Here's what we're looking at for Week 2...unfortunately, there really aren't any games as big as the two primetime games last week, but there are still some good ones to watch if you keep an open mind. With that said, the conference schedule first:
Around The Big Ten
Michigan-Notre Dame (8 ET...!): I'll be in attendance for this one and I've been counting down the days since I took the plunge and locked in my ticket/plane tickets over a month ago. It will be nigh surreal to be in the Big House so late in the day, and the only conceivable negative about the whole affair is that we'll have to wait all day for it to start. I had Notre Dame penned in as a loss for the Wolverines, but now I'm obviously not so sure. I don't think the Irish are as bad as they played last week, and I don't think they make the same soul-crushing miscues (re: turnovers) this Saturday. Likewise, I really doubt Michigan can expect to get two touchdowns from its defense every week, let alone just this week. I definitely see the Wolverine defense forcing some turnovers (after all, they did last year under the "tutelage" of GREG ROBINSON), as both Rees (and Crist, it it comes to him) are prone to mistakes. The Irish playing this one in a jacked up Big House only amplifies this propensity for handing the ball over nicely to the other team.
However, this game will be close, and I think many are overlooking the fact that the Western game could easily have been a much more stressful affair, and that ND dominated the Bulls in every stat but the end result. If you put a gun to my head and told me to make a pick right now, first I'd say: a) calm down man, it's just a game and b) Michigan wins. There, I said it. Michigan had no problem with Floyd last year, and although I think he probably has a little more success this year, it won't be enough to negate the mistakes that I think Rees will make (unforced and forced). Herron was the beneficiary of the defensive pressure last week, but this week I'm looking to the secondary--which will be tested early and often--to make some plays. Prediction: Woolfolk makes the first pick of his career this Saturday night.
Wisconsin-Oregon State (12:00 ET): The Beavers lost to Sacramento State last week...yeah. The Badgers roll for the second week in a row, and Wilson probably doesn't come out as seemingly jittery (re: overthrowing open receivers) as he did in the first half of the UNLV game.
Ohio State-Toledo (12:00 ET): The Rockets should provide a little more resistance than the Zips did last week, but this should be another blowout, especially considering that the Buckeyes get tailback Jordan Hall and corner Travis Howard back after they served a one-game suspension extra benefits received at a charity event. OSU wins in another blowout.
Michigan State-Florida Atlantic (12:00 ET): I know literally nothing about FAU other than that Howard Schnellenberger, who is awesome, is their head coach and that the Gators whooped them up and down the field last week. MSU beat them pretty unimpressively last year (17-0), so let's see what happens this time. I think the Spartans look better than last week, but I need to see improvement from the offensive line and front 7 to start being more worried about the MSU game than I currently am.
Iowa-Iowa State (12:00 ET): Iowa goes to Ames to face their in-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes should crush the Cyclones, but [insert platitude about throwing out record books]. Seriously though, Iowa wins. Iowa State beat Northern Iowa 20-19 last week...they are not good.
South Dakota State-Illinois (12:00 ET): Don't watch this. Illinois wins big.
Alabama-Penn State (3:30 ET): It's amazing how a game like this can seem so under the radar...two classic programs that are nearly mirror images of each other (defensive prowess, plain but iconic jerseys, classic home venues, etc.), only on opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon line. As much as I despise the Crimson Tide, I really don't see Jay Pa finding any soft spots in the Alabama defense. Penn State's only chance is selling out to stop Richardson in the hope that McCarron/Sims make mistakes. Alabama wins, but it's not a blowout like last year.
Eastern Illinois-Northwestern (3:30 ET): It looks like the Wildcats will be without quarterback Dan Persa again. No worries, though, because it's just Eastern Illinois and Kain Colter was actually pretty good in Chestnut Hill last week.
New Mexico State-Minnesota (3:30 ET): The home debut for new Minnesota head honcho Jerry Kill; a slip-up would be pretty disheartening after a gutsy performance on the road at USC last week.
Purdue-Rice (3:30 ET): Kind of a strange match-up here...not sure why Purdue is travelling to Texas to face Rice of all teams but whatever. Recruiting inroads? Who knows. In any case, Rice got clobbered by Texas last week if that means anything. I couldn't tell you a thing about Rice but I do know that Purdue is pretty bad at everything, which you'd know if you saw them barely escape with a win last week against Middle Tennessee State. I think Purdue joins Indiana and Minnesota this week in the loser's bracket, unfortunately.
Fresno State-Nebraska (7:00 ET): Fresno lost to Cal at Candlestick Park last weekend 21-36; Nebraska is just a tiny bit better than Cal. Fresno shouldn't be able to move the ball too much, and Martinez, Burkhead, Kinnie, etc. will do their thing.
Virginia-Indiana (7:00 ET): Having been to Bloomington a couple of times, I kind of have slight desire to see the Hoosiers not be unequivocally terrible at football. New coach Kevin Wilson seems like a good guy, too, and I genuinely wish IU successs. However, after losing to Ball State last week, things look grim yet again. UVA is far from a football powerhouse, but they stand a pretty decent shot at winning, especially considering that they actually won last weekend (against William & Mary, but still).
Around The Country
The national schedule this week isn't nearly as deep, but there are still a few interesting games with some interesting implications.
Missouri-Arizona State (Friday, 10:30 ET): I'll be in Ann Arbor at this point so I'm not sure if I'll get to watch much of this at all, but this is basically a battle between two decidedly meh teams that I kind of have hovering in and out of the back end of the top 25. Mizzou was kind of underwhelming last week against Miami (OH), and Arizona State dominated UC Davis. Brock Osweiler looks like a definite upgrade over Steven Threet; I'll side with ASU and Vontaze Burfict in this one.
Mississippi State-Auburn (12:20 ET): It's going to be a long, long year on the Plains for Auburn. If the Tigers couldn't handle Utah State's offense, there's literally no way they'll be able to check Chris Relf, Chad Bumphis, and Vick Ballard. With Manny Diaz serving as Mack Brown's new DC, Mississippi State's defense instantly got less fearsome. Memphis was able to move the ball some against the Bulldogs last week, so there's hope for the Tigers on that front. Auburn still has the offensive talent to score on teams, with Emory Blake out wide, Philipp Lutzenkirchen at tight end, and Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb in the backfield. Barrett Trotter is pretty weak sauce after the Year of Cam, but Gus Malzahn made Chris Todd (CHRIS TODD!) a viable threat in 2009. Auburn should score a good bit, but that defense is a sieve and Ted Roof is quite frankly not very good at his job.
Georgia-South Carolina (4:30 ET): This is an interesting match-up for the simple fact that Mark Richt is fighting for his job at this point. After a stellar run in Athens, a few mediocre years have really destroyed Richt's public perception, and his incompetent coordinators (previous DC Willie Martinez and current OC Mike Bobo) aren't doing him any favors. South Carolina, on the other hand, is trying to prove that last year wasn't a fluke, and that they still deserve to be at the top of the SEC East. Anything can happen on the road in the SEC though, especially a tough venue like Sanford Stadium. Although Georgia was methodically dismantled by the Broncos in ATL last weekend, I think Georgia comes out a gets a big win that will engender some suspicion of the SEC East's quality from the national media (a team that lost to Boise State beating the division favorites probably isn't good for the conference's perception).
