Michigan sunk P.J. Fleck’s boat in Minnesota, a 49-24 beating that moved the Wolverines up to No. 13 in the polls. Here are detailed thoughts after watching the film a few times …
• First off, redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton — so much poise, and we saw his improvement on a few of the intermediate routes to the middle of the field. Those are passes he wasn’t making (and wasn’t close on) the last few years, and while he missed a few Saturday, too, he looked good (minus one throw in traffic).
As a runner … his patience while waiting for his linemen to get where they were supposed to be on their pulls (more on that in a minute) was impressive. He knew when to accelerate after his guys found their defenders, and he’s a load. He may not be a “runner” — former Michigan receiver Desmond Howard noted he was a “pocket passer” during Howard’s ESPN GameDay segment — but he can damn sure run, and he’ll be really good in that role.
He’s going to be a great short yardage option this year.
• The offensive line … the “care” factor stood out, No. 1. These guys love each other and their teammates and love wearing the uniform. You’ve got three guys from center to right tackle, too, who love to hold their blocks and agitate. Former U-M All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene talks about “stickiness” and wanting guys to hold their blocks and finish, play to the whistle, and those three in particular do.
Fifth-year senior Andrew Vastardis was having a ball getting under peoples’ skin, had a bounce in his step after every score and couldn’t wait to celebrate with his teammates. He had Minnesota’s top linebacker in his face a few times after holding his block, and he celebrated it.
Right tackle Jalen Mayfield had a few pancakes and played with his usual edge. He flattened a guy at the goal line, and he MOVES. And right guard Andrew Stueber held his blocks and got great push most of the night. He loves being out there, too.
These guys have the “win for Michigan” vibe that brings a smile to Skene’s and former All-American Jon Jansen’s faces. Chuck Filiaga was remarkably agile for his size and played pretty well, and left tackle Ryan Hayes got knocked backward a few times — still seems like he needs to add weight — but got better as the game progressed.
Also, nobody was listed on the roster at No. 85, but he stood out on film on a handful of plays in the second half in which he lined up as an extra tight end. It was veteran Joel Honigford. He played well, too, when he got his chance, sticky hands and really getting after it. Kudos to him.
• At the same time, the backs’ numbers were just okay minus the misalignment TD run by sophomore Zach Charbonnet (70 yards untouched on which Filiaga did a nice job adjusting to the safety running downhill) and Vastardis at the goal line had similar recognition on getting a crashing linebacker after an initial combo block.
Redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins near the goal line was good, and so was the push. There’s work to do between the 20s, though. Haskins’ big run was on him after no hole was created. And Chris Evans needs another refresher on ball security. Can't be fumbling inside the 10 on either said of the field. He was more than fortunate to get the ball back near the goal line.
They were at their best when the guards (and Vastardis) pulled and they got to the edge. They can and should destroy slower teams on the perimeter like they did MSU last year — flat passes to Blake Corum, etc., like they did with Donovan Peoples-Jones, etc. They’ve got linemen who can move. Filiaga and Stueber, for their size, really moved incredibly well while pulling.
That’s a lot of weight coming downhill.
• The two-back sets caught P.J. Fleck off guard, and he admitted as much. That’s one thing that came to fruition from the preseason predictions … a lot of what we heard and reported did, in fact. Corum’s feet and acceleration, frosh Roman Wilson. Frosh A.J. Henning has great speed. They are bringing in athletes who can compete with the really good teams on the schedule.
But they ran so many different looks out of the two-back that teams will have a lot to think about. At the same time, Jim Harbaugh’s stamp definitely still remains in the running game in particular. There was old school trap (albeit out of shotgun), etc. … Minnesota’s young defenders’ heads were spinning not knowing where the blockers were coming from.
That they didn’t even make it to page three of the playbook bodes well.
• Still a couple drops. Sophomore Erick All has better hands than he’s shown, and he’ll get better. He’s a violent blocker, though, and he showed it. The holding call on Luke Schoonmaker on a nice Corum run was ridiculous. The fact that Minnesota’s line wasn’t called for a single holding penalty was worse. Lots of stretching jerseys.
At the same time …
• Junior Aidan Hutchinson simply got blocked a few too many times Saturday night. He had his moments, but we expected more. Senior Kwity Paye, on the other hand, was dominant for much of the game. As Harbaugh noted, the Gophers didn’t have much success running left.
The tackles didn’t reset the line of scrimmage a lot, and when they did, it was usually fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp being so quick off the ball that he disrupted the play. Fleck noted this defense wasn’t big, but it was “incredibly fast.” We still don’t know how that will translate against the Wisconsins and Ohio States, but couldn’t help but think about that description and think about the South Carolina “Fire Ant” defense of 1985 that was supposed to give U-M’s big, fat linemen too much to deal with.
They made piss-ants out of them, squashing them 34-3 behind Harbaugh at quarterback and dominant line play.
