Sweet Homecoming

Best adjective for Al Borges's physique...lumpy? Wave field-esque? Buxom?
(HT: Mike DeSimone)

Michigan 36, Purdue 14

Michigan has seven wins in hand having played two less games than they did at the seven win mark last season (coincidentally, both wins against Purdue). At this point, Michigan is grabbing wins like items at an Old Country Buffet; these things might not be of high quality, but this is America and MORE is better than anything else. Yes, I am comparing the quality of Big Ten competition to the lukewarm comestibles of a buffet chain. 

There's not much to say other than that this one was vaguely reminiscent of conference blowouts of old. Despite beating Illinois (which, at this point, might not even have been an "upset") last weekend in the friendly confines of Ross-Ade, I didn't have that sinking feeling about this game that I had before Northwestern. Michigan is a decidedly better team than Purdue and Saturday bore that out from start to finish, a small blip at the onset notwithstanding. It was a cool and comfortable victory, and maybe this is more a commentary on the state of football at Purdue but the entire thing felt like it occupied a level of hype just a touch above that of your average non-conference game. If you looked at the relative emptiness of the student section at any point, you would've almost imagined that maybe Eastern Michigan or Delaware State was standing on the sidelines across the way. 

But, even things like that can't really bother you when Michigan is 7-1 and additional wins are not exactly difficult to rationally assimilate into your worldview. Despite not being "home" for Homecoming, what I saw on TV this past Saturday left me in a decidedly familiar and comfortable place. 

The Offense

After an abysmal showing in East Lansing, the offense came to play this weekend at home. Michigan put up a healthy 36 points but if things had ever gotten serious they easily could've put up more. A lot of people should come in for praise this weekend: Denard, Borges, Toussaint, the offensive line. Denard looked sharp throwing the ball on a number of intermediate routes, even zinging a few that would be considered nice tosses for a true pro-style guy (e.g., the the 10-yard completion to Hemingway on the first drive). This is encouraging. While I don't think that the MSU game was necessarily an outlier, Denard can throw the ball adequately once he builds up some confidence early in games. He has the arm, and anybody who says otherwise is clueless. Backed up near our own goal line to start the second quarter, Denard launched one that wasn't quite Vick-esque (in that Vick probably wouldn't have had Roundtree pull up much at all) but was still supremely impressive because he felt the Purdue lineman and stepped back into a nice pocket where he set his feet and threw. This might be expected or an ordinary series of events for most quarterbacks, but for Denard it was an encouraging development. 

Otherwise, the one interception from Denard was what it was. If Denard can limit himself to one turnover a game then I think most people would be pretty happy. Devin's pick looked like a case of miscommunication, and I guess you can afford to take these kinds of things when you're blowing out Purdue. 

Other than Denard's solid bounceback performance, the running game was obviously superb and the number one thing to feel good about. Here's a kind of terrifying statistic: Fitz's 20 carries made him the first non-Denard back to get 20+ carries in a game since Carlos Brown in 2009 against Illinois (yes, that game). That is truly unbelievable (it really shouldn't be given the dependence on Denard in the running game, but for some reason it's still really surprising). Now, Fitz probably won't find that much room against Nebraska and Ohio State (and probably not even Iowa or Illinois), but it was nice to see someone other than Denard carrying the load. This is how it should be. Denard carried 15 times (for 63 yards), which is more than I thought he did but isn't exactly horrible. The failure on 4th and goal was probably the only thing you can complain about re: the ground game...as money as that play is, it was bound to get stopped eventually (especially with our relatively small line). 

Having watched a lot of Auburn in the Malzahn Era, I've always sort of been jealous of a running game that is creative in the ways it sets plays up, from pre-snap motion to who is carrying to the ball to ways of delivering the ball to the ball carrier. While we haven't quite gotten to that level of creativity yet, we're getting there. The dual-QB formation is starting to figure itself out. I think that Denard is still good for an effective jet sweep about once or twice a game, but I think it's clear that Borges will make his money by playing off of Denard in that set-up. It did of course help that Purdue is just not that good, but either way I'd have to say that this was probably my favorite game thus far from a play-calling perspective. Then again, everything looks nice when it works.

After the game Purdue LB Joe Holland said (emphasis mine):

They ran a couple of things that we hadn't seen them run all year and they had two weeks to prepare an offensive game plan.

