Preview: Michigan at Nebraska

 

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE
Mighty Michigan is #50 in rushing offense (167.75 yards/game) but tied at #32 in yards per carry (4.97). The numbers aren't atrocious, but they're not where we expected them to be, either. With three starters returning up front and a couple solid transfers incoming, we wanted to see more. There has been some shuffling with La'Darius Henderson, Karsen Barnhart, and Myles Hinton going in and out of the lineup at tackle. Blake Corum has 351 yards and 8 touchdowns on 6.05 yards/carry so far, but backup Donovan Edwards is off to a slow start with just 3.3 yards/carry and no touchdowns so far this year. Meanwhile, Nebraska has the #2 rushing defense (46.3 yards allowed/game) and is allowing 1.83 yards/carry, which is also #2. They have adopted a 3-3-5 defense under new head coach Matt Rhule, and that 3-3-5 gave Michigan some issues last year when TCU ran it. Junior safety Isaac Gifford (6'1", 205 lbs.) leads the team with 23 tackles, followed by senior safety Omar Brown (6'1", 200) with 22 and junior linebacker John Bullock (6'0", 220) with 22 also. Those rushing defense numbers are even more impressive when considering that the Cornhuskers are pretty average in tackles for loss (#55 overall), led by junior nose tackle Nash Hutmacher (6'4", 330) with 3.5 TFLs so far. The Huskers have been consistent this year, not allowing any team to average more than 2.19 yards/carry in any game this year. I think Michigan is going to have some tough sledding on the ground.
Advantage: Nebraska

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2023 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 4

 

Te'Cory Couch (image via On3)

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FORMER PLAYERS

TE Erick All (Iowa): All caught 3 passes for 35 yards in a 31-0 loss to Penn State.

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 7 passes for 117 yards in a 20-6 win over Cincinnati. He now has 21 catches for 371 yards and 1 touchdown this year.

Andrel Anthony is good at footballpic.twitter.com/hCHo76mqoB

— RanDynasty (@ran_dynasty) September 23, 2023

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 23/48 throws for 278 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in a 34-27 loss to Iowa State. He also ran 4 times for 5 yards and 1 touchdown.

Alan Bowman with a dime on his 6th drive of the day for a TD.

Almost like a QB settles into a game when you let him play more than 4-5 drives. Weird. #OKState pic.twitter.com/xnbihinjZq

— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) September 23, 2023

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Michigan 31, Rutgers 7

 

Mike Sainristil (image via MGoBlue)

Different game, same result. Michigan has started this season with some remarkable consistency, if a lack of explosiveness. The Wolverines beat the Scarlet Knights, a Big Ten team, by a 24-point margin a week after beating BGSU, a MAC team, by 25 points. That came a week after a 28-point win over UNLV, which followed a 27-point victory over ECU. Michigan points, from week one onward: 30, 35, 31, 31. Opponent points: 3, 7, 6, 7. Michigan now leads the country in scoring defense, giving up just 5.8 points per contest. Oklahoma and Ohio State are tied for #2 at 8.5 points allowed per game.

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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 3

 

Xavier Worthy (image via SI)

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FORMER PLAYERS

TE Erick All (Iowa): All caught 1 pass for 34 yards in a 41-10 win over Western Michigan.

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 4 passes for 116 yards in a 66-17 win over Tulsa.

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 6/12 passes for 42 yards and 1 interception in a 33-7 loss to South Alabama. Ouch.

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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Week 1

 

Aidan Hutchinson

NOTE: I thought I posted this in the middle of last week, but turns out I forgot to make it live. So now you get it on the morning of Week 2.

Detroit Lions defensive end Hutchinson made 3 tackles in a 21-20 win over the Chiefs, but he was constantly double-teamed. And in the NFL season debut on TV, the broadcasters constantly talked about how the Chiefs were "cheating" via false starts and illegal alignments to prevent Hutchinson from getting to Patrick Mahomes.