Those guys need to play lower, but it’s way too soon to call them a liability. Iowa was supposed to push U-M around last year with its big line after Wisconsin bullied the Michigan defense, but like Saturday, much of the run success had to do with poor fits, linebackers overrunning the play a few times, too. The Hawkeyes finished with no rushing yards.
This group will improve. Defensive coordinator Don Brown wasn’t happy, we hear, but keep in mind they threw a true frosh out there at safety in Makari Paige and lost their best player in Dax Hill early in the game.
One more thing: The Wolverines lead the country in sacks with five after one week.
• As for Hill … it looked like he took a hit to the head, and they were being cautious. The word today is “everybody is okay” and Hill “has no concussion or anything.”
There were a few staffers sent home with COVID once they got there, asymptomatic.
• The secondary — Gemon Green was the pleasant surprise, always around the ball. He’ll have to pick the two he could have (but dropped or knocked down) to beat the elite teams on the schedule. Redshirt junior Vince Gray — another we were concerned a bit about in the offseason (how would he cover?), and we’re still a bit worried. He looked a step slow in coverage.
• We’d be very surprised to not see Quinn Nordin get his shot next week. Going with junior Jake Moody was a Harbaugh decision (we believe from what we’ve heard), and it wasn’t good. He’s better than that, clearly, but he’s got the yips.
• Finally, one thing that always worried you about a Michigan State team under Mark Dantonio was his Jim Tressel quality of knowing everything and anything about Michigan and its personnel. Also — Dantonio was a damn good defensive coach. There was a rhyme or reason to everything they did to counter Michigan’s strengths.
Watching MSU lose to Rutgers Saturday … well, the Spartans looked like a different group. There are some holdovers, though, and they’ve experienced the rivalry. They don’t have much athleticism, but you expect they’ll fight.
No, they won’t beat Michigan. They don’t have athletes. They also aren’t going to turn the ball over seven times again. But saying “Michigan did this to Minnesota, so this is going to happen” — again, college football doesn’t work that way. Each week is different – again, look at Iowa last year and all the gloom and doom before the Hawkeyes came to town about what its O-line would do to U-M’s defense.
There’s a reason Michigan opened as a 23-point favorite, though. This MSU team is not good, and U-M is far more skilled at literally every position. But even in the old days, that resulted in games like 38-20, 27-6, 31-17, etc. — they might well be “defeated with dignity” again this year.
But something like 49-10 isn’t out of the question, either, given what we saw from both teams Saturday. That did not look like a well-coached football team with a plan, and that was against a Rutgers team that had lost 21 straight conference games. Mel Tucker (aka CMFT) was completely outclassed by Greg Schiano, whose team, frankly, dominated the Spartans in stretches.
Onward.
• First off, redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton — so much poise, and we saw his improvement on a few of the intermediate routes to the middle of the field. Those are passes he wasn’t making (and wasn’t close on) the last few years, and while he missed a few Saturday, too, he looked good (minus one throw in traffic).
As a runner … his patience while waiting for his linemen to get where they were supposed to be on their pulls (more on that in a minute) was impressive. He knew when to accelerate after his guys found their defenders, and he’s a load. He may not be a “runner” — former Michigan receiver Desmond Howard noted he was a “pocket passer” during Howard’s ESPN GameDay segment — but he can damn sure run, and he’ll be really good in that role.
He’s going to be a great short yardage option this year.
• The offensive line … the “care” factor stood out, No. 1. These guys love each other and their teammates and love wearing the uniform. You’ve got three guys from center to right tackle, too, who love to hold their blocks and agitate. Former U-M All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene talks about “stickiness” and wanting guys to hold their blocks and finish, play to the whistle, and those three in particular do.
Fifth-year senior Andrew Vastardis was having a ball getting under peoples’ skin, had a bounce in his step after every score and couldn’t wait to celebrate with his teammates. He had Minnesota’s top linebacker in his face a few times after holding his block, and he celebrated it.
Right tackle Jalen Mayfield had a few pancakes and played with his usual edge. He flattened a guy at the goal line, and he MOVES. And right guard Andrew Stueber held his blocks and got great push most of the night. He loves being out there, too.
These guys have the “win for Michigan” vibe that brings a smile to Skene’s and former All-American Jon Jansen’s faces. Chuck Filiaga was remarkably agile for his size and played pretty well, and left tackle Ryan Hayes got knocked backward a few times — still seems like he needs to add weight — but got better as the game progressed.
Also, nobody was listed on the roster at No. 85, but he stood out on film on a handful of plays in the second half in which he lined up as an extra tight end. It was veteran Joel Honigford. He played well, too, when he got his chance, sticky hands and really getting after it. Kudos to him.
• At the same time, the backs’ numbers were just okay minus the misalignment TD run by sophomore Zach Charbonnet (70 yards untouched on which Filiaga did a nice job adjusting to the safety running downhill) and Vastardis at the goal line had similar recognition on getting a crashing linebacker after an initial combo block.
Redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins near the goal line was good, and so was the push. There’s work to do between the 20s, though. Haskins’ big run was on him after no hole was created. And Chris Evans needs another refresher on ball security. Can't be fumbling inside the 10 on either said of the field. He was more than fortunate to get the ball back near the goal line.