Well, isn't that nice. So is this:

Purdue's backers completely overrun this but Fitz exploits this like a good back should; when you force relatively untalented players to defend in space, this is what happens. This wrinkle has the potential to do, well...what it did. After giving it to Denard on the jet once or twice, Fitz will have acres of green to work with on the other side. Obviously this won't always go for a TD, but it's just another example of many "smoke and mirrors" type plays that we will need to get the running game going in the absence of the ability to run traditional power plays (other than Denard Power).

The Defense 

After hearing rumors of a knee injury to the Bringer of Light/Competency that is Jordan Kovacs (and then confirmation of said rumors), I was a little worried that Michigan would immediately revert to the sieve-like state it had held since time immemorial. After that initial Purdue touchdown, I'm sure every Michigan fan was all: 

NO KOVACS AND NO COMPETENT SAFETY PLAY MAKE MICHIGAN FAN GO CRAZY. 

After that, things calmed down and Michigan finished with another solid performance, relinquishing the aforementioned 7 points and then another TD in garbage time when dudes like Beyer and Clark were on the field. Purdue couldn't do much on the ground, rushing for a mere 89 yards on 29 attempts (3.1 YPC) and passed for 222 yards on 27 attempts, with 48 yards coming on the aforementioned breakdown and 48 more coming in the last drive with under two minutes to go. So, while Michigan is obviously no Alabama or LSU, I think we can safely say that we have a good defense. Every time I think about some of the things that might be wrong with this defense, I think of last year in Bloomington, where I was present as we made Ben Chappell look like Peyton Manning. It's a pretty easy transition from the aforementioned to "man, Greg Mattison is the smartest person of all time next to Greg Robinson" given the results thus far. We'll see how Mattison does without Martin and RVB next year, but that's a worry for another day. 

Mike Martin was his usual Hulk self, consistently blowing up double teams and notching two sacks along the way. The lack of a consistent space-clogging nose to free him up will continue to be frustrating, but Martin should still be able to make hay against the remaining lines on the schedule. Countess continues to be the precocious freshman that he is (although not without mistakes), and Woolfolk's return to safety was not completely disastrous. Hoke saying that he would like Troy to be more physical at times is pretty valid and not just Hokespeak. On the long TD, both Countess and Woolfolk allowed themselves to get slowed down by pathetic, flailing blocks (Countess by the slot and Woolfolk by a clumsy OL), giving Bush the chance to turn what should've been maybe a 10-15 yard gain at most into a long touchdown. Given the nature of the play itself, I can't decide whether to be more or less upset than I am (which is not that upset anyway, FWIW);  it was a screen that is ostensibly pretty easy to diagnose from Woolfolk's position on the field. Okay, so Countess gets sort of slowed up and then whiffs at the ball carrier's feet. It's a mistake but I can live with that so long as the help shows up as it should. Unfortunately, Woolfolk is very un-physical here, as the big guy blocking him does the standard big guy blocking a small guy act (also known as "engage for about a second and then do a Lunogoesque flop") but still manages to slow Troy enough. Another unfortunate aspect of the play is the fact that Floyd isn't quite able to track Bush down from the backside despite seeming to have the angle for a second. I guess that's just something we'll have to live with with him on the field (otherwise he's been about as good as you can expect him to be). 

Special Teams 

So, special teams were kind of good in general this week, in perhaps one of the best all-around performances of the season. First of all, though...Gibbons? 

Gibbons was 2/2 on the day, knocking in 22 and 37-yarders. I still admittedly don't have enormous confidence in him making a field goal in a tight situation on the road but you could probably say that about 80% of college kickers anyway. Elsewhere, Hagerup had a quiet but solid day, booting two for an average of 40.5 (and a long of 49). 


However, the kick return game was probably the most notable development in this phase, with Odoms returning three for a total of 81 yards, including a long of 33 that was very close to getting broken for much more. I'm not sure if  we'll see this type of production consistently but you've got to think that we'll break a meaningful return at some point this season, and what better time to do it than now as we enter the stretch run. 


Speaking of Odoms on returns against Purdue, doesn't that TD in 2008 feel like it happened ages ago? Time flies. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae 

