Michigan vs. Nebraska Awards

Cameron Gordon (image via AP)

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . a fifth receiver. Assuming the top four guys are Jeremy Gallon, Devin Funchess, Jehu Chesson, and Drew Dileo, I don't care who the fifth guy would be. It could be Fitzgerald Toussaint, Dennis Norfleet, Da'Mario Jones, Jake Butt, virtually anyone. Hell, put Blake Countess out there at receiver a little bit and see what he can do. Michigan needs to spread the field laterally instead of packing everything in tight. With receivers packed in tight, that makes it a lot easier for defenses to blitz, stop the run, etc. If you spread the field wider, you can see the blitzes coming and you prevent so many guys from coming and confusing your offensive line. Go five-wide a few times, give the offensive linemen one-on-one matchups, and see if something develops. Even if one of the young interior linemen gets beaten, Gardner is a good runner and can create some things on his own. Right now teams are green dogging against Fitzgerald Toussaint, so even if he stays in, it's an extra protector against an extra blitzer. That doesn't give Michigan a statistical advantage.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Graham Glasgow at center. Glasgow was a better guard than center, and I'm not sure that's saying much. Bad snaps can destroy an offense, and Glasgow has been a poor snapper ever since he was inserted against Minnesota. He has been good for at least one fumbled snap per week and numerous other snaps that look slow, throwing off the timing of the offense. In the last two weeks, Glasgow has botched three shotgun snaps, all of which have resulted in big yardage losses, including a -20 yard play against Michigan State and a -10 yard play against Nebraska. Jack Miller was a poor blocker, but his snaps were spot on and more consistent. I have to wonder if Glasgow's poor snaps (sometimes they're low, sometimes they're high, sometimes they're right in the chest) are affecting Gardner's thought process prior to the snap.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Cameron Gordon. Gordon was tied for the team lead in tackles with 8, forced a fumble that was recovered by Chris Wormley, and sacked Tommy Armstrong for 13 yards. It seemed like Gordon lost snaps once Jake Ryan returned from his torn ACL, but with the hand injury to Keith Heitzman, SAM linebacker Brennen Beyer has been moved back to defensive end. Gordon is one of the best athletes on the defense at 6'3" and 237 lbs., and he's a guy who can cover, rush the passer, and chase plays to the sideline.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . freshman defensive backs. I still see freshmen out there every week, and it seems like they're always getting Michigan beaten. On a 26-yard catch and run by Nebraska wideout Kenny Bell, Channing Stribling missed a tackle, Dymonte Thomas missed a tackle, and then redshirt junior Josh Furman got blocked and blocked and blocked. Junior Delonte Hollowell started the spring game and now can barely get on the field. The freshmen are overmatched right now. I've never been a huge fan of Hollowell, but he is feisty and physical and probably would have been better prepared to tackle Bell on that play.

Play of the game . . . Devin Funchess's screen catch and run. There aren't many options, but Funchess took a high pass over the middle, tipped it to himself with one hand, stepped through a tackle, and ran 23 yards up the sideline before getting pulled down. He also ran an end around for 5 yards. Both plays were fairly impressive plays for a guy who's a "tight end."

MVP of the game . . . Cam Gordon. There's no great choice here, but Gordon made 8 tackles, had Michigan's only sack, and had the only forced turnover (the other turnover was a muffed punt).