Here's a roundup of the former Michigan player, former commits, and former coaches (or players-turned-coaches). NOTE: I will not regularly post updates about offensive linemen since stats are minimal and just posting PFF grades is kind of boring, but I did this week just to show who's playing where and what their opening day role was.
FORMER PLAYERS
WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony did not play in a 27-21 win over Auburn.
LB Jeremiah Beasley (Missouri): Missouri (4-0) had a bye. Beasley has 2 tackles this season.
QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 26/50 passes for 364 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in a 42-20 loss to Kansas State.
LB Semaj Bridgeman (Michigan State): Bridgeman did not record any stats in a 38-7 loss to Ohio State.
That's an ugly score. I didn't mind writing about a 27-24 victory when it came to the USC game, but I do have a problem with it after playing the Minnesota Gophers. In the game preview, I predicted a 38-13 victory. I had heard that Colston Loveland was likely to play, but I also assumed Will Johnson would play and I had no idea that Josaiah Stewart would miss the game. Regardless, Michigan has had some injury issues in past years against lesser Big Ten programs, and it didn't have a huge effect. Michigan had to hang on in a nail-biter here, and that doesn't bode well for the rest of the season.
RUSH OFFENSE vs. MINNESOTA RUSH DEFENSE Michigan is now #31 in rushing offense (205 yards/game) and tied for #33 in yards per carry (5.57) with UNLV. The breakout star of this year's team has been RB Kalel Mullings, who had 17 carries for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns against USC last week, including a 53-yard touchdown, a 63-yard run to set up the winning score, and the game-winning 2-yard score on 4th down. Those numbers are made even more impressive by the fact that the all-new offensive line has struggled. Michigan received just a 57.5 run blocking grade against the Trojans. There has been some platooning going on at center between Dominick Giudice and Greg Crippen, but the personnel at the other spots has been steady. RB Donovan Edwards broke out with a 41-yard touchdown last week, and new starting QB Alex Orji ran 13 times for 43 yards and averages 4.4 yards/carry for the year. Defensively, Minnesota is #56 in rushing defense (123.5 yrds allowed/game) and #62 in yards allowed per carry (3.81). Last week Iowa's Kaleb Johnson ran 21 times for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns, and North Carolina's Omarion Hampton put up 129 yards in week one, albeit on 30 carries for a so-so 4.3 yards/carry clip. Redshirt sophomore MLB Maverick Baranowski (6'2", 230) leads the team with 27 tackles, followed closely by fifth year senior WLB Cody Lindenberg (6'3", 240) with 26 stops. Baranowski and fifth year senior nickel Jack Henderson (6'2", 215) lead the team with 2.5 tackles for loss each, chased by fifth year senior OLB Danny Striggow (6'5", 255) with 2.0 TFLs. The middle of the line features fifth year senior DT Jalen Logan-Redding (6'4", 290) and redshirt junior NT Deven Eastern (6'6", 310); Eastern has only graded out on PFF higher than 57.0 when he played against FCS Rhode Island, while Logan-Redding has a couple grades in the 70s balanced with sub-60 scores against the two Power 4 opponents. Advantage: Michigan
Michigan has played Minnesota 105 times throughout history and has a 77-25-3 record against the Golden Gophers. They first played in 1892, and the winner of the game after each meeting earns the Little Brown Jug Trophy.
Here are the longest plays for Michigan in the history of the rivalry:
Steve Breaston 95-yard kickoff return TD (2005)
Chris Howard 86-yard TD run (1996)
Gilvanni Johnson 85-yard punt return TD (1985)
Carlos Brown 85-yard TD run (2007)
Darrell Harper 84-yard punt return TD (1959)
Courtney Avery 83-yard fumble return TD (2011)
Karan Higdon 77-yard TD run (2017)
Tom Brady 76-yard TD pass to Tai Streets (1998)
Lowell Perry 75-yard punt return TD (1951)
Steve Smith 75-yard TD run (1983)
Scott Dreisbach 75-yard TD pass to Amani Toomer (1995)
Michigan is 3-6 over the years against USC. On the bright side, the Wolverines are 2-0 against the Trojans in the regular season. On the negative side, they're 1-6 against USC in the Rose Bowl.
Kalel Mullings 63-yard run (2024)
Leroy Hoard 61-yard run (1988)
Kalel Mullings 53-yard touchdown run (2024)
Leroy Hoard 46-yard run (1989)
Rick Leach 44-yard touchdown pass to Roosevelt Smith (1978)
Will Johnson 42-yard interception return for a touchdown (2024)
Chad Henne 41-yard touchdown pass to Steve Breaston (2006)
Here's a roundup of the former Michigan player, former commits, and former coaches (or players-turned-coaches). NOTE: I will not regularly post updates about offensive linemen since stats are minimal and just posting PFF grades is kind of boring, but I did this week just to show who's playing where and what their opening day role was.
FORMER PLAYERS
WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony did not play in a 25-15 loss to Tennessee.
LB Jeremiah Beasley (Missouri): Beasley did not record any stats in a 30-27 win over Vanderbilt.
QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman completed 16/33 passes for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in a 22-19 loss to Utah. He was benched at halftime.
LB Semaj Bridgeman (Michigan State): Bridgeman did not record any stats in a 23-19 loss to Boston College.
A win is a win. I always try to keep things in perspective. Herm Edwards famously said "You play to win the game," and Michigan won the game. The Wolverines are 3-1 and their primary goals are still within play: win the Big Ten, beat your rivals, make the College Football Playoff, and win a national championship. Sometimes you win ugly, and sometimes you win pretty. It might help put things in perspective that star tight end Colston Loveland missed the entire game with an arm injury and Will Johnson was absent at the end of the game. This just happened to be an ugly victory, but oh well.