• I don't think Shaw is anything more than a niche player at this point but he was surprisingly effective this week. With Devin at quarterback and Shaw, Denard, and even Gallon all being threats to carry the ball at any given time, I'd have to think this forces teams to be overly edge-conscious, maybe leaving things open for an attack of the middle? Either way, 5 for 56 yards and a TD is not bad for your #3 ball carrier in a given game. 
• Again, Michigan stifled the opposing offense on third down: Purdue converted a paltry 3/13 on third down. This puts Michigan barely in the top 40 at #39 in third down prevention percentage (36.21%), putting us a couple of spots behind Notre Dame, six behind PSU, and 21 behind MSU (Illinois and Ohio State are also in the top 25 in this department). This is easily the most endearing quantifiable aspect of the defensive turnaround (other than points allowed, obviously). It's hard not to be excited given that we're doing all of this without great depth or even talent at most positions. 
• Toussaint...Hart with speed? HART WITH SPEED. But seriously, Toussaint is the #1 guy despite Hoke's non-commital Hokespeak on the matter. 
• Lewan has been: 1) WWE-style arm-barred 2) punched in the face and 3) dinged up in general as a result of the last two games, yet he keeps coming back for more. I think it's fair to say that Lewan is playing with mansome TOUGHNESS. 
• I just have to, but man...really guy who is in charge of playing piped-in music? At the risk of sounding all ND Nationy, but Seven Nation Army does not need to be played a million times a game. The more indistinguishable the Michigan gameday experience gets vis a vis your average college venue, the sadder I get. I'm not against piped-in music at all (other than certain songs which are terrible coughSweetCarolinecough) but there has to be a certain aspect of moderation to the whole thing. This is of course not even mentioning the fact that it seems like literally everybody else in the conference does it now (I mean, even the Lions did it fergodsakes). 
• Mike Martin notched Michigan's first safety since the 2003 Houston game...good times. The only thing I really remember about that game is that we destroyed them and the students chanted "Houston's better" after the annihilation of ND the next week. 
• Michigan's been pretty lucky thus far re: the injury bug, but with Kovacs looking like he's out for at least one more and both Barnum and Lewan looking like they're at least definitely not 100%, Michigan will have to dip into the shallow talent pool for reinforcements. Michigan should be okay without Barnum if necessary (Schofield seems to have been about as good) but Lewan would be an irreplaceable loss. 

People In America Excited About A Book, 10/25/2011

I'd like to do some more generic daily news/links type posts from this point forward--like I did occasionally over the summer--but I never had a uniform name for them, like MGoBlog's Unverified Voracity or EDSBS's Curious Index...eventually I'll think of a somewhat witty name for this thing that nobody will read (the old school Conan-esque self-deprecation is strong here, y'all). I haven't really been able to keep up with the schedule I outlined before the season started but the weekly game recap, rankings opinions, and Friday feature are still there, so I'm looking to fill out the middle part of the week with something. So, here goes.

Three and Out: As everybody is aware, John Bacon's "Three and Out" is officially out there for the hoi polloi, and AnnArbor.com states the obvious in noting that Bacon probably isn't winning him some friends with this one:

John Bacon didn't make any new friends and might've lost some old ones with his book, "Three and Out," that looks at the Rich Rodriguez era in Michigan football.

"The main figures have made their displeasure with the book and author clear," Bacon said.

I won't be getting my copy until probably early next week, but coverage of the book thus far has already been pretty extensive, a fact that should lessen the brunt of some of the book's more surprising revelations. I'm looking forward to reading it (and not looking forward to it at the same time), but once I get through it I plan on posting a general review here (as will everybody else, I'm sure). As a general preface, I will say that anybody who plans on reading it should stray away from making ridiculous black and white assertions about any of the key figures described in the book, but that should be common sense. People are often more complex figures than anyone can imagine, and I'm sure this book will be a testament to that. 

At the same time, as a 22 year-old who grew up with Michigan football under Lloyd Carr (and as a freshman at Michigan in 2007 who saw Lloyd's final season unfold), it will be hard not to come away a little bit disillusioned...but, you probably already know that if you're reading this. 

Even Spencer Hall of EDSBS fame is weighing in on the book that is raining cash on Bacon like Seth Poege passes over Oklahoma's hapless secondary:

The other prevailing impressions from the book thus far: Bill Stewart keeping Casteel was disastrous and like the most Bill Stewart thing to do ever, the coach at West Virginia faces some of the weirdest political currents ever, and Denard Robinson fucking rules.

The New Guys: Going back to the same source, Kyle Meinke talks about the bye week with respect to several freshmen expected to see increased roles going forward, namely Frank Clark, Brennen Beyer, Thomas Rawls, Blake Countess, and Raymon Taylor. We've already seen all five of them to some extent, with Countess obviously receiving the most playing time, often looking like Michigan's best corner as a freshman. 

Perhaps most newsworthy is the fact that Jake Ryan has officially supplanted Cam Gordon as the starter on the strong side. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this, but it is what it is. Gordon got in on special teams against State but didn't do anything else, so maybe Hoke and Mattison believe that it's just too late to expect him to jump back in and be the guy he was supposed to be. It's unfortunate, really...as much as I've lamented the disappearance of Martavious Odoms after his offseason injury issues, Cam's demotion is equally sad. 