Utah-USC (7:30 ET): Utah's first game in a big time conference and they draw the Trojans...it looks like the Utes will get their left tackle back this week (who was out last week with a concussion), which is nice. USC looked completely uninspired last week, so I'm not sure how big of an upset this would even be these days. Marc Tyler is back for the Trojans, and they better hope he performs because the USC running game was atrocious against the Gophers. I think that USC shapes up and wins this one in a close, hard-fought contest.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
HTR's Top 25: Week 2
Here's what I've got after a week of play in which we learned almost nothing about most teams in the top 25. Some minor, somewhat random shuffling going on here...that should settle out after the end of the non-conference schedule or the first week of conference play.
Rank | Team |
1 | Alabama |
2 | Oklahoma |
3 | LSU |
4 | Florida State |
5 | Stanford |
6 | Boise State |
7 | Wisconsin |
8 | Oregon |
9 | Nebraska |
10 | Virginia Tech |
11 | Texas A&M |
12 | Oklahoma State |
13 | Ohio State |
14 | Florida |
15 | South Carolina |
16 | Arkansas |
17 | West Virginia |
18 | Mississippi State |
19 | South Florida |
20 | Penn State |
21 | Baylor |
22 | Michigan State |
23 | Missouri |
24 | USC |
25 | Northwestern |
- Might as well get it out of the way...I was 1/2 on the two primetime games last week. I thought that LSU's defense would contain Oregon's high octane offense pretty well, and they did. As expected, the quarterback situation is irrelevant; Jarrett Lee is not a quarterback insomuch as he is a walking conduit for Les Miles's absurdist voodo strategy. On the other hand, I was wrong about Boise State-UGA, so so wrong. I'll admit that part of that pick was imbued with a decidedly anti-Boise State bias that clouded my judgment a bit and perhaps tricked me into thinking UGA is better than they are. While I still refuse to slot BSU in the top 5, I'll put them at 6. They deserve it.
- As for the Irish...oh man. I was definitely in the "USF could beat them if ND doesn't show up" camp, but I had ND down for 9 or 10 wins on the season, and you can bet that one of those wins should have come last Saturday. Dr. Saturday runs down the Irish's performance nicely, coming to the conclusion that ND can still have a "big season" if they limit the egregious, game-changing, talent advantage mitigating mistakes they made in the USF game. I agree. I still think can win 9 games. Will they? Get back to me after Saturday.
- Verdict on Wisconsin thus far? That offense will be hard to stop, and Wilson is a much better athlete than I thought he would be. The defense, on the other hand, looked a little soft at times against a bad UNLV team. Thankfully for the Badgers, they have three more tune-up games before having to try to stop Taylor Martinez on October 1st.
- Alabama's quarterback situation not being settled is a little worrisome for a consensus top 2 or 3 team, but either way I think they'll be fine. Alabama doesn't require greatness from the quarterback position. Ultimately, I think McCarron wins that battle over Phillip Sims. Penn State will be a solid test for Alabama this week, and the environment in Happy Valley in and of itself will prepare whomever the starter ends up being for future trips to Florida and Auburn. I didn't watch much of their game so I can't really explain Richardson's weak stat line, but I'm sure the Tide will feed him the ball quite a bit this week.
- Notre Dame, TCU, and Georgia all drop out after horrible weekends for each. I think Notre Dame and Georgia will salvage their seasons despite starting off with ugly losses (the former because they won't play that poorly every week and the latter because BSU is pretty good), but as of right now they don't deserve to be in the top 25. TCU on the other hand...wow. It'll be interesting to see if that was just a case of RGIII's brilliance or an overestimation of Gary Patterson's defensive genius.
- Michigan State looked entirely unimpressive but I left them as is, mostly because it's just one game and they performed in a similarly mediocre fashion against FAU last season en route to an exceptional year. I was also tempted to drop USC after they looked pretty uninspired against a bad Minnesota team that is not even close to USC in terms of talent. So far, Kill is looking like a pretty good hire for the Gophers (and certainly better than his predecessor).
- Ohio State impressed me enough to move up significantly, as did Florida. Even though the Buckeyes didn't exactly face the toughest opponent in the world, their defense was impressive despite missing #1 corner Travis Howard (in addition to all the NFL departures). Florida looks fast, as usual.
- Other than that, a lot of teams played East Nobody State so there's not too much to go on. I showed Northwestern some love after winning on the road at BC without Dan Persa, easily the Big Ten's best win of the week. I also put Penn State in there just because, I guess. Silas Redd looks like he should be a good one for PSU, but with the QB situation what it is I have a hard time seeing any scenario where PSU moves the ball with any consistency next week against the Crimson Tide. USF and Baylor also pop into the top 25 due to upset wins which may or may not mean nothing if TCU and ND continue to look incompetent.
- South Carolina is the epitome of a Jekyll and Hyde team. I really have no idea what to expect from from week to week, but they are definitely not as bad as they looked this past week against ECU. Giving up 37 points is kind of a red flag, though, and they could very easily lose next between between the hedges at UGA if they're not focused and ready to go, which, let's be honest, is a huge if for a Garcia-led team.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Keep Your Enemies Closer: Week 1
Just a general programming note, but throughout the season this is what the schedule on here should look like (assuming there's time to get everything done each week):
Monday: Michigan game column
Tuesday: Review of Ohio State game
Wednesday: TBD
Thursday: "What To Watch"
Friday: Game preview type thing
Again, that's an extremely tentative schedule but is probably a good bet for what to expect until the end of the season. With that said, I'd like to take Tuesdays from here on out to take a look at the Buckeyes, giving my general impressions of the team, from personnel to play calling to whatever else I find to be interesting or relevant to Michigan. I got the idea from reading The Ozone's rundowns in their "Michigan Monday" feature...here's an example from last season. While their observations aren't always expressed in shining prose, I often found their perspectives useful, and in that vein I think it would be a useful exercise to scout the Buckeyes as the season goes along. So, we'll start with this past Saturday's opener in Columbus against Akron (here's a preview of the Zips from 11W). Just as any considerations of Michigan's hopes gleaned from the Western game shouldn't be leaned upon too heavily, the same applies with OSU's meeting with Akron.
The Offense
It's hard to talk about the Buckeye offense without starting at the quarterback position. As expected, the geriatric Joe Bauserman got the start, and actually played quite a long time before being spelled by Braxton Miller. In fact, Miller didn't come in until the first drive of the second quarter, and then not again until 5 minutes into the third (after which he played the rest of the way). Joe finished with an efficient stat line, going 12/16 on the day with 163 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as one touchdown on the ground. Miller finished 8/12 with 130 yards and a touchdown of his own to freshman Devin Smith.
The Buckeyes started on their own 26 in drive numero uno and they played it as if nothing had changed and Jim Tressel still walked the sidelines. On four out of five plays to start the drive, OSU went with running plays, calling Dan Herron Understudy #1 Carlos Hyde's number each time. Hyde went for 2, 8, 3, and 5 yards respectively with these carries, with a Bauserman to Stoneburner coming in on the second play. Bauserman then showed some ability to get the ball downfield, connecting with Verlon reed for a 28 yard play, followed by a Rod Smith run and what appears to be a broken play in which Bauserman does his best Denard impression. Apparently, the tailback went the wrong way, and Bauserman was forced to wing it; surprisingly, he did pretty well, looking positively Krenzelesque as he ran it in for the score from 15 yards out. Bauserman is no Pryor, or Smith, or Miller when it comes to mobility, but he seems to be close to on par with Krenzel (both are about the same size). He did show some nice mobility on a passing play in the second quarter, taking off for 9 yards when everyone was covered, just barely avoiding a defensive lineman. The offensive line gave Bauserman and Miller all day to throw and ample running room for Hyde and Smith, but that's to be expected against Akron (even without Mike Adams).
