Projected individual performances against Western Michigan
Counting sheep doesn't work anymore so last night I was thinking about how UM skill players might perform in the first game.
I have Cade McNamara (QB) with somewhat limited passing opportunities given a)the coaches wanting to re-establish a running game and b) him not playing all 4 quarters. Maybe he gets up to 20 pass attempts, 14 -16 completions and not exceeding 225 total yards, which would be a very good day. He may be pulled if comfortably ahead, and if he is, I think JJ McCarthy will be the next guy. If he's behind a 2 unit O line I don't see JJ throwing it around the yard much. 5 pass attempts. 3 completions.
Receiver: Ronnie Bell will catch 6-8 balls, continue to YAK and will have 80+ receiving yards. TE All will drop a ball. Sainstril will get a few targets and show his open field speed. Roman Wilson will have limited opportunities but they will probably give him a jet sweep to show off his track star bona fides. Cornelius Johnson will catch everything thrown his way, but his targets are typically limited. Hope that changes. Against WMU I give him 5 caught balls, one that might be a downfield shot. That transfer guy will see the field and he'll have a jump ball or two to contend for. I think he'll have a couple of receptions.
Haskins will get the bulk of the RB carries, maybe 12, and there will be appx 125 total yards in the stat sheet at the end of the game. Blake Corum is still a mystery to me, so I have him at 10 carries for 65 yards and a couple of swing passes out of the backfield for another 20 yards. Donovan Edwards. Maybe 5-6 carries, for ??? yards. Maybe, maybe a catch out of the backfield.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:03 PM ^
A preemptive snowflake?
August 27th, 2021 at 4:29 PM ^
Instead of preemptive snowflake we could call it nimbostratus.
August 27th, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
I predict that I will consume no more than 4 Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ales during the game.
August 27th, 2021 at 8:18 PM ^
That's a pretty healthy consumption of a dang good beer. Hope all is well with you and your family down there in FL Mr EQ.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:14 PM ^
I predict a game where the offense shows very little of the playbook and a majority of the posters conclude Michigan didn't want to show all their cards too early.
Same thing since 1902.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
We are saving all the great plays for Ohio State like in years past.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:06 PM ^
Or Chicago, like in years past past.
August 27th, 2021 at 7:31 PM ^
This is the obvious answer
August 27th, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
I don't want a complicated gameplan but I do want a blowout. Unfortunately, I see the defense taking some time to pick things up which could keep things close for a while. In other words, typical pre-season game where we are ahead 13-10 with two missed FG's and a missed assignment on defense at halftime (FIRE HARBZ!1!) but we finish with a 33-16 win.
Free Press headline "Michigan Overcomes Mistakes to Buck Broncos".
August 27th, 2021 at 4:20 PM ^
Michigan won't throw for 400 yards cause they never do even though it's 2021
August 27th, 2021 at 4:22 PM ^
Gotta establish that run. Give me two 32 bucks for 1 yard right up the middle, then pow 3rd and 8 Cade lights em up for a 5 yard slant.
Run game established. Suck it Broncos.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
Oh lordy... college football fanfiction...
If you can't sleep because you're thinking about college football then you should probably consider getting professional help. That's not a healthy relationship with a sport.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
Id rather youd provided the winning Powerball numbers
August 27th, 2021 at 4:37 PM ^
If all All does is drop balls they really need to start someone else.
August 27th, 2021 at 4:47 PM ^
Prediction based on past openers against relative cupcakes:
We will look better than we are. Troubling signs will be noted and dismissed as 'early season yadda yadda' even though WMU is also in their early season. Hopes will rise and the grim, fathomless shadow of BPONE will lighten.
A week of optimism.
Then Washington will come to down. "Young players, new system, yadda." will keep most in the Lifeboat of Hope Renewed, though some will jump back into the perennially shark-infested waters and be eaten by reality.
This continues as we don't beat Northern Illinois and Rutgers as badly as we should, but optimism still prevails as we go into Wisconsin 3-1. Then the boats are emptied and those in the water who've not been eaten by the sharks call for firing the head coach. And so this season will progress pretty much like every season since people who think schools with more than minimum academic standards should consistently beat schools where the athletes never set foot in a classroom ran off Lloyd Carr for the guy with the new system.
