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

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

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

This is Tim’s conversation with Dan Kukla of The Miami Student previewing the upcoming game. Enjoy:

 

 Previewing the Miami RedHawks [19:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted under Blogcast