The Ohio State running back situation is not too dissimilar from ours...for the first 5 games in Herron's absence, at least. OSU has a stable of talented backs to work with, but just as Michigan seemed to narrow things down to a predominantly Shaw and Toussaint-heavy attack, OSU primarily deployed Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith on Saturday.
Both were impressive enough given the circumstances (not only did they get four full quarters--the novelty!--but they got it against Akron). Both backs provide size that Michigan's group doesn't seem to bring outside of Hopkins; Hyde stands at 6'0'' 238 and Smith at 6'3'' 230, and both are underclassmen. Those are two big backs. Hyde looked big and fast enough (he couldn't quite gain the corner on one 25-yard run in the 2nd quarter) and did well to keep his legs moving to fall forward for the extra yard from time to time. While some Buckeye fans have made the relatively underwhelming comparison to Lydell Ross, Hyde looked solid in this one. Again, as good as they looked they are simply keeping the backfield warm for Boom Herron. Rod Smith also fumbled the ball in the red zone, a point which I'm sure didn't please Luke Fickell. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the other backs get some action next week as a result, especially if Jordan Hall--who was supposed to be the starter until he got suspended--comes back soon. Hall is an entirely different back too, standing at a diminutive 5'9'' 195.
The quarterbacks also carried the ball a little bit (in addition to Bauserman's aforementioned glacial-speed TD run), with Bauserman going 6 carries for 32 and Miller 6 for 30. Like I said, Bauserman is certainly not fast but he can run a little bit if he needs to, but then again this was the Akron game. Miller had one rush for 12 yards, but other than that he wasn't that successful on the ground, and he didn't need to be. Miller's first collegiate play was a QB Draw, so maybe that's a signal that the Buckeye staff will use his running ability in a way that Pryor's was not.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with Bauserman's arm strength (as a former baseball player, he's got at least that going for him), and he seemed to not be overwhelmed by the responsibility of leading the team. He seemed to favor Stoneburner and Verlon Reed the most. Of course, I said this about Stoneburner just last week:
The Buckeyes were a solid 8/15 on third downs on the way to amassing 517 total yards of offense (293 passing, 224 rushing). Only one turnover on the day (the Smith fumble), and a relatively penalty-free day is something to be happy about for such a young team (3 penalties for 29 yards). The Buckeyes ran the ball 51 times compared to 28 passes...TRESSELBALL LIVES.
The Defense
Watching Ohio State play defense for the last at least six or seven seasons has been an envy-filled affair. Year after year, Ohio State has fielded defenses with future NFL talent, with good pass rushers, consistent and talented linebackers, and top level talents in the secondary. With the state of Ohio as talent-rich as it is, it's not hard to see how OSU was able to accomplish this, particularly with their recent unadulterated dominance of their home state throughout the RR years. Once again, I know this was Akron--a bad, bad football team--but a shutout is a shutout.
Ohio State was of course without the services of Solomon Thomas (suspended for the first five games), as well as top corner Travis Howard (who was suspended for this one along with Hall and Corey Brown). These losses come on top of the losses to the NFL, which were significant as they've been nearly every year. Ohio State lost big names like Cameron Heyward, Chimdi Chekwa, Ross Homan, Brian Rolle, Jermale Hines, and Devon Torrence. However, it looks like they will reload just fine, and despite returning 3 less starters Ohio State figures to have a much, much better defense than the Wolverines once again.
The Buckeyes held the Zips to under 100 yards of offense, while also sacking the quarterback 5 times and coming up with 1 interception. Akron only managed to muster up 5 first downs, while also going a putrid 2/13 on third downs. They weren't able to do much of anything on the ground or in the air, and even without Howard, corners Bradley Roby and Dominic Clarke didn't seem to be challenged at any point (same goes for safeties Orhian Johnson and CJ Barnett). On one shot downfield in the second quarter, Clarke (who was previously the #3 corner before Howard's suspension), was in perfect position to break the pass up. Akron's only success of the day come on the last drive of the half, in which they managed to reach the Ohio State 24 before missing a 41-yard field goal. The drive largely happened on the back of two plays--both Clayton Moore passes--of 33 and 11 yards.
OSU's 5 sacks came from Darryl Baldwin, Etienne Sabino/J.T. Moore, Michael Bennett, Nate Ebner, and Ryan Shazier, and there were a number of hurries that were very nearly sacks. WLB Andrew Sweat notched the only interception of the day, picking off Clayton Moore in the second quarter, on a nice play in which he reeled in a tipped ball near the sideline while managing to keep his feet inbounds.
All in all, the defense looked stout as expected; nothing came through the middle and when the ball went elsewhere the Buckeye defense got there fast. This unit won't be tested next week either, unfortunately, and might not even be tested until the State game, depending upon whether or not you consider Miami and Colorado tests at this point in time (I don't).
Special Teams
There's not too much to discuss here, but...speedster Philly Brown had one kickoff return (to open the second half), which he took for 44 yards down the left sideline after an impressive spin move. The guy can fly, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a few to the house this year. On punts, Brown, Chris Fields, and Devin Smith all took turns, with the longest return being one of 17 yards (also from Philly).
PK Drew Basil was 6/6 on extra points but missed his only field goal attempt of the day from 40 yards out (just wide right). Punter Ben Buchanan had a solid day, with an average of 42 yards a punt on 3 tries (he had a long of 49). On kickoffs, Akron's Antoine Russell did have one return of 42 yards, but take that one out and his average drops from 18.8 to 11.0 yards per return.
Other than the one field goal miss and the bad coverage on the one return, the Buckeyes should have some solid special teams play once again this season. This will be crucial down the road when the offense needs the field position to score against better teams.
2011 Ohio State Schedule
September 3: OSU 42, Akron 0 (1-0)
September 10: Toledo
September 17: @ Miami
September 24: Colorado
October 1: Michigan State
October 8: @ Nebraska
October 15: @ Illinois
October 29: Wisconsin
November 5: Indiana
November 12: @ Purdue
November 19: Penn State
November 26: @ Michigan
Monday: Michigan game column
Tuesday: Review of Ohio State game
Wednesday: TBD
Thursday: "What To Watch"
Friday: Game preview type thing
Again, that's an extremely tentative schedule but is probably a good bet for what to expect until the end of the season. With that said, I'd like to take Tuesdays from here on out to take a look at the Buckeyes, giving my general impressions of the team, from personnel to play calling to whatever else I find to be interesting or relevant to Michigan. I got the idea from reading The Ozone's rundowns in their "Michigan Monday" feature...here's an example from last season. While their observations aren't always expressed in shining prose, I often found their perspectives useful, and in that vein I think it would be a useful exercise to scout the Buckeyes as the season goes along. So, we'll start with this past Saturday's opener in Columbus against Akron (here's a preview of the Zips from 11W). Just as any considerations of Michigan's hopes gleaned from the Western game shouldn't be leaned upon too heavily, the same applies with OSU's meeting with Akron.
The Offense
It's hard to talk about the Buckeye offense without starting at the quarterback position. As expected, the geriatric Joe Bauserman got the start, and actually played quite a long time before being spelled by Braxton Miller. In fact, Miller didn't come in until the first drive of the second quarter, and then not again until 5 minutes into the third (after which he played the rest of the way). Joe finished with an efficient stat line, going 12/16 on the day with 163 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as one touchdown on the ground. Miller finished 8/12 with 130 yards and a touchdown of his own to freshman Devin Smith.
