For this second straight year, this game could look a little something like this:

Of course, last year, Michigan ended up pantsing The Worst Team Ever, and the Irish limped to a 3-9 season (that, in all honesty, should have been worse). So, what do we know about this years game?

When I previewed the Irish back in the summer, I was slightly skeptical that they would see tons of improvement. However, that didn’t stop nearly every preseason magazine from anointing them the #1 most improved team, including Phil Steele. Against San Diego State, however, the Irish looked downright pitiful against a team that got completely smoked by a 1-AA squad the previous week, and needed the benefit of a couple pretty bad calls to put away the Aztecs.

The Irish offense was once again bad. I am still shocked that John Latina has yet to be fired, as the offensive line is completely terrible once again (please don’t fire him, Notre Dame, we love him). Four starters return from last year’s line, so inexperience can no longer be the excuse for getting dominated at the point of attack by one of the worst teams in 1-A.

Jimmy Clausen and the running backs seemed to carry over some of the same major issues they had last year, as outlined (with video!) in this post. However, just from a one-game sample size, I would name Clausen the most improved Irish player.

On defense, the Irish didn’t dominate, but they did only allow 13 points to the Aztecs. Then again, one must take into consideration that San Diego state put up 379 yards on Cal Poly, and 345 on Notre Dame. This puts the Irish into “about the same quality as Cal Poly” territory.

Michigan hasn’t exactly excelled themselves this early in the year, but the moribund performance from the Irish has to put some hope into the sails of Wolverine fans. Of course, the majority of SDSU’s yardage came through the air, and Michigan’s quarterbacks are far from stellar. That said, there is little question that they are more talented than the Aztecs’ Ryan Lindley. Considering San Diego State was a blown call away from icing the Irish early in the fourth quarter, Michigan should have a little hope.

Predictions
Michigan’s defensive line should prevent the Irish from getting anything going consistently in this game. Clausen looks much better on the deep ball than he did in 2007 ,but I don’t think he’ll have a lot of time to throw it.
On offense, Michigan should be able to incrementally increase their production, as the execution gets better with a little more game experience.
Michigan wins 17-3.

By the way, here’s a way more complete list of prospect who will be at the game.

Posted under Analysis

The format of this feature is a work-in-progress. If you have any suggestions, let me know. The video quality problem from last week should be resolved..

For this week’s Inside the Play, we’re going to look at something that should be familiar to regular readers of this blog by now: the zone read option.

It’s 1st and 10 for the Wolverines, and they have the ball dead-center on their own 30 yard line. With a 10-point lead in the middle of the first quarter, another touchdown could start to open the floodgates.

Posted under Analysis

Your hosts may be found over at Maize n Brew.

1. We’re two weeks in and everyone in the Big Ten, minus the two Michigan schools and Illinois, are undefeated. This week marks the end of your early “tune-up” or serious OOC play. Are you satisfied with the way your team has played against the cupcakes on your schedule, or happy with the way they’ve competed against serious competition?

Ever since the third quarter of the Utah game, I’ve been pleased with the defensive effort. However, the offense has been pitiful against both Utah and Miami. Overall play is going to have to improve, or this team is destined to be Notre Dame 2007.

2. You knew this was coming. This week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! until next week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! is Ohio State versus Southern Cal. Who are you pulling for and why? Further, if you’re pulling for one particular team tell me why they’ll win, or won’t. If you’re like me and will be attempting to cure a sunburn from over exposure to the sun during the Michigan Notre Dame game by drinking large quantities of whiskey instead of watching the game, state your excuse.

I’m pulling for Ohio State, because I’m a pretty big believer in conference loyalty, and I’d love to see the Big Ten win a statement game. Also, my dad went to Ohio State, and I’ve always liked them as one of my favorite teams, and even cheer for them in most Big Ten matchups, because it gives more meaning to The Game for each team to be good.

3. Besides the above mentioned Game of the Century, there are actually some decent match ups this week in the Big Ten. Purdue v. Oregon; Wisconsin v. Fresno State; Michigan v. Notre Dame; Michigan State v. Florida Atlantic; or Iowa v. Iowa State. I said decent. I didn’t say they were all good. Pick the best game from that group, pick the worst game from that group, and Minnesota and Illinois bloggers must post an apology for scheduling Montana State and Louisiana Lafayette respectively.