Individuals? The QBs will look bad mostly because they have poor protection. The defense will be bad because Dax Hill are Hutchinson are only two of eleven and all of them are in a new system again. Running backs will pass out from utter shock if they ever see a hole to run through.
I hope I'm wrong. The last 14 years have been pretty consistent, though.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:05 PM ^
Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ on cracker, nobody "ran off" or "chased away" or fired Lloyd Carr. He retired. He wanted to retire after the 2006 season, but Bill Martin persuaded him to come back for one more season, perhaps unwisely.
August 27th, 2021 at 10:18 PM ^
That's certainly a pessimistic outlook for the season, although I can't say it's entirely unrealistic.
To me, the Washington game will be a good litmus test for how the rest of the season will go. We'll get to see pretty early on if Gattisbaugh finally have the players and experience with the system to really get this offense humming, or if it's a bunch of buzzwords and coach speak. Washington is definitely a good team, but they also have clear limitations and deficiencies that Michigan should be able to exploit if scouted and game planned for properly. That game will be a battle of wits between the coaches, and won by the team that scouted better and made better in game decisions, because both teams are pretty evenly matched in terms of talent.
From my very high-level research of the Washington defense, they're going to be pretty stout against the run, but they're vulnerable in the secondary. Michigan should have a pretty formidable running game, but their Pass-O should be somewhere in the vicinity of average to good. If Harbaugh and Gattis continue to beat their head against the wall running pin & pull and faux QB RPO right into the teeth of the defense, that basically tells us the coaches are too risk averse for their own good, or the players for some reason can't execute much else with any consistency. Either way, that would be an indictment on the coaches.
I'm hoping the coaches are ready to cut the breaks and ride or die on the arm of McNamara when it's time to do that. There would be nothing more pathetic than Michigan turtling the offense and resorting back to their comfort zone with everything on the line for this staff.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:00 PM ^
I'll take the 20 passing attempts for Cade. There could be 1 or 2 long (home run) passes so as to blow the game open, so more likely early in the game.
I like getting the run game established. Should Mich be up 21-0 early, then more running-for sure. JJ will get plays he's best at but should be a mix of pass and run with an RPO or two.
How many 3 and outs will the defense get? I'll wait and see and hope for the best.
Go Blue!
August 27th, 2021 at 5:01 PM ^
I think Bowman sees the field before JJ does at this point if we start putting the 2nd team guys in early. JJ is still a year away.
August 27th, 2021 at 11:14 PM ^
It's also possible that if JJ is not ready this year, they keep him </equal to 4 games this year to preserve the redshirt, although he/we sure hope that he doesn't even need the 4th year.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:18 PM ^
I personally don’t care if the defense gives up 30 a game and has to score 40 to win. I’m sick of having the number 1 defense then give up 60+ to osu.
if the defense is consistently average and the offense is consistently above average, I’ll take it.
August 27th, 2021 at 11:49 PM ^
I want 52-3 in the Western game.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:24 PM ^
I expect the game to look a lot like the 2019 MTSU game and less like the 2018 WMU game.
August 27th, 2021 at 5:36 PM ^
Looked it up for you, your answer is 11.
August 27th, 2021 at 8:10 PM ^
If we struggle, we'll run on 1st and 2nd down which will lead to a 3rd and long.
August 27th, 2021 at 10:39 PM ^
Michigan will be favored by 17 and Michigan will win by 16. Durham Blue takes his lumps.
August 27th, 2021 at 11:05 PM ^
I just must be the only guy on the blog who doesn’t understand Cornelius Johnson. Everyone seems to think he’s a sure thing that can stretch the field, open up the red zone, and catch everything his way. Based on what, though?
August 27th, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Establish the running game? Have you watched the last two National Championships? You better establish scoring touchdowns. You have to Joe Burrow/Mac Jones the ball down the field!
August 28th, 2021 at 12:16 AM ^
Predicting Donovan Edwards, 5 carries, 132 yards, and 2 touchdowns. He has two long td runs. At least six threads are dedicated to his future greatness between week one and week two.
August 28th, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
I predict WMU to score first after a long drive with our corners getting absolutely torched which will be the early question mark of our year. Can we provide good coverage to give the D-Line time to get to the quarterback. Aidan will be double teamed so can the other guys get pressure.