HONORABLE MENTION

• LB Devin Bush, Jr. (Seattle Seahawks): Bush made 1 tackle in a 30-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. This was Bush's debut with Seattle after being drafted by the Steelers.
• DE Frank Clark (Denver Broncos): Clark made 2 tackles in a 17-16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Clark is in his first season with the Broncos after coming over from the Kansas City Chiefs.
• WR Nico Collins (Houston Texans): Collins made 6 catches for 80 yards and 1 touchdown in a 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
• DE Mike Danna (Kansas City Chiefs): Danna made 6 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup in a 21-20 loss to the mighty Detroit Lions.
• RB Chris Evans (Cincinnati Bengals): Evans had 2 carries for 12 yards in a 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
• S Daxton Hill (Cincinnati Bengals): Hill made 6 tackles and his first career interception in a 24-3 loss to the Browns.

Into the waiting hands of @daxhill5 for the INT!#ProBlue | #CINvsCLE on CBS pic.twitter.com/2dK5zz9NZT

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 10, 2023

• S Josh Metellus (Minnesota Vikings): Metellus made 6 tackles and 1 pass breakup in a 20-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Metellus recently signed a 2-year, $13 million contract extension and is a captain for the Vikings.
• K Jake Moody (San Francisco 49ers): Moody was 3/3 on extra points and 3/3 on field goals, including a long of 41 yards, in a 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• DT Mike Morris (Seattle Seahawks): Morris made 2 tackles in his NFL debut, a 30-13 loss to the Rams.
• DE David Ojabo (Baltimore Ravens): Ojabo made 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble on former Ohio State quarterback Marcus Stroud in a 25-9 win over the Texans.

David Ojabo strip sack of CJ Stroud

Video: @UMichFootball | @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/kAmd3z2kAO

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 10, 2023

• DE Kwity Paye (Indianapolis Colts): Paye made 3 tackles and 1 sack in a 31-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (Cleveland Browns): Peoples-Jones made 1 catch for 12 yards and 3 punt returns for 15 yards in a 24-3 win over the Bengals.
• S Jabrill Peppers (New England Patriots): Peppers made 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup in a 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
• P Brad Robbins (Cincinnati Bengals): Robbins punted 10 times for 409 yards (40.9 yards/punt), including 2 inside the 20-yard line, during a 24-3 loss to the Browns.
• CB Ambry Thomas (San Francisco 49ers): Thomas made 5 tackles and 1 pass breakup in a 30-7 win over the Steelers.
• CB D.J. Turner II (Cincinnati Bengals): Turner made 2 tackles in his NFL debut during a 24-3 loss to the Browns.
• DE Josh Uche (New England Patriots): Uche made 1 tackle and 1 sack in a 25-20 loss to the Eagles.

Preview: Michigan vs. Bowling Green

 

Scot Loeffler (image via BGSU)

RUSH OFFENSE vs. BGSU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #75 overall in rushing (150.5 yards/game) and #53 in yards per carry (4.7) despite not having allowed a single sack this season. Blake Corum's numbers are adequate (25 carries, 153 yards, 4 TD), but backup Donovan Edwards has been surprisingly ineffective (18 carries, 46 yards). Mike Hart said last week that neither player had been tackled during fall camp, so it appears to be taking some time for them to get back in sync with their blocking. The offensive line starters appear to be set with Karsen Barnhart and Myles Hinton winning the left and right tackle jobs, respectively. Bowling Green is #102 in rushing defense (160.5 yards allowed/game) and #98 in yards allowed per carry (4.28). They held down FCS Eastern Illinois last week, but Liberty had 246 yards on the ground at over 5.0 yards per attempt. The leading tackler for the Falcons is sophomore weakside linebacker Joseph Shipp (6'0", 220) with 20 stops, followed by sophomore cornerback Jalen Huskey (6'0", 185) with 15. Both of BGSU's inside linebackers are 220-225 pounds, and they start a 285 lb. nose tackle in senior Anthony Hawkins, so they're a little undersized up the middle.
Advantage: Michigan

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Visitors: Michigan vs. Bowling Green

 

Detroit (MI) U of D Jesuit WR Elijah Dotson (image via Twitter)

2024

Luke Hamilton - OG - Avon (OH) Avon: Hamilton is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Jordan Marshall - RB - Cincinnati (OH) Moeller: Marshall is committed to Michigan (LINK).