Either way, I hope that Gordon will get some time going forward. While Ryan has been pretty good for a freshman, he's been an outright liability at times; that is to be expected, of course, but that doesn't mean that Cam can't potentially work his way back in in time. As the coaches seem to understand, this is the perfect time to work some of these guys in, as these week should hopefully serve as a sort of tryout for a lot of these guys. 

Other than that, Taylor is a guy who intrigues me athletically. He saw some time as the nickel earlier on in the season, and while I don't think he should get tons of time, his above average speed leads me to believe that he could be useful as a Brandon Harrison-type blitz monger. As for Rawls...shoot, it can't hurt to try him? Either way, we can't run the ball as few times as we did against State and expect Toussaint and Smith to get going. I expect us to come out and run the ball a lot in this game...if we can't do it successfully then we are in major trouble. How the line accounts for Kawann Short will be a major factor in getting this done. 

Optimism Abounds: WolverineNation collects the opinions of the various Michigan folks on why "this time it's different." So, that's nice. Former MGoBlog recruting guru TomVH says that Michigan is "doing very well in California," which hopefully means that a Payton commitment is forthcoming. I'm not a recruiting expert by any means so I don't really know what to make of the delay in his announcement after visiting South Bend this past weekend, but for now it seems that our chances are just as good as anybody else's. Either way, Michigan going back to the old recruiting formula of recruiting Michigan and Ohio (and Pennsylvania), and pulling skill guys from California is hard to argue against, as exciting as the brief Florida connection was. 

Redemption Song: Yeah yeah we only talk about guys that play for Michigan (is that still something we say?), but it's nice to see former recruit Demar Dorsey hopefully getting back to Division I ball. It's easy to be a cynic these days, and while he will never play for Michigan I hope that he continues to turn his life around. You can say that his academics weren't up to par and that he shouldn't have been recruited in the first place (that's a different issue entirely), but you can't fault him for trying when so many others like him have entered the somewhat ignominious structure of JUCO-level ball only to never resurface. 

Submitted Without Comment:

More? Big 12 "voices desire" for Mizzou to stay put, also translated to "PLEASE DON'T GO." Some not good news for OSU tailback Jaamal Berry...probably won't have much of an on-the-field impact but there it is. Ramzy of ElevenWarriors touches on the upcoming "Oversigning Bowl"...as great as the game will be, it's a  shame that this undercurrent has to exist.Can't wait for the game against NFC South contender Alabama next year! Oregon looking like it will continue without the services of Cliff Harris...somehow I think they'll be alright. Also, this is a thing. 

HTR's Top 25: Week 9

The bye week came and went, but the world didn't stop while the Wolverines licked their wounds and prepared for Purdue. In addition to the national implications of a Wisconsin defeat, the Spartans coming through against a game conference foe for the second week in a row makes it that much more difficult for the Wolverines to win the division. I can't say that I'm really disappointed given that I never expected to win the division in the first place, but after Michigan started 6-0 and the Spartans, Huskers, and Hawkeyes all looked extremely vulnerable and/or incompetent at various points in that stretch, a division title didn't seem like a ridiculous notion to entertain. Sadly, I don't think we really have much of a shot unless the Spartans completely collapse because I don't think we win out and I don't think they lose more than one game the rest of the way. However, the Spartan genome has that potentially fatal Clemson gene in it, so anything can happen.

Zooming out a bit, Stanford, LSU, and Alabama all did what they tend to do (although Alabama did sort of struggle for a while against the Vols before eventually blowing things open), and Oklahoma State continues to be the no-loss version of Oklahoma. Also, insert the weekly "Clemson still hasn't lost yet" disbelief here. Not only did they not lose, they crushed the Tar Heels. After UNC returned a kickoff for a TD to narrow the deficit to 14, I changed the channel for a while and checked back later to find the score "Clemson 59, UNC 24" on my television. I'm still on "inexplicable Clemson loss" watch, but man...it looks like they're actually pretty good. They're not LSU or Bama good (and maybe not even Oklahoma State or Stanford good), but either way this is a huge step up for that program. As for Oklahoma...the following hasn't been this apropos since maybe the OU-USC BCS title game:

The weekend started with a viewing of the derpfest that was the WVU-Syracuse on Friday night and ended with me laughing at the hilariously Hawaiian announcers of the Hawaii-NMSU game as I tried to ride out the "oh my God did that just happen" waves from the Oklahoma-Texas Tech and Wisconsin-MSU games...so it's safe to say that I'm ready for Michigan to be back on the field this week. 