The Buckeyes started on their own 26 in drive numero uno and they played it as if nothing had changed and Jim Tressel still walked the sidelines. On four out of five plays to start the drive, OSU went with running plays, calling Dan Herron Understudy #1 Carlos Hyde's number each time. Hyde went for 2, 8, 3, and 5 yards respectively with these carries, with a Bauserman to Stoneburner coming in on the second play. Bauserman then showed some ability to get the ball downfield, connecting with Verlon reed for a 28 yard play, followed by a Rod Smith run and what appears to be a broken play in which Bauserman does his best Denard impression. Apparently, the tailback went the wrong way, and Bauserman was forced to wing it; surprisingly, he did pretty well, looking positively Krenzelesque as he ran it in for the score from 15 yards out. Bauserman is no Pryor, or Smith, or Miller when it comes to mobility, but he seems to be close to on par with Krenzel (both are about the same size). He did show some nice mobility on a passing play in the second quarter, taking off for 9 yards when everyone was covered, just barely avoiding a defensive lineman. The offensive line gave Bauserman and Miller all day to throw and ample running room for Hyde and Smith, but that's to be expected against Akron (even without Mike Adams).
The Ohio State running back situation is not too dissimilar from ours...for the first 5 games in Herron's absence, at least. OSU has a stable of talented backs to work with, but just as Michigan seemed to narrow things down to a predominantly Shaw and Toussaint-heavy attack, OSU primarily deployed Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith on Saturday.
Both were impressive enough given the circumstances (not only did they get four full quarters--the novelty!--but they got it against Akron). Both backs provide size that Michigan's group doesn't seem to bring outside of Hopkins; Hyde stands at 6'0'' 238 and Smith at 6'3'' 230, and both are underclassmen. Those are two big backs. Hyde looked big and fast enough (he couldn't quite gain the corner on one 25-yard run in the 2nd quarter) and did well to keep his legs moving to fall forward for the extra yard from time to time. While some Buckeye fans have made the relatively underwhelming comparison to Lydell Ross, Hyde looked solid in this one. Again, as good as they looked they are simply keeping the backfield warm for Boom Herron. Rod Smith also fumbled the ball in the red zone, a point which I'm sure didn't please Luke Fickell. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the other backs get some action next week as a result, especially if Jordan Hall--who was supposed to be the starter until he got suspended--comes back soon. Hall is an entirely different back too, standing at a diminutive 5'9'' 195.
The quarterbacks also carried the ball a little bit (in addition to Bauserman's aforementioned glacial-speed TD run), with Bauserman going 6 carries for 32 and Miller 6 for 30. Like I said, Bauserman is certainly not fast but he can run a little bit if he needs to, but then again this was the Akron game. Miller had one rush for 12 yards, but other than that he wasn't that successful on the ground, and he didn't need to be. Miller's first collegiate play was a QB Draw, so maybe that's a signal that the Buckeye staff will use his running ability in a way that Pryor's was not.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with Bauserman's arm strength (as a former baseball player, he's got at least that going for him), and he seemed to not be overwhelmed by the responsibility of leading the team. He seemed to favor Stoneburner and Verlon Reed the most. Of course, I said this about Stoneburner just last week:
Jake Stoneburner is a pretty decent talent at tight end but when was the last time the Buckeyes really utilized the tight end position? I'm not sure that this is the year.Naturally, Stoneburner reeled in 3 touchdowns (after having 2 all of last year), all from Bauserman. This might be the result of a Posey-less receiving corps, but Stoneburner was by far the star of the day and Bauserman's favorite target. Everybody knew that Stoneburner could play, but Ohio State has not used their tight ends effectively in quite a while...then again, I'm not sure if they've had a pass-catching threat like Stoneburner in several years. Stoneburner's three touchdown receptions were from 28, 11, and 2 yards out. It'll be interesting to track Stoneburner's production going forward; obviously it won't remain constant after this performance, but we'll see if Bauserman/Miller still lean on him as much once Posey gets back and young guys like Devin Smith and Evan Spencer mature a little bit (as well as other inexperienced wideouts i.e., Verlon Reed and Philly Brown). Spencer managed to make probably the catch of the week on a pretty horrid pass from Miller in the 4th...it was his only catch of the day but he seems like a talented young receiver that could do some things as the season progresses.
The Buckeyes were a solid 8/15 on third downs on the way to amassing 517 total yards of offense (293 passing, 224 rushing). Only one turnover on the day (the Smith fumble), and a relatively penalty-free day is something to be happy about for such a young team (3 penalties for 29 yards). The Buckeyes ran the ball 51 times compared to 28 passes...TRESSELBALL LIVES.
The Defense
Watching Ohio State play defense for the last at least six or seven seasons has been an envy-filled affair. Year after year, Ohio State has fielded defenses with future NFL talent, with good pass rushers, consistent and talented linebackers, and top level talents in the secondary. With the state of Ohio as talent-rich as it is, it's not hard to see how OSU was able to accomplish this, particularly with their recent unadulterated dominance of their home state throughout the RR years. Once again, I know this was Akron--a bad, bad football team--but a shutout is a shutout.
Ohio State was of course without the services of Solomon Thomas (suspended for the first five games), as well as top corner Travis Howard (who was suspended for this one along with Hall and Corey Brown). These losses come on top of the losses to the NFL, which were significant as they've been nearly every year. Ohio State lost big names like Cameron Heyward, Chimdi Chekwa, Ross Homan, Brian Rolle, Jermale Hines, and Devon Torrence. However, it looks like they will reload just fine, and despite returning 3 less starters Ohio State figures to have a much, much better defense than the Wolverines once again.
The Buckeyes held the Zips to under 100 yards of offense, while also sacking the quarterback 5 times and coming up with 1 interception. Akron only managed to muster up 5 first downs, while also going a putrid 2/13 on third downs. They weren't able to do much of anything on the ground or in the air, and even without Howard, corners Bradley Roby and Dominic Clarke didn't seem to be challenged at any point (same goes for safeties Orhian Johnson and CJ Barnett). On one shot downfield in the second quarter, Clarke (who was previously the #3 corner before Howard's suspension), was in perfect position to break the pass up. Akron's only success of the day come on the last drive of the half, in which they managed to reach the Ohio State 24 before missing a 41-yard field goal. The drive largely happened on the back of two plays--both Clayton Moore passes--of 33 and 11 yards.
OSU's 5 sacks came from Darryl Baldwin, Etienne Sabino/J.T. Moore, Michael Bennett, Nate Ebner, and Ryan Shazier, and there were a number of hurries that were very nearly sacks. WLB Andrew Sweat notched the only interception of the day, picking off Clayton Moore in the second quarter, on a nice play in which he reeled in a tipped ball near the sideline while managing to keep his feet inbounds.
All in all, the defense looked stout as expected; nothing came through the middle and when the ball went elsewhere the Buckeye defense got there fast. This unit won't be tested next week either, unfortunately, and might not even be tested until the State game, depending upon whether or not you consider Miami and Colorado tests at this point in time (I don't).
Special Teams
There's not too much to discuss here, but...speedster Philly Brown had one kickoff return (to open the second half), which he took for 44 yards down the left sideline after an impressive spin move. The guy can fly, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a few to the house this year. On punts, Brown, Chris Fields, and Devin Smith all took turns, with the longest return being one of 17 yards (also from Philly).
