18Oct 2012
Video: Michigan vs. Illinois 2012 – Every Snap
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| Thomas Rawls (#38) |
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Thomas Rawls. Rawls had 9 carries for 90 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown run late in the game. Granted, it was late in the game and Illinois had given up, but he still showed some nice speed when he got to the sideline. Fitzgerald Toussaint just can’t seem to get going, and while I’m not sure that Toussaint should be benched, Rawls is looking more and more deserving of a chance to earn carries.
Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Russell Bellomy. The offense really seemed to be limited when he entered the game early. Here’s hoping that Denard Robinson can heal from that hand injury and stay healthy for the rest of the season. I’d prefer not to see Bellomy until Michigan is blowing out the opponent.
Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Marvin Robinson. Jordan Kovacs seems to be nursing a bit of an injury, and Robinson was flying around the field when he entered the game. Kovacs played well and Illinois never really tested the safeties, but Robinson seems quite capable of supporting the run. Hopefully Robinson is to the point where he can spell Kovacs a little bit, because someone needs to be groomed for the starting spot once Kovacs graduates.
Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody. The defense allowed 134 yards and gave up zero points. The only thing that really bugged me on “defense” was Josh Furman’s moronic personal foul when he ran into the punt returner way too early, but Furman rarely plays defense, anyway.
Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson’s 49-yard touchdown run. It was a thing of beauty. He danced around the tackles of about four guys and then exploded down the left sideline. It was especially fun to watch Illinois defensive tackle Glenn Foster “fall” while chasing him because he knew that chasing Denard would be a waste of energy.
MVP of the game . . . Denard Robinson once again. He was 7/11 passing for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 11 times for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn’t turn over the ball. When he temporarily got hurt early in the game, the offense bogged down and the entire fan base got scared, including me. This team will really struggle if he’s unavailable.
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| The team celebrates Jeremy Gallon’s 71-yard catch-and-run. |
I think Nathan Scheelhaase got hurt. Play-by-play man Bob Wischusen only said it about 35 times, so I’m not sure. Also, Danny Kanell is really bad at talking. Seriously, though, sometimes it’s not so much fun watching a team that’s missing its starting quarterback. It’s still great to win 45-0, of course, and everyone needs a blowout win once in a while. But as soon as I saw Scheelhaase hit the ground and look dazed, I assumed that any coach not named Mark Dantonio would yank him for the remainder of the contest. Thankfully, Denard Robinson’s hand injury only kept him out for a short period, or else that game could have been a real stinker.
Denard Robinson hasn’t thrown an interception in the last two games. It’s funny how that works. Michigan has made a commitment to running the ball the last couple games, rather than trying to have Robinson throw for the win. I know Robinson has had longer runs and more important runs, but his 49-yard touchdown in this game might have been his single greatest individual effort. He made a couple separate jump cuts before bursting out to the left and outrunning the defense.
What’s up with Jerald Robinson? Almost every outgoing wide receiver for the past couple seasons has pointed to Jerald Robinson as the next year’s breakout star, and he continues to look completely harmless. He did have an 8-yard reception in this game, but he also had another drop. As a redshirt sophomore, that gives him 4 receptions for 47 yards in his career.
The defense was excellent. Injury to Scheelhaase aside, Michigan held the Illini to just 134 total yards – 105 rushing, 29 passing. The Wolverines also grabbed an interception, recovered a fumble, recorded 9 tackles for loss, and notched 3 sacks. Jake Ryan was the most disruptive force with 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Middle linebacker Kenny Demens has played significantly better since the first couple games, and yesterday he had 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 interception. A huge chunk of Illinois’ yards seemed to come when backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole first entered the game and hit Michigan with several screens and draws.
Every running back had a good game . . . except Fitzgerald Toussaint. Even Toussaint had a touchdown, but he only averaged 3.4 yards/carry and lost a significant chunk of playing time to Thomas Rawls. I’m not sure what’s up with Toussaint, but Rawls had 9 carries for 90 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown. Even Justice Hayes had 10 carries for 66 yards, although most of his carries came after Illinois had thrown in the towel. Hayes has decent speed, but he’s not a very physical runner . . . and he fumbled the ball without even getting touched. Luckily, it bounced right back up into his hands.
Michigan’s backup quarterback situation is shaky. Russell Bellomy struggled somewhat. He let a snap squirt right through his hands, and he completed just 1/3 passes. I’m not a huge fan of what I’ve seen out of Devin Gardner as a quarterback, and I do think Bellomy has potential down the road . . . but boy, does he look shaky right now. He wasn’t helped out by his receivers, though, who had their hands on both incompletions; but Bellomy looks afraid to push the ball down the field, and he’s not very crisp running the plays. I’m going to try to enjoy Denard Robinson while I can, because the quarterback play might be really iffy for a couple seasons.