They were at their best when the guards (and Vastardis) pulled and they got to the edge. They can and should destroy slower teams on the perimeter like they did MSU last year — flat passes to Blake Corum, etc., like they did with Donovan Peoples-Jones, etc. They’ve got linemen who can move. Filiaga and Stueber, for their size, really moved incredibly well while pulling.
That’s a lot of weight coming downhill.
• The two-back sets caught P.J. Fleck off guard, and he admitted as much. That’s one thing that came to fruition from the preseason predictions … a lot of what we heard and reported did, in fact. Corum’s feet and acceleration, frosh Roman Wilson. Frosh A.J. Henning has great speed. They are bringing in athletes who can compete with the really good teams on the schedule.
But they ran so many different looks out of the two-back that teams will have a lot to think about. At the same time, Jim Harbaugh’s stamp definitely still remains in the running game in particular. There was old school trap (albeit out of shotgun), etc. … Minnesota’s young defenders’ heads were spinning not knowing where the blockers were coming from.
That they didn’t even make it to page three of the playbook bodes well.
• Still a couple drops. Sophomore Erick All has better hands than he’s shown, and he’ll get better. He’s a violent blocker, though, and he showed it. The holding call on Luke Schoonmaker on a nice Corum run was ridiculous. The fact that Minnesota’s line wasn’t called for a single holding penalty was worse. Lots of stretching jerseys.
At the same time …
• Junior Aidan Hutchinson simply got blocked a few too many times Saturday night. He had his moments, but we expected more. Senior Kwity Paye, on the other hand, was dominant for much of the game. As Harbaugh noted, the Gophers didn’t have much success running left.
The tackles didn’t reset the line of scrimmage a lot, and when they did, it was usually fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp being so quick off the ball that he disrupted the play. Fleck noted this defense wasn’t big, but it was “incredibly fast.” We still don’t know how that will translate against the Wisconsins and Ohio States, but couldn’t help but think about that description and think about the South Carolina “Fire Ant” defense of 1985 that was supposed to give U-M’s big, fat linemen too much to deal with.
They made piss-ants out of them, squashing them 34-3 behind Harbaugh at quarterback and dominant line play.
Those guys need to play lower, but it’s way too soon to call them a liability. Iowa was supposed to push U-M around last year with its big line after Wisconsin bullied the Michigan defense, but like Saturday, much of the run success had to do with poor fits, linebackers overrunning the play a few times, too. The Hawkeyes finished with no rushing yards.
This group will improve. Defensive coordinator Don Brown wasn’t happy, we hear, but keep in mind they threw a true frosh out there at safety in Makari Paige and lost their best player in Dax Hill early in the game.
One more thing: The Wolverines lead the country in sacks with five after one week.
• As for Hill … it looked like he took a hit to the head, and they were being cautious. The word today is “everybody is okay” and Hill “has no concussion or anything.”
There were a few staffers sent home with COVID once they got there, asymptomatic.
• The secondary — Gemon Green was the pleasant surprise, always around the ball. He’ll have to pick the two he could have (but dropped or knocked down) to beat the elite teams on the schedule. Redshirt junior Vince Gray — another we were concerned a bit about in the offseason (how would he cover?), and we’re still a bit worried. He looked a step slow in coverage.
• We’d be very surprised to not see Quinn Nordin get his shot next week. Going with junior Jake Moody was a Harbaugh decision (we believe from what we’ve heard), and it wasn’t good. He’s better than that, clearly, but he’s got the yips.
• Finally, one thing that always worried you about a Michigan State team under Mark Dantonio was his Jim Tressel quality of knowing everything and anything about Michigan and its personnel. Also — Dantonio was a damn good defensive coach. There was a rhyme or reason to everything they did to counter Michigan’s strengths.
Watching MSU lose to Rutgers Saturday … well, the Spartans looked like a different group. There are some holdovers, though, and they’ve experienced the rivalry. They don’t have much athleticism, but you expect they’ll fight.
No, they won’t beat Michigan. They don’t have athletes. They also aren’t going to turn the ball over seven times again. But saying “Michigan did this to Minnesota, so this is going to happen” — again, college football doesn’t work that way. Each week is different – again, look at Iowa last year and all the gloom and doom before the Hawkeyes came to town about what its O-line would do to U-M’s defense.
There’s a reason Michigan opened as a 23-point favorite, though. This MSU team is not good, and U-M is far more skilled at literally every position. But even in the old days, that resulted in games like 38-20, 27-6, 31-17, etc. — they might well be “defeated with dignity” again this year.
But something like 49-10 isn’t out of the question, either, given what we saw from both teams Saturday. That did not look like a well-coached football team with a plan, and that was against a Rutgers team that had lost 21 straight conference games. Mel Tucker (aka CMFT) was completely outclassed by Greg Schiano, whose team, frankly, dominated the Spartans in stretches.
Onward.
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