PK Drew Basil was 6/6 on extra points but missed his only field goal attempt of the day from 40 yards out (just wide right). Punter Ben Buchanan had a solid day, with an average of 42 yards a punt on 3 tries (he had a long of 49). On kickoffs, Akron's Antoine Russell did have one return of 42 yards, but take that one out and his average drops from 18.8 to 11.0 yards per return.
Other than the one field goal miss and the bad coverage on the one return, the Buckeyes should have some solid special teams play once again this season. This will be crucial down the road when the offense needs the field position to score against better teams.
2011 Ohio State Schedule
September 3: OSU 42, Akron 0 (1-0)
September 10: Toledo
September 17: @ Miami
September 24: Colorado
October 1: Michigan State
October 8: @ Nebraska
October 15: @ Illinois
October 29: Wisconsin
November 5: Indiana
November 12: @ Purdue
November 19: Penn State
November 26: @ Michigan
Monday, September 5, 2011
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
via The Detroit News
Michigan 34, Western Michigan 10
"It was kind of wild," Hoke said. "Wet and wild."
As the rain fell and Brady Hoke patrolled the field as if he'd been around for a while already, as if it was undeniably his field and his program and not one that had just been handed to him only 8 months ago, it was hard not to come away with certain vague feelings of goodness, that something that was more good than bad had just transpired, a feeling of warmth that may or may not be ephemeral. The Era of Good Feelings continues. James Monroe's got nothing on Brady Hoke.
Every bit of criticism and praise should me measured and cut with reason; however, this is college football we're talking about here, and reason is a mirage in a desert of hyperbolic assertions and chaos. Honestly, I'm okay with a little misguided confidence right now. After the last three years (four if you're willing to lump in Lloyd's "relatively" successful valediction), it's just fine to think that maybe things are different now. Maybe our fundamental flaws have improved to the point that we don't have to watch with our hands covering our eyes, peeking between our fingers. Maybe they haven't yet; in fact, they certainly haven't yet, and the coaches will tell you as much. I do know that, after an agonizing first drive on defense, the game was fun to watch. I saw Alex Carder's helmet come off and roll around on the turf, and smiled.
Then again, Western in 2009 and UCONN last season were fun too. Maybe we just played Western Michigan and did what we were supposed to, which we had done already two seasons ago just as impressively. Regardless, what went into the box was uncertainty, and what came out was a little less uncertainty, and even some reasons for optimism, if you're that sort of person.
Then again, Western in 2009 and UCONN last season were fun too. Maybe we just played Western Michigan and did what we were supposed to, which we had done already two seasons ago just as impressively. Regardless, what went into the box was uncertainty, and what came out was a little less uncertainty, and even some reasons for optimism, if you're that sort of person.
The Offense
After an offseason of Al Borges being asked time after time about what he was going to do, to the point that somebody asking him "HEY YOU KNOW YOU HAVE DENARD ROBINSON RIGHT WHY AREN'T YOU USING HIM, MAN?" wouldn't have been ridiculous but a logical, if not entirely derp-filled, jump in the offseason narrative. Of course, Borges made it known that he was planning on using Denard in a way that would take advantage of his talents without revealing his hand too much, but nobody was going to truly believe him until the Wolverines took the field. After the first play, I breathed a sigh of relief (as did many others, I'm sure):
It's like zone left if zone left had a leather interior, seat warmers, and satellite radio. In any case, it was a final, resounding note in the long, frustrating book titled "Is Al Borges An Idiot?" (Foreword by Derp McGee), and in that chapter Al Borges slayed the dragon that is the menace of Denard under center for the rest of time. So, from a philosophical perspective, that's good, and we can stop talking about it. From Coach Hoke himself:
Even considering the missed quarter of Michigan football that we will never get back, Michigan's offensive sample size is small. Only 36 offensive plays makes it difficult to make any sweeping generalizations or extrapolations of what may or may not come to be, especially given the absence of a starter on the offensive line, a fairly vanilla game plan, and the loss of the TOP battle, 25:18 to 18:15. Personally, I'm not a person who gives much attention to TOP; the point of the game of football is to score and score often. Yes, I know, "but the defense"...the defense's job is to get off the field as quickly as possible. While we never ran the offense with nearly the same pace that Oregon does under RR, the pace was quick, and thus the aforementioned became a legitimate concern...now, not so much. I will say that I'd be interested to know how much the time elapsed between snaps differed between Saturday's game and an average RR game. The tradeoff of pace for defensive rest is debatably beneficial but an interesting thing to follow going forward.
From a personnel standpoint, no Barnum (whether to injury or suspension), was a disappointment. I was really looking forward to a starting line of Lewan, Barnum, Molk, Omameh, and Huyge/whoever, but oh well. I'm sure Brian will do the legwork vis a vis Schofield's performance in his offensive UFR later this week, but he seemed to hold his own just fine. Generally, the offensive line looked about as good as you'd expect in this type of game. They were good at the things they were used to doing, less good at the straight up power plays, as expected. It's hard to be unhappy with the running game when Michigan ran for 190 yards on 26 carries in a shortened game and a fourth quarter that was bound to be run-heavy, but the concerns are still there about Michigan's ability to run the power plays that Hoke wants Michigan to run (whether as a part of his philosophical bent or a piece of his grand plan as media puppeteer). Michigan got stuffed more than once, but I guess that's to be expected. Additionally, as Ace noted in his WMU preview, Western did have some serious beef in the middle of their defensive line. As with everything else to be gleaned from this game, it comes with a flashing "this is a work in progress" sign. Michigan's offensive line won't become as big as LSU's or Wisconsin's any time soon, but that's okay for our purposes this season.
The passing game, additionally, merits nothing more than a grade of "incomplete," which, given the result of the game, is fairly apropos. With Denard only attempting 13 passes, we don't have much at all to work with. While it was said that Gallon had passed Odoms on the depth chart, I was skeptical the entire time. I remember reading that the other day and thinking that that wouldn't last, and that it was probably due to Odoms's cast limiting his ability to catch and/or get reps in practice. Is Gallon going to be a permanent fixture going forward? We shall see, but I will say that while I like what Gallon brings to the table (his KO return issues notwithstanding), it would be a shame to see Odoms waste away as a reserve this year after what he's endured the past three years in the form of injuries and the debilitating pall of failure he's had to stoically suffer. I'm sure that Odoms had no such expectations that all of this would fall down upon his head when he decided to come to Michigan all the way from Florida, but I hope that he can make the most of his final year at Michigan.
Otherwise, nobody really had an opportunity to impress. Koger made a nice grab on a ball that Denard forced him to take a hit for, yet another reminder that Koger is the tight end version of Braylon Edwards (which, if it must be spelled out...tough catches=easy, easy catches=tough). Hemingway had the longest play of the day with a 37-yard shot downfield, his only reception of the day. I honestly didn't remember seeing him out there before that point, although I did notice his existence after rewatching the game. I'm not sure if there's anything meaningful to be inferred from this. I picked him to have a pretty big season, so hopefully this is just the result of the rain and a conservative gameplan.
As for the tailbacks, they did well with the carries they were given. Sample size caveat goes here, but the cynic in all of us is applauding the fact that Toussaint and Shaw made it throughan entire game three quarters without sustaining an injury. Shaw ran through gaping holes like he's done before, displaying the elite speed we all know he has. Toussaint's performance was a confirmation of his potential, going for 80 yards on 11 carries, with this beauty the highlight of his day:
Shaw capped the drive two plays later with a gallop of his own for a touchdown. Take the aforementioned two runs out and their YPC don't look nearly as good, but the run game passed the eyeball test well enough. It's Western, and even if the holes were big enough for Will Campbell to run through, plays were made and Denard's legs were saved for a later day when they'd be needed. For our current purposes, that's a win.