Rank	Team
1	LSU
2	Alabama
3	Oklahoma State
4	Clemson
5	Stanford
6	Boise State
7	Oregon
8	Kansas State
9	Arkansas
10	Michigan State
11	Oklahoma
12	Wisconsin
13	Virginia Tech
14	Nebraska
15	Texas A&M
16	Michigan
17	South Carolina
18	USC
19	Texas Tech
20	Houston
21	Penn State
22	Georgia
23	Arizona State
24	Cincinnati
25	West Virginia

• Oklahoma and Wisconsin both took an enormous hit this past weekend, with the former easily suffering the more inexplicable loss. Oklahoma hadn't lost a conference home game since the Les Miles era in Stillwater. That's ridiculous. We all knew that OU had a somewhat shaky defense, but Texas Tech's generic spread quarterback guy (this time it's Seth Poege) absolutely eviscerated an OU defense that definitely has more than enough talent to at least be adequate. Seriously, Oklahoma...you just lost to Tommy Tuberville, a man who, while at Auburn, viewed each halfback dive and each field goal as a small incremental step toward the attainment of nirvana. You gave up eleventy billion points to TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Oklahoma. As for Wisconsin, there's not much to say...they played about as poor of a game as they could have, with a blocked field goal and blocked punt right before the end of the first half resulting in a Spartan TD. Russell Wilson looked very average for most of the game until the final two touchdown drives; obviously Wisconsin will not be in the BCS title game picture. It's easy to criticize in hindsight, but Bielema's timeout at the end was about as Zookian as it gets. Despite it all, Wisconsin will probably still win that division, and a rematch against the Spartans in Indy is looking pretty likely. 

• Illinois and Notre Dame, put your hands down. I asked for good teams to raise their hands. You are not good teams. Michigan needs to win in Champaign, period (and, for the record, that loss says more about Illinois than it does Purdue, IMO...after all, Purdue did lose to Rice and barely beat MTSU). As for ND, I just don't know what to say. I was flipping between a number of games and ND-USC was about third string or so, but there's really no excuse for them to lose that game to the most meh then 5-1 team ever. So yeah, our only win of note is pretty much worth nothing. 

• I don't know why, but I'm really enjoying Kansas State being good...it endows the top 25 with a retro 90s-ish feel, a much happier time in college football as far as I'm concerned. Sure, Snyder's OOC scheduling is pathetic and basically assures 4 wins regardless, but KSU has a nice little throwback thing going for them this year. I'm not sure that they beat OU this week but hey, people have said that about OU-KSU matchups before haven't they, Jason White?

• Going back to the WVU-Syracuse game: a) I don't know why I watched it and b) seriously? As bad as the Big Ten is, the Big East is at least ten times worse. I figured that WVU was executing their usual "play horribly in the first half then dominate in the second READY BREAK" plan but they completely forgot to do the second part. Don't tell me that Syracuse is good because they are not by any objective standard. Nassib is a decent pro-style quarterback who'll probably get drafted in the 5th round or something, but come on Holgo. Get it together. 

• Penn State had a veritable offensive explosion in Evanston this past Saturday, dropping 34 on a scrappy/gritty/other backhanded compliment Wildcats team. Are they a threat to Wisconsin in the division? I'd still say no, but PSU has done well to be where they are at this point. That early loss to the Crimson Tide doesn't look so bad anymore (on the other hand, it's starting to look like a pretty good win for Alabama). 

• The Spartans are in my top 10...for now. Views on Dantonio aside, this is a pretty good football team, even if opinions of Wisconsin's quality were clearly over-inflated by weak competition. They've got a huge game on the road at Nebraska this week...if they win that one I'd have to think that winning out is probable, although you can never completely dismiss the chance of them derping away a road game Iowa or Northwestern. 
• Last but not least, the quasi national championship game that is LSU-Alabama is almost upon us, but both LSU and Bama have a bye this week so we'll have to wait just one more week for the game of the year. This game is going to be epic. Having experienced college football culture in the state of Alabama, I know that Bryant-Denny will be rocking for this 8 PM start. I think I'm going to start doing a weekly predictions post again just to have something to put up later in the week, but for now I'll just say that I'm sort of puzzled by the fact that it seems most people think LSU will without a doubt win this game. Needless to say, I'm not so sure that that is the case. 

