season. The domer game was close, perhaps all of the state of indiana counts as merely indiana which it mostly does.
September 16th, 2017 at 7:23 PM ^
Notre Dame was the game we won 21-14.
September 17th, 2017 at 12:38 AM ^
beat Notre Dame 21-14. They beat IU 37-0.
September 16th, 2017 at 6:10 PM ^
We wish Speight was Navarre.
September 17th, 2017 at 2:44 AM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 6:14 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 7:28 PM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 7:42 PM ^
He takes a long time to make a read and he is a big guy that takes a long time to wind up and throw.
He does not get rid of the ball quickly, which keeps him under pressure when a defense plays aggressive.
And we know he does not like pressure. He's a different guy when he is under pressure.
September 17th, 2017 at 7:38 AM ^
To me he's late on throws because he's not confident his receivers will be in the right spot or will be looking back. Many overthrows look more like throw-aways today.
Seems the chemistry isn't there yet. That takes time with an inexperienced offensive squad.
September 17th, 2017 at 7:49 AM ^
see, I don't think it's chemistry or trust as much as the WRs literally aren't where they need to be when they need to be.
I've thought in the past (when I was less than 25 and therefore stupid) that losing WRs was NBD. But the passing game is a full 50% on WRs being where they should be AND when they should be. 5 steps when 6 is required screws up the route including timing. not going at full speed, of course. rounded cuts not only don't get you open but lead to the WRs not being where they should be *when* they should be there. it's not backyard street ball where you tell your guys to go to the Plymouth and square in and if you're open I'll get it to you.
these QBs are throwing to a spot before the WR cuts and turns to the ball often throughout the game. a QB makes that decision based on the play, the D he sees in front of him and the location of the defender just before the throw. it's as much on the WRs as speight.
why do ppl think Grant Perry gets so many catches? he's the best route runner on the team by a country mile. knows the routes, knows the D b/c he's has been coached on for 2 years now and came in as a route artisan. no one else on the WR roster has that combo. moderns passing offenses require it.
September 17th, 2017 at 9:45 AM ^
September 16th, 2017 at 9:04 PM ^
September 17th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^
I am pretty sure based on what I have seen from O'Korn that he can't make those throws. He can throw the fade, but that's about it.
September 16th, 2017 at 6:27 PM ^
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