Dennis Norfleet is too fast. He blew past everyone except the punter . . . and when the punter stepped up to make the tackle, Norfleet didn’t even give himself time to shake; he just tried to run right through the punter, which doesn’t work when you’re only 165 lbs. Regardless, he had yet another moment where Michigan fans just think “It’s only a matter of time.” He did muff a kickoff return (which he still managed to pick up and gain 12 yards), but that 42-yard punt return was fun to watch.
The defensive line continues to improve. It was obvious that they would improve, but they’re better than I thought they would be at this point in the season. Quinton Washington had 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Craig Roh had 3 tackles and half a sack. Jibreel Black had 3 tackles, but he showed impressive speed in chasing down Scheelhaase before driving him to the ground on the play that caused the quarterback’s concussion.
Jeremy Gallon screen fun. Gallon took the throwback screen (which Michigan runs once or twice every game), made a couple people miss, got some nice downfield blocking – especially from walk-on tight end Mike Kwiatkowski – and raced 71 yards for a touchdown. Gallon had just that one reception, but that was just one more piece of evidence why Michigan needs to get him the ball early and often.
This was a nice confidence booster before the Michigan State game. The Spartans looked pretty bad in a loss to Iowa, and Michigan obviously looked very good. At this point in the season, Michigan clearly looks like the better team. Hopefully the momentum can carry over into next Saturday’s game, which has been announced as a 3:30 p.m. kickoff to be shown on the Big Ten Network.
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| It’s hard to find attractive girls from Illinois, so Jaime Edmondson wearing a Chicago Bears jersey will have to do. |
Rush Offense vs. Illinois Rush Defense
Illinois has the #38 rushing defense in the country and they’re giving up 125 yards/game. That’s not too bad of a total, but they just gave up 158 yards (on 25 carries) to the combo of Montee Ball and James White of the Wisconsin Badgers, so the potential is there for Denard Robinson and/or Fitzgerald Toussaint and/or Thomas Rawls to gain significant yardage. Michigan just got done running for 304 yards against Purdue, with Robinson gaining 235 of those yards; that jumped Michigan up to the #29 running team. The Illini have a couple decent interior players in the forms of middle linebacker Jonathan Brown and defensive end Michael Buchanan; Ashante Williams, who plays the Star position, leads the team in tackles with 41.
Advantage: Michigan
Pass Offense vs. Illinois Pass Defense
Michigan’s pass offense isn’t very good, and that rests on the shoulders of quarterback Denard Robinson. He has some capable targets and decent pass protection, but he’s just not a very good passer. The Wolverines are the #101 passing offense in the country, and Robinson was trusted to throw just 16 passes last week (of which he completed 8); he now has a 53.9% completion percentage on the year. On the flip side, Illinois has the #63 passing defense and the #97 pass efficiency defense; they’re also #89 in sacks, despite the presence of Buchanan. Additionally, cornerback Terry Hawthorne may not be back from a scary head/neck injury he suffered last week. Illinois isn’t very good at defending the pass, and Michigan isn’t very good at passing. Sounds like quite the matchup of units.
Advantage: Michigan
Rush Defense vs. Illinois Rush Offense
The Wolverines have the #65 rushing defense in the country, but that seeming mediocrity was the result of playing two good rushing teams in the first two weeks (Alabama and Air Force). In the last two games, Michigan has given up 3.0 yards/carry to Notre Dame and 2.3 yards/carry to Purdue. The Illini are #94 nationally in rushing, and the two leading rushers are running backs Donovonn Young (38 yards/game) and Josh Ferguson (36 yards/game). Nose tackle Quinton Washington has taken a couple steps forward this season, and Michigan’s linebackers are pretty darn good. Last year Michigan’s interior dominated Illinois’ and held them to 37 yards on 33 attempts. And while Michigan’s defensive line isn’t as good as it was last year, the difference isn’t big enough to make this an advantage for Illinois.
Advantage: Michigan
Pass Defense vs. Illinois Pass Offense
Michigan has the #7 pass defense and the #26 pass efficiency defense, despite being 104th in the country in sacks with just one per game. Of course, it helps that most of the teams the Wolverines have played are helmed by subpar quarterbacks, with the lone exception being Alabama’s A.J. McCarron. Cornerback Raymon Taylor and safety Thomas Gordon each have 2 interceptions, and Craig Roh is the team leader in sacks with 1.5. Illinois quarterback Reilly O’Toole has completed 57/73 passes for 514 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions; incumbent starter Nathan Scheelhaase is 65/104 for 659 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. The numbers suggest that O’Toole is the superior player, but Scheelhaase has the edge in experience and has started the past couple games. Ryan Lankford is leading receiver for the Illini with 25 receptions for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns. Michigan probably won’t be able to get after the quarterback much, but they should be able to maintain fairly tight coverage and grab a pick or two.
Roster Notes