If you like offense, I think the Purdue-Oregon game might be pretty entertaining. Of course, Oregon’s defense isn’t that bad, so it might be the Ducks doing all the scoring. If, on the other hand, you hate offense, Michigan-Notre Dame is the matchup for you. The worst matchup is probably Iowa-Iowa State because I simply couldn’t care less about the outcome, and neither team is particularly exciting at this point in the year.

4. Out of Conference scheduling is always something that draws the ire of journalists and bloggers alike. You all know how weak your OOC really is. Admit it. You’re sad. So fix it. Pick two teams out of conference you really wish your school would schedule. Nursing colleges and the Center for Veterinary Sciences are verboten. Pick two major conference middle to heavy weights or two heavy weight non-BCS conference programs to add to the schedule. (Please note you get to keep your two patsies per season).

This year, I would be happy playing 4 crappy out of conference teams (I’m lookin’ at you, Northwestern and Indiana) while the team can, like, learn to play football. Of course, this year isn’t going to be an easy one, and the Wolverines already have a mid-major heavyweight (Utah) and a tradition-rich program with lots of five stars (Notre Dame, and thankfully Charlie Weis sucks). However, assuming we aren’t locked in to the Notre Dame game for all time (which we are), I would love to see home-and-home series with teams like Georgia, UCLA, and other teams that are near but not always at the top of BCS conferences.

5. All college football fans love to tailgate. Even you, you mothers’ basement dwelling bloggers, you. Name your beverage of choice on game days. Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, your readers need to these things about you, to judge you. Confirm all their suspicions.

I don’t drink before games, but afterwards, it depends on the situation. If it’s on someone else’s dime, I’ll drink whatever’s available. Otherwise, I’ll either go for a PBR-type (cheap and not quite terrible) or Oberon-type (not cheap but better than PBR) beer. After a game that I go to, I’ll often need to hydrate with Gatorade or water before starting the heavy lifting.

Bonus Question!

6. Rivalry games dot the schedule this week. If your team is playing in a rivalry game, say something nasty about your opponent then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. If you’re not playing a rival, then start a rivalry by saying something nasty about your opponent and then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. Or just give me a non-offensive prediction and a reason to watch.

lolCharlie Weis is fatlol. Michigan will win by a score of Charlie Weis’s weight-Rita Rodriguez’s dress size.

Posted under Analysis

Massey from Buckeye Commentary reviews Michigan’s performance in the Miami game. For my take on OSU’s performance against Ohio, head over there.

What I Saw

Michigan was improved, kinda. The team appeared more focused initially going 80 yards in 5 plays for a quick score. Two plays later they grabbed the fumble and I expected them to go for Miami’s throat. That next series went nowhere, but they got a field goal out of it. It was not a horrible possession but it did not totally capitalize on the momentum. Their third possession was going swimmingly on the ground and then two incompletions and a missed FG ruined the offense for the next two quarters.

I also saw a defense that could not get off the field. They played well, but Miami was 8-19 on third down and held a 10:00 advantage in time of possession. Of course, the offense was not helping them rest, either.

Finally, freshmen running backs McGuffie and Shaw appear to be the main guys going forward.

What I Didn’t See

An offensive identity. I understand the spread can be used to pass or run, but the Wolverines seem to have much better success running at this point. Aside from the opening play (a screen no less), running plays were responsible for all of their yards on the first three drives. They ran two-thirds of the time but there was no flow to the possessions.

I also cannot say which quarterback is better. Last week I said I believed Sheridan would eventually be the guy and I will stick by that statement, but that situation has not resolved itself. I am sure the coaches would like it to.

Who I Watched

After it became clear that Miami could not move the ball consistently, I watched the offense exclusively and the running backs as the focus. To that end, McGuffie looks like he is headed for a very productive career. His stats were not overwhelming but you get the impression that he has adjusted to the speed of the college game and will master the spread before any of the other backs. A one-time crowded backfield appears to be thinning out.

What I Expect Next Week

A better defensive performance. The defense has been good so far, but has not played at the level I expected. I expect the defense to recognize that they have to lead the way to a victory, if one is to be had.