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Michigan's 10 Longest Plays vs. Bowling Green State University

 

Fitzgerald Toussaint

Michigan has played Bowling Green State University two times, once in 2000 and once in 2010. The 2010 game was full of big plays, with Denard Robinson rushing 5 times for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on an injury-shortened day that saw him rush or pass the ball just 9 times overall.

1. Fitzgerald Toussaint 61-yard touchdown run (2010)
2. John Navarre 58-yard pass to B.J. Askew (2000)
3. Denard Robinson 47-yard touchdown run (2010)
4. Denard Robinson 47-yard run (2010)
5. Chris Perry 42-yard touchdown run (2000)
6. John Navarre 41-yard touchdown pass to David Terrell (2000)
7. Denard Robinson 36-yard pass to Roy Roundtree (2010)
8. Michael Cox 35-yard run (2010)
9. Ray Vinopal 32-yard interception return (2010)
10. Devin Gardner 30-yard pass to Darryl Stonum (2010)

Michigan 35, UNLV 7

 

J.J. McCarthy (image via Paul Sancya at the Associated Press)

Defensive Tackle U. Michigan is putting together a nice crew of defensive tackles, and the least heralded one is the guy making plays most consistently, it seems. Sophomore Mason Graham made 5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks against UNLV, eating up the interior offensive line repeatedly. The Rebels ended the game with 61 rushing yards on 31 attempts, which includes sacks, but still . . . the middle was stuffed up all day. Kris Jenkins made 5 tackles and 0.5 sacks and Kenneth Grant made 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup. The title of this section is a little facetious, but the defensive tackle play has been terrific.

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2023 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 2

 

Xavier Worthy (image via SI)

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FORMER PLAYERS

TE Erick All (Iowa): All caught 3 passes for 32 yards in a 20-13 win over Iowa State.

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 7 passes for 76 yards and 1 touchdown in a 28-11 win over SMU. He is now OU's leading receiver with 10 catches for 142 yards and 1 score on the year.

Gabriel ➡️ Anthony ➡️ The House.@andrel_jr | #BoomerSoonerpic.twitter.com/aq65xUixKE

— 𝕺𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖆 𝖛𝖘. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 (@soonergridiron) September 9, 2023

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 11/16 passes for 113 yards in a 27-15 win over Arizona State. He also ran 2 times for -5 yards. He's in a real battle for the QB job as OSU played three quarterbacks in a relatively tight game.

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Michigan's 10 Longest Plays vs. UNLV

 

Ty Isaac (image via Detroit News)

This is a feature I started last year, with the ten longest plays against any particular opponent. I didn't break it out last week since Michigan had never played East Carolina before, and now the opponent is UNLV, whom Michigan has only played once. So each of the following plays will take you back to 2015, when Michigan won by a score of 28-7.

1. Ty Isaac 76-yard touchdown run (2015)
2. Jehu Chesson 36-yard touchdown run (2015)
3. Jabrill Peppers 31-yard kickoff return (2015)
4. Channing Stribling 30-yard interception return (2015)
5. Jabrill Peppers 24-yard punt return (2015)
6. Jake Rudock 21-yard pass to Maurice Ways, Jr. (2015)
7. Ty Isaac 15-yard run (2015)
8. Jake Rudock 12-yard pass to Jehu Chesson (2015)
9. Jake Rudock 11-yard pass to Amara Darboh (2015)
10. Jake Rudock 9-yard pass to Amara Darboh (2015)
11. Jake Rudock 9-yard pass to Joe Kerridge (2015)
12. Drake Johnson 9-yard run (2015)
13. Jake Rudock 9-yard run (2015)

Here's Isaac's 76-yarder:

Michigan vs. East Carolina Awards

 

J.J. McCarthy (image via NBC Sports)

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Trente Jones. I really like the way Trente Jones plays football. On Saturday he was used mostly as an extra lineman or a tight end, reprising his primary role from 2021. But he just bullies people in the run game and does a great job with his body positioning. I think his pass protection might be a little questionable at tackle, but I think he deserves to be on the field more.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Myles Hinton. Hinton earned the start in game one even though Jim Harbaugh suggested that he would start a different set of tackles in week two, presumably La'Darius Henderson at left tackle and Jones on the right side. Hinton is a mammoth at 6'6" and 340 lbs., but he appeared to make several mental mistakes on Saturday, especially in the run game. He said in the post-game that he did not play well. I do still think he can be a good player, but perhaps he needs a little more time to adjust to Michigan's scheme.

