Florida State 33, Michigan 32

Posts by: Thunder

31Dec 2016
Blog, homepage 107 comments

Florida State 33, Michigan 32

Mike McCray II scored his first career TD (image via NewsOK)

Jabrill Peppers is worth 1 point. I predicted a 24-20 win in my game preview (LINK), but that was before any of us knew that Peppers wouldn’t play in the game due to injury. It turns out Peppers hurt his hamstring on Thursday and didn’t have enough time to heal up before kickoff. I tweeted out just before kickoff that I thought Michigan would lose the game without Peppers. It was going to be a tight game, anyway, and Michigan needed Peppers to make a difference. His replacement at Viper was Josh Metellus (with some Noah Furbush at SAM). Metellus did return a blocked extra point for a 2-point conversion, but he did very little on defense and left some plays on the field that Peppers might have made. His replacement on punt returns was Jourdan Lewis, who did nothing with the short punts. His replacement on offense was . . . the same guys who haven’t been playmakers all year long.

Hit the jump for some more thoughts on last night’s loss.

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30Dec 2016
Blog, homepage 20 comments

Orange Bowl Preview: Wrap-up, Notes, Predictions




I hope you’ve enjoyed the football previews this week. I don’t follow a lot of other Michigan blogs, but I think you’ve probably found more content here this week than at any other independently run Michigan site. Here’s a wrap-up of this week’s posts, as well as some additional thoughts:

WHEN AND WHERE

  • Today, December 30, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Miami, FL
  • Televised on ESPN
  • Jim Harbaugh (2-1 in bowl games) vs. Jimbo Fisher (4-2 in bowl games)

ROSTER NOTES

  • Florida State players recruited by Michigan: OT Abdul Bello, LB Josh Brown, DE Brian Burns, OT Landon Dickerson, QB Deondre Francois, WR George Campbell, QB Malik Henry, LB Dontavious Jackson, OT Roderick Johnson, CB Marcus Lewis, DT Derrick Nnadi, RB Jacques Patrick, RB Amir Rasul, DE Janarius Robinson, LB Josh Sweat, WR Auden Tate, DB Levonta Taylor, TE Naseir Upshur, DE Jalen Wilkderson, OT Jauan Williams
  • WR George Campbell III was committed to Michigan at one point and was a high school teammate of Michigan center Mason Cole
  • Offensive lineman Andrew Boselli is the son of former NFL left tackle Tony Boselli

Hit the jump for more on the Michigan vs. Florida State matchup, along with a bonus picture of Michigan fan/model Elle Johnson.

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30Dec 2016
Blog, homepage 4 comments

Orange Bowl Preview: Michigan Defensive Line vs. Florida State Offensive Line

Roderick Johnson (image via 247 Sports)

MICHIGAN

Starters:

  • SDE: Fifth year senior Chris Wormley (6’6″, 302 lbs.)
  • DT: Fifth year senior Matt Godin (6’6″, 294 lbs.)
  • NT: Fifth year senior Ryan Glasgow (6’4″, 299 lbs.)
  • WDE: Senior Taco Charlton (6’6″, 272 lbs.)

Football Outsiders has Michigan’s defensive line at #4 in Adjusted Line Yards, and that reinforces the idea that Michigan has one of the top few defensive lines in the country. That’s good because they are huge (three guys who are 6’6″!) and experienced. The top NFL prospect is probably Charlton (37 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 9 sacks), who has been dominant at times. Next is Wormley (38 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks), who will play strongside end and defensive tackle at times. Glasgow (40 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 4 sacks) has turned from being excellent at holding up to double-teams to now getting penetration throughout his career. Godin (26 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack) plays less than the other three and isn’t as effective, but he’s a solid-level starting player. The unit is #2 in Standard Down Line Yards and #1 in Adjusted Sack Rate. Of course, Michigan has other players who rotate in and play well, but there aren’t many weaknesses among these top four guys.

Key backups: Backups at all four spots are worth mentioning here. Number one overall recruit from 2016 Rashan Gary (6’5″, 287 lbs.) rotates in at strongside end and has 24 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 1 sack on the year. He hasn’t been a terror off the edge as a pass rusher, but he’s very consistent and does his job well. Redshirt junior Maurice Hurst, Jr. (6’2″, 282 lbs.) is a viable NFL prospect and is Michigan’s quickest interior defensive lineman. He’s made 30 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks this season. Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Bryan Mone (6’4″, 310 lbs.) played the best game of his career against Ohio State in the regular season finale and has 9 tackles and 1 TFL. Redshirt sophomore Chase Winovich (6’3″, 245 lbs.) came out of nowhere to turn into an effective pass rusher, and he now has 33 tackles, 8 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. A couple of these guys can rotate in at a time and Michigan won’t really skip a beat.

Hit the jump for a look at FSU’s offensive line.

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29Dec 2016
Blog, homepage 3 comments

Orange Bowl Preview: Michigan Defensive Backs vs. Florida State Receivers

 

Travis Rudolph (image via Chop Chat)

I’ve been posting highlights of commits, top whatever lists, etc. on the Message Board (LINK), so check it out if you get a chance.

MICHIGAN

Starters: Michigan features a two-time First Team All-American in senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis (5’10”, 186 lbs.), who missed the first 25% of the season with a hamstring injury. He still ended up with 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 12 passes defended (tied for #8 in the conference). He owns the school record for pass breakups and generally shuts down his receiver. On the other side is 6’2″, 175 lb. senior Channing Stribling (27 tackles, 3 TFLs, 1 sack, 4 INTs, 12 PBUs), a lanky corner who has struggled in the run game but has had good coverage most of the year. Senior free safety Dymonte Thomas (6’2″, 199 lbs.) has improved from some early-season struggles and ended the regular season fourth on the team in tackles with 61, along with 1 INT and 7 PBUs. Senior Delano Hill (6’1″, 215 lbs.) has 47 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 3 INTs, and 3 PBUs. This is one of the top few secondaries in the country.

Key backups: Sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel (5’11”, 206 lbs.) is one of just a couple guys worth mentioning after a regular season that included 15 tackles and 1 TFL. He’ll spell either of the other safeties. The other guy is redshirt sophomore nickel corner Brandon Watson (5’11”, 203 lbs.), who was addressed with the linebackers and plays some on the outside. Watson is physical but not a great athlete.

Hit the jump for a look at FSU’s receiving targets.

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