What This Can Tell Us About The Game

After a summer full of practices and two games, Michigan is not ready to exploit Ohio State’s inability to stop a mobile quarterback. They have nine more games to figure that out and become consistent. If the Wolverines could learn to connect on some of those big plays they could loosen up the defense and allow their running game more room to run.

On defense, Michigan is stopping the run, which would be key against Beanie. Obviously, Utah and Miami do not carry elite on their rosters, but it is better than nothing. The way that Michigan gets after Clausen and Co. will tell me a lot about how they will be able to defend Ohio State – at least when Boeckman is in the game.

Posted under Analysis

Didn’t participate last week, but here it is for week 2. Hosted by Braves & Birds.

1. How would you rate your program’s service to you in the first two weeks of the season?

Michigan’s accomplishments are approximately as I expected, but the manner in which they got there is troubling. I can handle a loss to Utah and a Victory over Miami, but I’d really prefer if the offense didn’t look quite so anemic in the process. Hopefully the early-season kinks will be hammered out soon. Alas, there is no guarantee that this team is capable of doing much better, given the talent that they have.

2. How happy are you with your program’s overall scheme? We are in a period in which the spread has become a total obsession in the media. If you’re a fan of a spread team, are you happy with the way your program has implemented it? If you’re a fan of a non-spread team, do you wish that your program would convert to this Xenu of offenses?

Michigan’s schemes look good, but execution errors are killing the offense. The o-line performed better against the RedHawks than they did against Utah, but it still isn’t good enough to get by your average Big Ten defense, and certainly not a team like Ohio State.

Also, I think Steven Threet needs to be named the starting quarterback permanently so at least one of the options can gain confidence. I think if he had a chance to get settled in, Threet would have fewer errors due to being overwhelmed or excited, and it would benefit the team in both the long and short runs.

Defensively, I’m impressed. The linebackers are young (and showing it), and Stevie Brown is a constant liability, but the schemes themselves are working pretty well. Hopefully Brown will be able to put it together mentally a little later in the year, and this defense could start to really dominate.

3. Rate your stadium’s cleanliness and menu options.

I rarely use any portion of Michigan Stadium that isn’t my seat or the exit. The seats are same as always, but the mode of egress from the Stadium is obnoxious and impossible to accomplish in fewer than 20-ish minutes. I’m sure the bathrooms are rockin’ pisswall as well as they always have.

4. As an incentive to provide your valued feedback, you will be entered into a drawing for exciting prizes! What one prize would you like for your program?

Terrelle Pryor, plz.

5. Since we’re all about choices, take one of the following two options for entertainment’s sake:

b. If your program were a casual dining chain, which one would it be? Yes, this is a tricky question because the defining characteristic of a casual dining chain is its sameness. No one said this Roundtable would be easy. Bonus points if you can make a compelling case that your program is Chotchkie’s or Flingers.

Something that is undergoing a radical change with some growing pains, that’s for sure. Maybe a Long John Silver’s that’s being transformed into, say, a Friday’s. In the long run, it will be an improvement (though maybe Friday’s isn’t the best example), but for now, they’re trying to use crappy fried fish as ingredients in everything.

Posted under Analysis, BlogPoll

I’m not too sure what can be drawn from these plays. The sample size is rather low. Obviously Threet is more successful, but he also had more plays as well as the first plays where Miami apparently forgot that in this offense the QB sometimes runs. It could be that Threet has a more convincing fake, but that could be a reach. What do y’all think?

Talking with a friend of mine, they each had maybe 1/2 to 1 full misread, which doesn’t seem terrible. Anyone with more football knowledge feel free to correct me.

Posted under Analysis

The format of this feature is a work-in-progress. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Also, the video quality is really poor for some reason. It should be better in future weeks.

The Situation
It’s the first quarter, and Michigan’s offense has already looked kinda bad. A Utah pass interference penalty has given the Wolverines the ball inside Utah’s 10 yard line, and a Sam McGuffie rush sets up a second and goal from the 8. A touchdown here could help Michigan set the tone early in this game.

The Personnel and Formation
Michigan comes out in the shotgun with two tailbacks and three wide receivers. Nick Sheridan is flanked by Brandon Minor on his right and Michael Shaw on his left. Greg Mathews is split wide left. Darryl Stonum is split wide right, with Martavious Odoms in the slot to that side.