The Great (Non-) Debate: Denard vs. Devin

(HT: Eric Upchurch/Ann Arbor Observer)

We're seven games in, ranked, and sitting pretty with a 6-1 record. Yet, it wouldn't seem that way after a frustrating loss in East Lansing. Visions of a 10+ win season seemed to become a very real possibility, but those visions were swept away in a maelstrom of trash, timed snaps, and a curious 4th down call. Other than Appalachian State, I can't remember a loss that depressed expectations so significantly and so quickly as much as the game this past weekend. But, at the end of the day, it was just one game, and a good season can still be had, and, to quote Denard, a division title is "out there." The hard part is finding it after any sense of offensive identity, competence, and faith in our leadership were pulverized, the remainder spread about like the ashes of a once formidable offense. 

It's the bye week, and while it's hard to ditch the feeling that maybe it would have served us better if it were the week before the State game, I think it's good to be able to step back and take a look at what we did wrong, use Purdue as a confidence-building game (I hope?). Although I'm firmly in the "it was just one loss, calm down guys" group, that loss revealed a lot of things about the offense's inadequacies, from personnel to--David Letterman collar tug goes here--offensive coaching. Like Brian said, it was definitely a "faith shaking" Saturday, but all is not lost. How Borges reacts to the Denard-Devin dynamic will be the difference between seven wins and ten. 

Let's just get this out of the way...for those who think that Denard should be benched or permanently turned into some sort of Percy Harvin utility player:

Get out of here Toby Flenderson crazy Michigan fan. Yes, it's the bye week...what else is there to talk about right now but this?

Let's get the obvious stuff accounted for first. Not only did Devin just look like a guy who shouldn't be playing right now, from the fumbled snap to the touchdown pass launched from three yards past the line of scrimmage, to the 4th and forever in which he scrambled forever, crossed the LOS, and eventually circled back with what looked like an intention to throw the ball. If I wasn't drinking a cocktail fashioned from the always zesty ingredients of depression, frustration, and anger at the time, I probably would've laughed. 

Of course, the argument for Devin is that he's got a stronger, more accurate arm and just generally looks the part of what Michigan quarterbacks once were and ostensibly will be once Denard graduates. Unfortunately, he wasn't really appreciably better than Denard in the passing department (certainly not in a manner that would make Hoke unseat Denard because of Devin's aforementioned strengths). He missed painfully open receivers--guys so open hand-wavingly open that they could have been castaways waving at a rescue plane up above--and wasn't exactly accurate, in addition to the aforementioned Yakety Sax shenanigans. He went 3/7, and while his deployment seemed to be derived from the name of an esteemed California burger chain, he just did not look like a guy who should be starting, especially if you consider the fact that there isn't really a threat to run the ball much at all with him in the game. He can move but you're not basing a ground game on his ability to run. 

To be clear, this obviously wasn't Denard's first poor performance of the year through the air, so it's not like this was "just one game" in that respect. However, it should be made clear that Denard has the same amount of experience in the current system as Devin does. I'm not making excuses for Denard, but yeah...I kind of am. Was Denard bad against Michigan State (without taking into account that MSU's defense is pretty good)? Yes, period. However, the wind and an offensive gameplan that called for 24 passes and 30 rushes with Denard in the game--with some of these so-called rushes actually being scrambles--should assuage some fears while concurrently magnifying them. That is, Denard's poor performance can be explained away partly by a poor gameplan, but...there was a poor gameplan. 

Michigan's opening touchdown drive? Eight rushes, two passes. You might say that the Smith run and Denard's TD required defensive miscues (i.e., missed tackles in the backfield) to happen, but when you test a defense on the ground like that the opportunity for breakthroughs like that increases, especially against a defense that was the most aggressive one we'd seen since the Gator Bowl in which Manny Diaz blitzed us into oblivion. 

Yes, I understand that State was blitzing from every spot on the field and that they didn't respect the pass in a manner that would've/should've been pretty reckless if Denard could have completed a few more passes. I did hate on the good ol' "Vincent Smith up the gut" play in the game recap but it was an unfair criticism given that our tailbacks only carried the ball ten times. That's just ridiculous. We completely bailed on the run like it was 2003 and we were playing in Autzen Stadium. This was completely indefensible given that there was really no point in the game in which we were completely out of it until the pick 6; it rings somewhat hollow after last Saturday, but with Denard Robinson a two-score deficit is never insurmountable. In short, Borges didn't really put us in a position to win. 