The Defense
As a prefatory note, I think that people are right to be excited about what they saw. Michigan started to look better as the game progressed. Guys were looking confused in the first quarter (which I at first thought was just standard defensive tactics i.e., confuse the offense with random spastic movement), but was borne out to be untrue when an out of place Carvin Johnson ran all the way across the field when he realized Courtney Avery was on an island on the other side...an island occupied by two receivers. If there was ever an okay time to make those mistakes, though, it was this past Saturday.
When people said that Greg Mattison would rotate guys in and out liberally, I don't think anybody envisioned the type of participation we saw on Saturday. Guys like Beyer, Ryan, Herron, Brink, Black, Ryan, and yes, Will Campell, all saw significant time in addition to the usual cast of characters (Martin, RVB, Roh, and I guess Heininger). Mike Martin showcased his power and agility on the first play of the game, getting to Carder on a bubble screen after tossing a blocker aside like a rag doll. Other than the fumble recovery, I didn't notice Van Bergen too much (he notched 1 solo tackle, 3 total), which is worrisome but not as worrisome as Craig Roh's complete and total absence. Carder was doing a good job of getting the ball out of his hands fairly quickly (at least early on before Kovacs knocked him into next week), which inevitably mitigates any pass rushing threat. However, like Hemingway, I didn't even really notice him around many plays, and at one point wondered if he was even playing at all. This is something to monitor, but I'm not worried...yet.
The linebackers looked alright, and certainly better than in the recent past. Demens was Demens...he wasn't perfect (he did allow the fullback to lock onto him on the second play of Western's second drive, which lead to a long gain by Drake), but he inspired more confidence than Ezeh ever did. I wish Ezeh well in life, and I'm not one to denigrate Michigan players or coaches who have already left the program, but Demens is clearly an upgrade and our best backer by far. As for the others, there's that Brandon Herron guy. Both of Herron's big plays were class right place at the right time moments, and I don't say that to belittle his accomplishments. In recent years, nobody would have been there to make that play, so Herron's talent level and/or his talent level's responsibility for making the play happen is not at issue here. A play is a play is a play. Simply making them is an improvement, and it's not to see a guy like Herron--who has bounced around all three linebacker positions in a by and large anonymous career--do some things out there. Herron looked lost in coverage more than once, as Carder zipped passed past him as he was still dropping into his zone. MGoBlog user Magnus brings up the valid point that Herron's technique may actually have been taught; that is, he is being instructed to run directly to his spot and only then turn around as opposed to dropping with his head on a swivel. The rationale is that the former gets you to the spot faster, which makes sense; even if you have your head turned and have the quarterback in sight, you can't make the play if you're not there yet. Of course, not everybody teaches it the same way. Maybe somebody who is more familiar with Mattison's coaching can answer this question of whether Herron was just doing what he's been coached to do or not. It would certainly make me feel a lot better to know that Herron wasn't just running around like a chicken with its head cut off as appeared to be the case watching it live.
In the secondary, Avery looked a little vulnerable, unfortunately. As much as this comparison might upset people, Woolfolk reminds me of Morgan Trent: they're both undeniably fast running in a straight line but may not be naturals at the position, and they can also lay the wood from time to time. Hopefully his ankle injury will be cleared up after a week of treatment, because 2010 is evidence enough that he is an irreplaceable piece of this secondary. JT Floyd seemed to do a little better than Avery, but only negligibly so (I still think Avery has more upside). The performance of the safeties was possibly the most encouraging part of the defense. Kovacs had one of his best, if not his best, games as a Wolverine, with some well-timed blitzes leading to Carder's helmet being dislodged, as well as a pass breakup. Thomas Gordon also had a solid effort, coming in with 8 total tackles (1 TFL). I've been a huge proponent of Carvin Johnson's game since the day he committed, but it looks like he was passed up by TG for good reason. The smaller Gordon looked fast and seems like a solid hitter, which we already knew from his brief action last season. Other than Jake Ryan, TG is probably the underclassman I'm most looking forward to watching this season.
Special Teams
This was probably the only facet of Saturday's game in which Michigan was severely deficient. Kickoff coverage was downright bad. With the defense still a work in progress, Michigan cannot afford to let teams start on their own 35 or better. You'd think it would have been better given the symbolic and practical emphasis on special teams (with defensive starters like Woolfolk, Avery, and others participating), but who knows. For the record, I get what Hoke's trying to do by playing those guys on ST, but it still makes me uncomfortable. But, that's why he gets paid the big money and I don't.
Michigan was just about average on returns, with Grady averaging 19.0 per KO return. Wile looked good filling in for Hagerup, booting one for 47 yards. Gibbons had the missed extra point, which is bad. I would have liked to see him get a chance to at least try a field goal so that his first one doesn't have to come in a potentially pressure-packed environment next week against Notre Dame, but oh well. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that. Goodness gracious please don't let it come down to that.
Miscellaneous Minutiae
"There's a comfort level you want him to feel good about," Hoke said. "We blocked it well, and I think he got a first down. I think we were in and out of (a spread look) enough."
I'm surprised that Hoke didn't spontaneously combust upon saying the word "spread."
From a personnel standpoint, no Barnum (whether to injury or suspension), was a disappointment. I was really looking forward to a starting line of Lewan, Barnum, Molk, Omameh, and Huyge/whoever, but oh well. I'm sure Brian will do the legwork vis a vis Schofield's performance in his offensive UFR later this week, but he seemed to hold his own just fine. Generally, the offensive line looked about as good as you'd expect in this type of game. They were good at the things they were used to doing, less good at the straight up power plays, as expected. It's hard to be unhappy with the running game when Michigan ran for 190 yards on 26 carries in a shortened game and a fourth quarter that was bound to be run-heavy, but the concerns are still there about Michigan's ability to run the power plays that Hoke wants Michigan to run (whether as a part of his philosophical bent or a piece of his grand plan as media puppeteer). Michigan got stuffed more than once, but I guess that's to be expected. Additionally, as Ace noted in his WMU preview, Western did have some serious beef in the middle of their defensive line. As with everything else to be gleaned from this game, it comes with a flashing "this is a work in progress" sign. Michigan's offensive line won't become as big as LSU's or Wisconsin's any time soon, but that's okay for our purposes this season.
The passing game, additionally, merits nothing more than a grade of "incomplete," which, given the result of the game, is fairly apropos. With Denard only attempting 13 passes, we don't have much at all to work with. While it was said that Gallon had passed Odoms on the depth chart, I was skeptical the entire time. I remember reading that the other day and thinking that that wouldn't last, and that it was probably due to Odoms's cast limiting his ability to catch and/or get reps in practice. Is Gallon going to be a permanent fixture going forward? We shall see, but I will say that while I like what Gallon brings to the table (his KO return issues notwithstanding), it would be a shame to see Odoms waste away as a reserve this year after what he's endured the past three years in the form of injuries and the debilitating pall of failure he's had to stoically suffer. I'm sure that Odoms had no such expectations that all of this would fall down upon his head when he decided to come to Michigan all the way from Florida, but I hope that he can make the most of his final year at Michigan.