Utah lines up in a 4-3 defense. To the strong side, the corner is head-up over Martavious Odoms, with the safety deep, but aligned with Stonum. Mathews has a man head-up over him, showing press technique.

The Play

At the snap, Sheridan fakes to Minor, who cross in front of him to the left, and then fakes again (slightly less convincingly) to Shaw, who goes in the opposite direction. After the fakes, Sheridan rolls out to the right. He hits Michael Shaw at the seven yard line, and Shaw races to the corner for a touchdown.
Why it Happened Like it Did

Utah was playing man coverage on this play, keeping one safety in a deep zone, and one linebacker spying Sheridan (Cover-1 Spy). The Utah linebackers bit on the fake to Minor, freezing them long enough for Shaw to beat his man to the outside, and for Sheridan to have enough time to roll out and make the pass. With Odoms and Stonum running crossing routes, Shaw was given a clear path to the endzone.

Now you know what it was like Inside the Play.

Posted under Analysis

Some of our unfiltered thoughts from the game:

• Tim and I both agreed that Threet looked much better than Sheridan again. He made better reads, better throws (for the most part), and even looked more authoritative on his runs. With a repertoire of two half games for each, I think Steven Threet should be the starting quarterback. I wasn’t watching the broadcast, so I don’t know why they were rotating; I think it was to give each guy a shot against the same team (again).
• Mark Ortmann came out in the third quarter, but the injury was treated with an icepack on his elbow. It didn’t appear to be too serious, and God help us all if it is.
• The gameplan seemed to be almost the exact same as last week. Even the first play was the exact same (of course, Odoms had much more success on it today than he did against Utah). Are the coaches holding back tricks for later games, and keeping it vanilla (a la DeBord), or is this everything they can do with quarterbacks who can barely throw and run?
• Shaw was running well, then disappeared. Anyone watch the broadcast and hear why that might have been? In Shaw’s stead, McGuffie was the best running back. I’m surprised we didn’t see more of Grady when they ran from the I-form. Minor was, well, Minor. That is neither good nor bad.
• The fans faded during the course of the game. When the team gave them something to be really excited about, they responded. However, the fan momentum wasn’t really maintained, and the third quarter was pretty quiet.
• The half-rolls that Miami was using on offense was pretty effective (once they went to it – nice adjustment by the Miami coaching staff). It prevents a fairly dominant D-line from getting to the quarterback. We’ll see if other teams go to that sort of strategy, and how Shafer reacts.
• This offense hasn’t been making too many big plays (aside from a couple of runs getting blown open and the Odoms screen), but when you watch them play, it is clear that they have big-play potential, and are just a slight improvement in execution away from making something very interesting happen. As the experience across the board improves (especially if Zirbel and Ortmann can get/stay healthy), and more of the playbook is installed, this offense may be adequate down the road.
• The offensive line was again a weak point. We can hope for improvement and the return of Zirbel, and they could be good (enough) by the end of the year.
• Obi Ezeh was again a badass in terms of making tackles, and seemed to defend the pass better this week (albeit against worse competition). He could be a really special player down the line.

Anything to add?

Posted under Analysis

Back in the summer when we previewed Miami, it appeared as though they would have a strong defense on the strength of three returning seniors, all of whom are all-conference candidates in the MAC. The offense didn’t look quite as strong, with something of a quarterback controversy going on. After the loss to Vanderbilt, we weren’t quite sure what to think, because nobody carries ESPNU. However, we relied on Dan Kukla of The Miami Student to fill us in on what we had missed.

Vanderbilt took Miami behind the woodshed, and the RedHawks weren’t even competitve against the SEC bottom-dweller. The defense did not perform as expected, and the offense languished under the guidance of Daniel Radabough.

One thing that Kukla specifically pointed out was that Vanderbilt’s “SEC Speed” was apparent against the RedHawks. Of course, I’m personally of the opinion that “SEC Speed,” aside from not really existing, certainly doesn’t aply to the Commodores. That said, Michigan’s athletes, position-for-position, were all more highly recruited out of high school than were Vandy’s, and Michigan has a decided speed advantage at every position as well. This doesn’t bode well for Miami.

However, the speed means nothing if Michigan fails, as it did against Utah, to get athletes into space. The offensive line has to protect the quarterback(s) and make holes in the running game. Brandon Minor being healthy enough to get full prctice reps this week should make him the starter, and give a little stability to the UM offense.