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Recruit Tracker: 2024 QB Jadyn Davis

 

Jadyn Davis

September 1, 2023: Davis completed 19/26 passes for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Charlotte (NC) Catholic. He has now completed 59/80 passes for 1,013 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has 1 rushing touchdown.

August 25, 2023: Davis completed 16/19 passes for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 47-7 win over Asheville (NC) Asheville. He also ran 1 time for 8 yards and 1 touchdown. Season totals: 40/54, 749 yards, 8 touchdowns, plus 1 carry for 8 yards and 1 touchdown.

August 19, 2023: Davis completed 24/35 passes for 499 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 42-35 win over Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern.

Michigan 30, East Carolina 3

 

Roman Wilson (image via Rivals)

Football is back! All is right in the world when it's football season. In another few days, the NFL season will be back and we can all enjoy Heaven for a few months. It has been a long off-season for me on an individual level, and this is also a chance to break away from the 2023 Season Countdown and get back into a groove with writing about various topics.

This was a boring matchup. I like seeing different opponents, but with East Carolina, there were no storylines. It's not a geographical matchup. When I looked through the roster and coaching staff, there was no crossover. East Carolina doesn't recruit in the state of Michigan. No transfers or ex-staffers from Michigan. There was no angle. The most interesting aspect going into the opener, aside from seeing who starts for Michigan, was . . .

. . . Peacock. The Peacock stream sucked. I signed up for Peacock on Friday because there's really no other reason to do so earlier. And I don't really care about the expense. I'll pay $5.99 to watch a Michigan game. But when I'm paying for it, I expect a good product. When I paid for cable, I expected ESPN and FS1 and BTN to give me a good product. Otherwise, I'll just turn off the volume and think through it myself. I don't need Mike Tirico and one of the Simms brothers to tell me what's happening on the game. Peacock actually complied - presumably on accident - when there was just no audio for several minutes. The fourth quarter feed got blurry, too, but maybe that had something to do with my local internet. But Peacock also cut out a play, there was no pregame show, the halftime show was boring, and oh yeah . . . the Simms kid isn't exactly top-notch. If I wanted crappy analysis, I would watch some of the ex-Buckeye talking heads like Josh Perry and Joey Galloway.

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2023 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 1

 

Cade McNamara (image via AP News)

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FORMER PLAYERS

TE Erick All (Iowa): All caught 3 passes for 15 yards and 1 touchdown in a 24-14 win over Nevada.

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 3 passes for 66 yards in a 73-0 win over Arkansas State.

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 13/24 passes for 80 yards and ran 2 times for -2 yards in a 27-13 win over Central Arkansas.

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Preview: Michigan vs. East Carolina

 

(image via ECU Athletics)

RUSH OFFENSE vs. ECU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan's running game has been talked about so much that it feels kind of insulting to bring up again. But I will, anyway. Michigan returns three-fifths of the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in left guard Trevor Keegan, right guard Zak Zinter, and offensive tackle . . . someone. One or both of Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart should start. Running back Blake Corum surprised most people when he chose a return to Michigan over playing in the NFL, so he brings back his 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Backup running back Donovan Edwards had 991 yards on the ground. Michigan was #5 in rushing with 238.9 yards/game and scored the second-most rushing touchdowns (41), behind only Georgia (44). Last year's East Carolina unit finished #19 in the country in rushing defense (112.5 yards allowed/game), and they held Tulane star running back Tyjae Spears to 16 carries for 53 yards (Spears finished with 1,581 rushing yards on the season). The Pirates have a couple 300-ish pound nose tackles, but their 3-techniques are around 270, which has to have Zak Zinter champing at the bit. The leading tackler last year was 6'2", 187 lb. safety Julius Wood (88 stops), and the top guy in the front seven was 6'2", 237 lb. outside linebacker Jeremy Lewis (60 tackles). The two starting inside linebackers are totally unproven in junior Teylor Jackson (32 career tackles) and South Carolina State transfer B.J. Davis, who are 219 and 227 pounds, respectively. This should be a good day on the ground for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan

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