Otherwise, nobody really had an opportunity to impress. Koger made a nice grab on a ball that Denard forced him to take a hit for, yet another reminder that Koger is the tight end version of Braylon Edwards (which, if it must be spelled out...tough catches=easy, easy catches=tough). Hemingway had the longest play of the day with a 37-yard shot downfield, his only reception of the day. I honestly didn't remember seeing him out there before that point, although I did notice his existence after rewatching the game. I'm not sure if there's anything meaningful to be inferred from this. I picked him to have a pretty big season, so hopefully this is just the result of the rain and a conservative gameplan.
As for the tailbacks, they did well with the carries they were given. Sample size caveat goes here, but the cynic in all of us is applauding the fact that Toussaint and Shaw made it through
Shaw capped the drive two plays later with a gallop of his own for a touchdown. Take the aforementioned two runs out and their YPC don't look nearly as good, but the run game passed the eyeball test well enough. It's Western, and even if the holes were big enough for Will Campbell to run through, plays were made and Denard's legs were saved for a later day when they'd be needed. For our current purposes, that's a win.
The Defense
As a prefatory note, I think that people are right to be excited about what they saw. Michigan started to look better as the game progressed. Guys were looking confused in the first quarter (which I at first thought was just standard defensive tactics i.e., confuse the offense with random spastic movement), but was borne out to be untrue when an out of place Carvin Johnson ran all the way across the field when he realized Courtney Avery was on an island on the other side...an island occupied by two receivers. If there was ever an okay time to make those mistakes, though, it was this past Saturday.
When people said that Greg Mattison would rotate guys in and out liberally, I don't think anybody envisioned the type of participation we saw on Saturday. Guys like Beyer, Ryan, Herron, Brink, Black, Ryan, and yes, Will Campell, all saw significant time in addition to the usual cast of characters (Martin, RVB, Roh, and I guess Heininger). Mike Martin showcased his power and agility on the first play of the game, getting to Carder on a bubble screen after tossing a blocker aside like a rag doll. Other than the fumble recovery, I didn't notice Van Bergen too much (he notched 1 solo tackle, 3 total), which is worrisome but not as worrisome as Craig Roh's complete and total absence. Carder was doing a good job of getting the ball out of his hands fairly quickly (at least early on before Kovacs knocked him into next week), which inevitably mitigates any pass rushing threat. However, like Hemingway, I didn't even really notice him around many plays, and at one point wondered if he was even playing at all. This is something to monitor, but I'm not worried...yet.
The linebackers looked alright, and certainly better than in the recent past. Demens was Demens...he wasn't perfect (he did allow the fullback to lock onto him on the second play of Western's second drive, which lead to a long gain by Drake), but he inspired more confidence than Ezeh ever did. I wish Ezeh well in life, and I'm not one to denigrate Michigan players or coaches who have already left the program, but Demens is clearly an upgrade and our best backer by far. As for the others, there's that Brandon Herron guy. Both of Herron's big plays were class right place at the right time moments, and I don't say that to belittle his accomplishments. In recent years, nobody would have been there to make that play, so Herron's talent level and/or his talent level's responsibility for making the play happen is not at issue here. A play is a play is a play. Simply making them is an improvement, and it's not to see a guy like Herron--who has bounced around all three linebacker positions in a by and large anonymous career--do some things out there. Herron looked lost in coverage more than once, as Carder zipped passed past him as he was still dropping into his zone. MGoBlog user Magnus brings up the valid point that Herron's technique may actually have been taught; that is, he is being instructed to run directly to his spot and only then turn around as opposed to dropping with his head on a swivel. The rationale is that the former gets you to the spot faster, which makes sense; even if you have your head turned and have the quarterback in sight, you can't make the play if you're not there yet. Of course, not everybody teaches it the same way. Maybe somebody who is more familiar with Mattison's coaching can answer this question of whether Herron was just doing what he's been coached to do or not. It would certainly make me feel a lot better to know that Herron wasn't just running around like a chicken with its head cut off as appeared to be the case watching it live.
In the secondary, Avery looked a little vulnerable, unfortunately. As much as this comparison might upset people, Woolfolk reminds me of Morgan Trent: they're both undeniably fast running in a straight line but may not be naturals at the position, and they can also lay the wood from time to time. Hopefully his ankle injury will be cleared up after a week of treatment, because 2010 is evidence enough that he is an irreplaceable piece of this secondary. JT Floyd seemed to do a little better than Avery, but only negligibly so (I still think Avery has more upside). The performance of the safeties was possibly the most encouraging part of the defense. Kovacs had one of his best, if not his best, games as a Wolverine, with some well-timed blitzes leading to Carder's helmet being dislodged, as well as a pass breakup. Thomas Gordon also had a solid effort, coming in with 8 total tackles (1 TFL). I've been a huge proponent of Carvin Johnson's game since the day he committed, but it looks like he was passed up by TG for good reason. The smaller Gordon looked fast and seems like a solid hitter, which we already knew from his brief action last season. Other than Jake Ryan, TG is probably the underclassman I'm most looking forward to watching this season.
Special Teams
This was probably the only facet of Saturday's game in which Michigan was severely deficient. Kickoff coverage was downright bad. With the defense still a work in progress, Michigan cannot afford to let teams start on their own 35 or better. You'd think it would have been better given the symbolic and practical emphasis on special teams (with defensive starters like Woolfolk, Avery, and others participating), but who knows. For the record, I get what Hoke's trying to do by playing those guys on ST, but it still makes me uncomfortable. But, that's why he gets paid the big money and I don't.
Michigan was just about average on returns, with Grady averaging 19.0 per KO return. Wile looked good filling in for Hagerup, booting one for 47 yards. Gibbons had the missed extra point, which is bad. I would have liked to see him get a chance to at least try a field goal so that his first one doesn't have to come in a potentially pressure-packed environment next week against Notre Dame, but oh well. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that. Goodness gracious please don't let it come down to that.
Miscellaneous Minutiae
- Be excited about the defense's potential, but remember that Michigan's defense was just as effective against the Broncos out in 2009 (no defensive scores then, though, so there's that). Again, sample size.
- As much as I want to see Denard smiling on national television at the Downtown Athletic Club in NYC, I'd rather see him remain in one piece come bowl season. We'll certainly have to lean on him more as the season progresses, but I really hope that the line and tailbacks continue to progress. I can live with Denard's 8 carries in this one. In an average game, 12-15 designed runs is ideal in my humble opinion.
- How good does Brady Hoke look compared to Brian Kelly after this weekend? Wow. With the omnipresence of ND football, it's hard to see potential ND recruits not being turned off by this type of behavior. Even at RR's most rage-filled moments, he never got nearly that bad.
- At one point in the broadcast they mentioned Gorgeous Al professing to being "out of his comfort" zone for the first time (re: Denard), noting that he recognizes Denard's considerable talents and is excited by the different things Borges will be able to do that he hasn't done before. File this in the now considerably hefty "Borges Knows What He's Doing, Y'all" folder.
- Jake Ryan! I figured him to be Cam Gordon's backup, but he came in with a hand in the
dirtartificial turf. To be honest, he looked like a natural there. Not only does he look bigger than he did in the spring when he made an impressive showing in the spring game (albeit not against the 1's), he looks quick and agile for a guy his size. His ability to get to Carder was one of the most pleasant surprises of the game. - I wonder if that short yardage look Michigan came out in (with the tailback lined up as a fullback on that 4th&1 on the first drive) is a permanent thing and if it says anything about the fullback situation (i.e., McColgan).
- Craig James...still terrible.