On the other side of the ball, MIchigan’s defense is facing a much limper test than it was last week against the Utes. Assuming there isn’t as much of a first-half struggle to get into the game, this defense should be able to dominate a weaker opponent.

Predictions:
Michigan’s defense will take out revenge for their first-half struggles last week by dominating the RedHawks.
Michigan’s offense will be able to move the ball more effectively, with Steven Threet starting at QB.
Martavious Odoms and Brandon Minor will both have at least one touchdown.
There will be a big play for Michigan on special teams.
The Wolverines win, 24-3.

Posted under Analysis

Each week, Varsity Blue will have a guest poster, Massey from Buckeye Commentary, give us his thoughts on the Michigan game. In return, I’ll guest post on BC. Check out my view of Ohio state’s game over there.

Utah v. Michigan – August 30, 2008

What I Saw

On offense, I saw a surprisingly inept running game. No one was expecting Nebraska circa 1995, but I viewed the running backs as the strength of the Wolverine offense. Sam McGuffie, Brandon Minor, Michael Shaw, and Carlos Brown (shoulder) were totally ineffective, however. None of those four had any rhythm because of limited carries. I knew the offensive line was all new, but I was surprised that the misdirection plays were not more effective. Hell, a few of them fooled me on the couch, not to mention the camera operators. They were slightly better catching passes out of the backfield

The offensive staff clearly wanted to throw down field early in the game, which should have signaled to me that they needed to spread out Utah’s front seven because the ground game was poor. Even though the deep passes were not overly effective, 106 of Michigan’s 167 passing yards came on four completions. The short passes seemed far easier for Michigan to execute and the play they ran to get their first touchdown was borderline indefensible. After that, I was expecting to see a ton of those short throws.

Honestly, I though Nick Sheridan was better than Steve Threet. I know Threet made a nice toss to Hemingway, but he had the advantage of coming in late and having relatively little pressure. It could not get much worse when he stepped into the huddle. You could view that battle as a lesser of two evils, and I know I am in the minority, but I think Sheridan ends up being the starter, unless Justin Feagin bursts onto the scene.

What I Didn’t See

I sure as hell did not see the defense I expected in the first half. The first half defensive performance was crippling. Were they even calling defenses in the huddle? The Utah receivers could not have been more open. On 3rd and 19, Johnson hit a wide-open slant for a 50 yard gain. Huh?

I thought Terrance Taylor (foot injury), Will Johnson, Tim Jamison, and Brandon Graham would cause significant disruptions in Utah’s backfield, keep everything in front of them, and force Utah to march slowly down the field. But that did not happen until the second half, when their defensive adjustments yielded six sacks on Brian Johnson. Half of those were drive killers.

If the defense can continue at their second half level, and not get tired of carrying the offense, they could become a formidable unit before this season is done.

Who I Watched

I could not ignore sophomore Obi Ezeh, who was everywhere. He was great as a freshman and will be very good by the end of this season. If he showed up in Scarlet and Gray tomorrow, he would start. Aside from the defensive line and Ezeh, I have not heard of any of those players.

I was interested in the quarterbacks, of course, and I watched McGuffie with YouTube-tinted glasses. I would be lying to you if I said I did not imagine Pryor running that offense a few times. He is the real thing and far beyond any QB talent on Michigan’s roster at the moment. Otherwise, Michigan shuffled in so many players, I had trouble keeping track of who was doing what.

What I Expect For Next Week

I have no idea. Honestly. At the very least, I expect the defense to play well for the entire game. Miami (Ohio) is a MAC challenger, but they are not at Utah’s level.

Despite my earlier proclamation, I bet Threet starts at quarterback. I also expect the rushing attack to receive more attention, if not improve. But, the Wolverines were opportunistic against the Utes, and will need to be again if they want to put up some points.

What This Can Tell Us About The Game

Nothing, for the moment. I think we can all agree on the outcome if The Game were this weekend. But, it’s not. The Wolverines have an entire season to get better offensively and get meaner on defense. Every fan knows the role emotion plays on that last Saturday and you cannot discount the confidence and camaraderie the Michigan players may build as they collectively learn this fall.

For Michigan, every game is step towards November 22 and all we learned this past weekend is how many steps Michigan has to climb.

Posted under Analysis