Yes, it's hard to run against stacked fronts and a myriad of blitzes, but it's been done before with a blend of talent, persistence, and ingenuity. It's on Borges to: a) stick with the run considering that it was effective and made sense given the wind and b) smoke and mirror our way down the field in the absence of a power game if necessary. I would have loved to see some more misdirection and/or general attacking of the edges (whether via the speed option or the always reliable Denard power play), but I don't want this to devolve into a critique of Borges, per se. Just like Denard, he's still learning. This bye week is arguably just as important to him as it is the players, if not more so. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, what do we do? We will face some tough defenses the rest of the way, although none probably as good as State's. Purdue shouldn't pose too much of a threat on defense, and neither should Iowa, who has been fairly bad on that side of the ball. However, Illinois, Nebraska, and Ohio State all have talent in their front sevens, and will be sure to deploy a strategy similar to what Michigan State used (and Mississippi State as well, going back to the bowl game). Some general scattered thoughts on QB usage: 

• As a general rule, Denard should be on the field at all times unless he is hurt. This of course includes situations in which Devin is on the field. Borges can really earn his money if he is able to put Devin at quarterback and use Denard in a creative way other than a jet sweep. I have no idea what his hands are like, but I can't imagine that he can't catch a bubble screen. Perhaps use Denard as an actual wideout or motion him into the backfield as a traditional back? The possibilities are innumerable. 

• I think most people abhor the two-QB system, and for good reason. Other than Leak-Tebow (I guess 2007 LSU with Flynn and Perrilloux if you're feeling generous), when has it ever worked? However, while I think that Denard is the unquestioned starter...Devin should get some significant playing time. This is of course where it gets tricky. Do you put him in on passing downs and then take him out like we did against State? I think the answer is plainly "no." There are a great many sports concepts that I don't really care for--namely the effect of "momentum" on a game--but there's something to be said for rhythm. The way Devin was used was not conducive to the development of any sort of rhythm; he is definitely a more accurate passer than Denard (even Hoke explicitly hinted as much in the post-game presser) but it didn't show on Saturday for a number of reasons, the prime one being that he wasn't given a chance to really get going. Putting a percentage on it is meaningless, but if I had to I'd say we should give Devin 20-25% of the snaps at quarterback (again, with Denard also on the field as well for those snaps) against Purdue. 

• Which brings me to the next point...how exactly do you use him? Hopefully the Purdue game will serve as one big successful chemistry experiment for Borges, but I think you've got to get Devin in for more than a play or two at a time at minimum. I'll say it without beating around the bush: Devin should be allowed to lead a full drive or two against Purdue in non-garbage time (of course, with Denard on the field). Just like Henson and Brady, it's not ideal but the current setup of the entire offensive operation is not ideal. At this point, I have to refer to the excellent connection that Braves & Birds made between Borges vis-a-vis the spread and Breaking Bad. Unless Denard receives a visit from the forces of Nature that endowed Dan Marino, John Elway, and Joe Montana with the ability to throw the football, this offense will effectively have to be split into two distinct iterations. One will feature Denard--everything being business as usual--and the other will utilize both Denard and Devin as we've seen already. 
• People need to remember that Denard is still learning the new system and that he's really not that experienced anyway. It's not like he's a grizzled veteran like Chad Henne circa 2007. He will likely never have pinpoint accuracy he will learn to make better reads, and hitting open guys will come as he builds upon his body of work. Eventually, you'd hope that certain ,mechanics become committed to muscle memory. I'm not ready to give up on his ability to quarterback this team after one loss. 

• The first thing we can do to help Denard is RUN THE BALL. I laughed at Brian's point in this week's podcast that it felt strange, as a Michigan fan, to have to think or yell this sentiment, given that it was almost always the opposite in the Carr years. Also, I would like to see Toussaint get more carries than Smith, as he is the better back without accounting for blocking or catching the ball. 
• Speaking of the tailbacks, but...maybe it's time to give Hopkins one more chance? Maybe? I know that early returns with him have been pretty bad, but a power back for even a mere 4-6 carries a game would be pretty useful and a nice change of pace from our other backs (Denard, Toussaint, Smith, Shaw), all of whom are very definitively finesse players. I doubt he [Hopkins] gets it but if there's a time to give him that chance it's against Purdue. 
• Continuing with the ground game theme--we need to run Denard. Naturally, we all started out the season saying AHH STOP RUNNING HIM SO MUCH and shifted to RUN HIM MORE in the span of one unfortunate game. The same could also be true for Devin; while he obviously isn't Denard, he can do some things on designed runs, and we will take production on the ground anywhere we can get it. 