- Crowd noise sounded pretty solid (although it's admittedly hard to tell on TV half the time, especially with how shoddy Saturday's broadcast was), and hopefully the Big House crowd can bring that same rain-soaked tenacity into the stadium next Saturday night...yes, night. It's still weird to think about. I'll be in attendance and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of that environment.
- No Hopkins is a bummer. I really hope he can get out of the doghouse, because Shaw and Toussaint as a one-two, Smith as a change-up/pass catcher third down back type and Hopkins as a short yardage bruiser is one well-rounded groups of backs.
- As frustrating as it is, the decision to end the game was the right one, from a safety perspective as well as Alex Carder's (then again, those two probably overlap). This is only underscored by what happened in Morgantown yesterday, where lightning struck the stadium, and at Notre Dame on Saturday where it was seen striking in close proximity to the stadium. Safety first then teamwork.
- Will Campbell dropping in coverage...oddly majestic. The elusive fat guy touchdown from BWC would make me so unbelievably happy. Please make this happen Greg Mattison.
- Dear Mother Nature...chill out.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
What To Watch: Week 1
A pretty self-explanatory concept: I'll run through the Big Ten match-ups each week with a blurb of varying length and a prediction that's doomed to be incredibly wrong. If you're debating whether or not to watch football this weekend or to watch ALL THE FOOTBALL...I suggest the latter, and here's some help. Home teams in bold.
Around the Big Ten
-Michigan-Western Michigan (3:30 ET): I already had my say in my predictions post, but Michigan rolls. Carder is a good quarterback but I seem to remember similar worries in 2009 going into the Western game about Tim Hiller, and we all know how that turned out.
-Georgia-Boise State (Georgia Dome, 8:00 ET): As much hype as Boise State gets in this one...do people not remember the last time these two teams faced off? Sure, last time it was in Sanford Stadium, but this one will be played in Atlanta, making it a de facto home game for UGA. UGA returns 7 starters on a defense that
Around the Big Ten
-Michigan-Western Michigan (3:30 ET): I already had my say in my predictions post, but Michigan rolls. Carder is a good quarterback but I seem to remember similar worries in 2009 going into the Western game about Tim Hiller, and we all know how that turned out.
-Wisconsin-UNLV (Thursday 9/1, 8 ET): The Badgers host UNLV, a team that went 2-11 last year (Wisconsin also played them last year, winning 41-21). This should be a fairly easy win for Wisconsin, and it will be worth watching just to see how Russell Wilson looks as the new signal caller for the Badgers. Montee Ball and James White should rack up enough yards to be able to take most of the second half off.
-Michigan State-Youngstown State (7:30 ET, BTN): Another probable blowout game (if not then the Spartans have issues). Michigan State's issues on the offensive line are well-documented, so if the Spartans struggle in any way to run the ball or generally get wherever they want to on the field then those said issues will linger and intensify as the level of competition goes up.
-Ohio State-Akron (12:00 ET): This will be another blowout, but could be a game where the Buckeyes come out slow, only to finish with a score that is somewhat unimpressive but still a comfortable win. Bauserman has gotten the nod to receive the first snap but Miller figures to be in the mix for some playing time. Obviously Miller has a long way to go (otherwise he'd be the starter right now over a frankly unimpressive player like Bauserman), so it will be interesting to see if the fanbase begins to clamor for Miller if he shows Bauserman up in these first two cupcake games.
 |
| NU senior quarterback Dan Persa |
-Northwestern-Boston College (12:00 ET): Finally, a legitimately interesting matchup...is Dan
Persa healthy? The progress he has made in the rehabilitation of an injured Achilles will determine
how NU's season unfolds. BC is not exactly anything special, but they do return 9 starters on
a pretty good defense (only gave up 18.5 ppg in 2010). BC will be without star tailback Montel Harris for this one, who is out with a knee injury...this combined with a young quarterback who had a pretty terrible 2010 means that NU should have a decent shot to win this one, even if Persa isn't 100%.
-Indiana State-Penn State (12:00 ET, BTN): Like the OSU game, shouldn't be competitive but worth keeping an eye on how the quarterbacks look (i.e., McGloin vs. Bolden).
-Middle Tennessee-Purdue (12:00 ET, BTN): Purdue is not going to be very good this year, but Middle Tennessee was 6-7 last year, and they return a mere 3 starters on defense. While the Boilermakers don't have much at all in terms of offensive firepower, if they're going to produce then this is the game you'd think they'd do it. With Henry out, it's worth keeping an eye on how Marve performs.
-Chattanooga-Nebraska (12:00 ET): Another snoozer. Why are you watching this game? Don't watch this game.
-Minnesota-USC (3:30 ET): This might be worth watching three or four years down the road after a few years of Kill...not right now, though. This isn't the USC of old, but Minnesota is even worse than Purdue. The Gophers kept it sort of close on paper last year (losing 21-32), but by now Barkley should have metamorphosed into the standard laser-tossing USC future first round pick quarterback that people on the West Coast have been waiting to see.
-Illinois-Arkansas State: If you'll remember, Arkansas State was of one two non-conference creampuffs to give an actually pretty good Iowa team a scare in 2009 (Iowa won 24-21)...ASU returns most of a terrible defense, as well as almost all of their primary offensive skill players. Any sort of struggle will reflect extremely poorly on the Illini, particularly on the defensive side of the ball as they attempt to replace Martez Wilson and Corey Liuget.
Iowa-Tennessee Tech (12:00 ET): Another game you shouldn't be watching in even the most dire of circumstances.
-Indiana-Ball State (Lucas Oil Stadium, 7:00 ET): Not sure why this clash of the titans of the state of Indiana is being played in the home of the Colts, but it is. Indiana being Indiana, this could easily be one of the Big Ten's losses this weekend. I will say that I like Kevin Wilson, and I think it would be pretty cool if Indiana at least became semi-competitive.
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| Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III (via SI) |
Around the Country
-TCU-Baylor (8:00 ET): TCU heads to Waco to face a Baylor team that had an okay 2010 (well, pretty good by the standards of the last 10 years or so for them). Baylor returns Robert Griffin III at quarterback, so this could very easily turn out to be the upset of the week if the Horned Frogs aren't careful. TCU is breaking in a new signal caller in Casey Pachall, so we'll see how this one goes.
-UCLA-Houston (3:30 ET): This isn't a game you're going to watch given that it runs at the same time as the Michigan game, but a loss here could be one of the first nails in the coffin for the Neuheisel era at UCLA. Houston has returned quarterback Case Keenum for one more year after he was knocked out for the year with an ACL injury in the third game against UCLA.
-Georgia-Boise State (Georgia Dome, 8:00 ET): As much hype as Boise State gets in this one...do people not remember the last time these two teams faced off? Sure, last time it was in Sanford Stadium, but this one will be played in Atlanta, making it a de facto home game for UGA. UGA returns 7 starters on a defense that
gave up 22 ppg last year, and they add talented freshman tailback Isaiah Crowell to the mix
on offense; while I'm not sure that he'll have the impact that Lattimore had for South Carolina last year, he will be a good one and he'll get the chance to prove it early. Aaron Murray is another player that I really like, and he should continue to develop (barring a Henne-esque sophomore slump) even without AJ Green. UGA wins this one with the Georgia Dome crowd behind them and a balanced offensive attack, while also doing enough to stop the run and force Kellen Moore into some mistakes. And thus will end the talk of Boise State's national title hopes in 2011.
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| UGA sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray (via Georgia Sports Blog) |
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