We Have the Best Offense In The Country

...DRob had played the entire game. 800 yards total offense wouldn't have been a stretch.

Now, if we only had a stout defense to match.

I think this is what we signed up for when we brought RR here! Great offense, with Michigan recruits!

the stats.  NO I did not think the offense would be this good.  High hopes yes, but slightly lower expectatations. 

I did expect fewer turnovers though, and that is another big reason for the success so far.

is exactly why he was hired here. His offense has taken a few years to solidify for the Wolverines, and the players are now in place to excecute his mayhem of a scheme.  I can't wait to see how  our wins keep piling up the rest of the year. This will create a few surprises in recruiting, and I bet we get a few guys by next Jan who aren't even officialy considering UM right now. Go Blue! Beat IU!  

In my WILDEST dreams, we are #1 in all these categories, have scored TDs on every single offensive posession, and are averaging close to 80 PPG. 

Since I keep my hopes and expectations grounded in reality, I am extremely happy with this offense thus far.  Denard still leading the nation in rushing despite only playing the first quarter yesterday is outstanding.

Interesting stats..  I did expect them to be good this year, but i didn't think Denard would be that good.  I guess when he was tearing our D up it was a preview of what was to come.

The season is still very early so im not holding my breath.  Anything can happen against better Defenses.  It will be interesting once we play MSU. 

We've got a true sophomore QB, two underclassmen on the o-line and just two seniors (one of whom was more than adequately replaced when he got dinged yesterday), zero seniors at wide receiver or RB, and a group of talented backs just beginning to hit their stride. 

Yes, I have a boner.

Hell, if we only had a mediocre defense we'd be pretty tough to beat. If we had a truly stout defense we'd be essentially unstoppable.

As it is, getting to six wins and beyond is going to be a wild ride. Whatever happens, it's going to be an entertaining year.

Should be noted we have yet to play a vaguely good defense.

UConn: 394.0 (53)

ND: 426.3 (37)

BG: 327.0 (93)

Of those 3, ND has played the toughest schedule by far.

Heading into the season I anticipated that the offense would be very good running the ball and hit a lot of big plays, but I did not expect that Denard would be as efficient as a passer, or that our offense would be able to control the ball, convert third downs, and sustain long drives as well as it has. 

I, for one, have always liked the RR hire. I always watched longingly at his ninja offense when he was at WVU, wondering why Michigan has never had that kind of speed. I was excited when he got here, and hope like hell he stays for a long, long time. Now just imagine if the offense keeps it up all year, but the D continues to kill us. Our head coach (who is widely known as an offensive guru...) will be on the hot seat for dismissal, despite creating (again) the most, or maybe second most exciting and potent offense in the country. I understand that despite the fact that its not totally his fault that the D is a bummer, it is his problem. And I've heard all the platitudes about defense winning championships, but I think I would literally cry to see this regime and its offense go.  

Just for reference, I looked up the defenses Oregon has played because they seemed to be putting up massive numbers as well.  Here they are by total defense:

New Mexico - 118
Tenn - 66 (helped by beating Tenn-Martin 50-0)
Portland St. - 117 (FCS)
ASU - 49

So for all the talk about the fact that UM has not played a good defense, Oregon certainly has not been challenged much themselves.  I think the takeaway from these rankings is that UM finally has the type of destructive, soul-crushing offense that we all envisioned when RR was hired.  It just took a little longer than we expected.

Although we might have had 800 yards with Robinson in the entire game, it is not like our offense wasted opportunities scoring on its last 6 drives.  It wouldn't have been easy, but the fact remains we could get 800 at some point.

I know it's awesome and fun to look at these stats but the level of competition has been so poor thus far, it's silly to get too excited over them.  We only need to look to last year when Michigan had the #4 ranking nationally in scoring offense vs. non-conference opponents and #6 ranking nationally in total offense vs. non-conference opponents.

Against conference opposition, Michigan's offense fell to a meager 22.1 points/game, good for 83rd in the country and 96th in country in total offense.

Obviously, injuries to Molk and Forcier had a lot to do with that but even with them in, Magee and RR had few answers when Big Ten defenses shut down their first option.  Since quality of out of conference opposition varies so much and the sample size we're working with is so tiny (3-4 games), such early season rankings shouldn't be more than an amusing curiosity.

Wait - I'm still in it!