• Eventually, though, things will come down to whether or not Denard can complete the passes that any quarterback should. Nobody is expecting him to zing 20-yard outs like Chad Henne or throw a deep ball like John Navarre, but there are some plays that are reasonable for him to make that he isn't making. Maybe the freshness of the MSU game is affecting my memory of the degree of this inaccuracy, but he can't keep wildly overshooting open guys and expect to find any room when he tries to make something happen with his legs. Ultimately, whether or not Denard can complete these passes will be the difference between an offense that moves the ball with regularity against the remainder of the schedule and one that doesn't. In fact, it's hard to argue against this being the single most important facet of this team going forward. 

HTR's Top 25: Week 8

Michigan heads into a much-needed bye week, hoping to get healthy and come out strong against Purdue and the rest of the schedule, which doesn't get easier. Thankfully, our next opponent is this aforementioned "Purdue," one team is coached by a man who tends not to know the score or game strategy in general, and two of the remaining three cannot throw the ball at all. Iowa is Iowa, which is to say they are insanely good at choreographing ridiculous things.

As for the rest of college football, nothing really changed. The top 10 remained the same and the 11-25 range continued to resemble a game of musical chairs. LSU and Alabama continue to look like the best two teams in college football, boasting pseudo-NFL defenses and offenses that don't have time for subtlety or finesse. Somewhere, an Ole Miss defender is still recovering from the shock that was the Trent Richardson Experience.

Also, Clemson still hasn't lost yet. Nothing makes sense.

Rank	Team
1	LSU
2	Alabama
3	Oklahoma
4	Wisconsin
5	Oklahoma State
6	Clemson
7	Boise State
8	Stanford
9	Oregon
10	Arkansas
11	Kansas State
12	Virginia Tech
13	West Virginia
14	Nebraska
15	Michigan State
16	Texas A&M
17	Gerogia Tech
18	Michigan
19	South Carolina
20	Notre Dame
21	Washington
22	Penn State
23	Georgia
24	Houston
25	Illinois

•  Don't look now, but Georgia is slowly dusting itself off after getting knocked down twice early on. In fact, Georgia could very easily finish 10-2, with home dates against Florida and Auburn--two teams which couldn't be more mediocre--and two cupcakes in Kentucky and New Mexico State, with a road test against the nerds of Tech coming at the end. Careful Georgia, finishing the season strong comes with the reward of playing either LSU or Alabama in the SEC title game. 
• Okay Houston, fine...you're in. 
• South Carolina is in a whole mess of trouble. No Lattimore the rest of the way after having just dismissed a longtime (albeit generally terrible) starting quarterback does not bode well at all for Spurrier's offense. Just like I could see Georgia going on a tear the rest of the way, the Gamecocks seem to be poised to enter a derptastic tailspin. Back to back road tests against UT and Arkansas, followed by Florida, the Citadel, and Clemson at home...with Florida's offense being what it is, I think a 3-2 finish is definitely possible. At the same time, 1-4 is something that I could also see happening. 
• The Spartans get the pleasure of facing the Badgers this week after an emotional victory against our Wolverines. I would be very surprised if MSU kept it close, and that's not a slight at MSU. The Badgers are about as terrifying a team to play as an outside of LSU or Alabama. But, for now, the Spartans have earned their ranking after a tough loss early on at Notre Dame. 
• Kansas State being anywhere near the top 10 should be a pretty solid indicator of how mediocre college football is right now. Outside of a pretty outstanding top 3 (plus several other very good teams), the top 25 is littered with teams that either haven't beaten anybody of consequence or are severely flawed. 
• Ohio State isn't in this here rankings yet, but for those that don't know, the Buckeyes beat the Illini this past Saturday while only completing one pass (on four attempts). One! I don't even know whether to laugh or be impressed. Although the Illini seem to be: a) not that good and b) still coached by Ron Zook, the Buckeyes came away with a nice road win after a pretty rough first six games. Despite the Buckeyes' inability to pass, we should all remember what we said about Michigan State's offensive line. Just because somebody can't do something against other teams (i.e., pass, run block) doesn't mean they won't be able to against Michigan. It's only one game, but my worry meter about the game on 11/26 just ticked up a notch or two. Despite the injury to Nathan Williams, Ohio State's front scares me just as much as MSU's did...Simon and Hankins are disruptive players that will give the middle of our line some problems. Hopefully we can gameplan with this in mind better than we did for the Spartans. 
• Keith Price of Washington is making everybody forget about Jake Locker pretty quickly. A TD:INT ratio of 21:4 and a nearly 70% completion percentage is pretty impressive through six games, although I'm sure a trip to Stanford this week will put a little dent in those numbers. While the Huskies won't be contenders in the PAC 12 this year, next year could finally be the year that they return to success that they had not too long ago.