Tag: Indiana

Michigan 63, Indiana 47

Tight end Devin Funchess was the embodiment of Michigan’s high-flying offense (image via MGoBlog)

Offense wins games. Defense is stupid. The total of 1,323 yards in this game was the most ever in a Michigan game. Michigan had a team record 751. Indiana only had 572, those slackers. Just imagine if Michigan were a hurry-up offense like Indiana instead of a team that huddles before every play.

Devin Gardner is the best Michigan quarterback ever! Gardner was 21/29 for 503 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 15 carries for 81 yards and 3 touchdowns. That total of 584 yards left him one yard short of the Big Ten record for total yardage, which is 585 and was set by Dave Wilson of Illinois back in 1980. Two of Gardner’s completions went for 70 yards (to Jeremy Gallon both times), and if not for a couple failures to throw away the ball, Gardner basically played as well as anyone could ask. He had zero interceptions, although there was a fumbled snap between center Graham Glasgow and himself (the third week in a row in which that has happened).

Jeremy Gallon is the best Michigan receiver ever! Gallon had 14 catches for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns (along with 1 carry for -5 yards). That set a new Big Ten record for receiving yardage and rests second all-time behind Louisiana Tech’s Troy Edwards and his 21 receptions for 405 yards and 3 touchdowns against Nebraska in 1998. The previous Big Ten yardage record (301) had been held by Purdue’s Chris Daniels since 1999, and the previous Michigan record (246) was Roy Roundtree’s since the triple-overtime game against Illinois in 2010. Former Michigan wide receiver Marquise Walker had 15 receptions twice (against Ohio State and Washington in 2001) to set the receptions record, so Gallon’s school receptions mark is one less than Walker’s; however, Walker had 160 and 159 yards in those games, respectively, so Gallon had a much more explosive day.

Kyle Bosch burned his redshirt and I don’t really care. The coaches decided to switch things up again this week and start Joe Burzynski at left guard and redshirt freshman Erik Magnuson at right guard. That didn’t last long, since Burzynski tweaked his knee early. But instead of calling redshirt freshman Kyle Kalis or redshirt sophomore Chris Bryant off the bench, Michigan went with true freshman Bosch. It was only Indiana – a smallish and bad defense – but I thought Bosch did pretty well. His size is college-ready, and I thought he was the most talented lineman in Michigan’s 2013 class. Michigan only allowed sacks when Gardner held onto the ball too long, and Fitzgerald Toussaint ran 32 times for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns. It doesn’t matter where the solution comes from, as long as the problem on the interior gets fixed. Some people were bothered about Bosch burning his redshirt halfway through the year, but if a true freshman plays half the year – especially when all other options have been exhausted – I don’t see how anyone can have a problem with it.

Channing Stribling got torched again. I really don’t care what Stribling does in practice. He’s a true freshman and the game is moving too fast for him. Last week he got beaten twice on jump balls he should have been able to intercept or knock down, once by Brandon Felder and once by Allen Robinson; that resulted in a loss. This week he used poor technique again and got beaten for a 67-yard touchdown by Kofi Hughes. Instead of going up for the ball, Stribling tried to cradle the ball into his chest, which allowed Hughes to come over the top. Add that to several missed tackles, and I think Stribling needs to be demoted. He has a good future, but the speed of the game is one reason why most freshmen redshirt.

Hello, Thomas Gordon. Gordon had a weird stat line. It consists of the following: 2 interceptions returned for 41 yards. That’s it. No tackles, no pass breakups. And those were his first two picks of the year. Opposing quarterbacks have been testing Michigan’s cornerbacks more than the safeties this year, but I’ve been a little surprised that Gordon hasn’t been more involved up to this point.

Good for Indiana. I have a soft spot for the underdog, and I somewhat hope that Indiana gets a few good years here. Obviously, I hope they lose to Michigan whenever the two meet. But as long as another team takes a dip to replace Indiana near the bottom of the conference, it would be nice to see the long-suffering Indiana fans have a little fun. They’re 3-4 right now, but I think head coach Kevin Wilson has them going in the right direction. They’ve also been doing a good job on the recruiting trail. By the way, Michigan starting cornerback Raymon Taylor was once an Indiana commit.

What does this mean for Michigan? Well, Michigan might have earned some confidence offensively, which would be nice. I also suggested prior to this game that Michigan would go to more of a spread offense with Bryant and Kalis benched, and that appears to have been the case. Al Borges’s play calling seemed to shy away from running power and zone stretch constantly and incorporated some more misdirection, draws, etc. out of the run game. Michigan can’t expect to blow people off the ball, so this is what Michigan’s offense should look like for the remainder of the year.

Preview: Michigan vs. Indiana

Rush Offense vs. Indiana Rush Defense
Michigan is #80 nationally in averaging 4.1 yards/carry altogether, but the top two running backs – Fitzgerald Toussaint and Derrick Green – are averaging 3.5 and 3.2 yards/carry, respectively. Quarterback Devin Gardner leads the team in rushing yards with 439 and is gaining 5.5 yards/carry, but he has taken a beating recently and is starting to look a little worn down. The same could be said for left tackle Taylor Lewan, who missed the second half of last week’s game due to an undisclosed injury. The rest of the offensive line is/was in flux, too, with left guard Chris Bryant getting replaced by Joey Burzynski, Graham Glasgow learning to play center on the fly, right guard Kyle Kalis getting replaced temporarily by Burzynski, Michael Schofield flip-flopping across the line to fill in for Lewan, and Erik Magnuson stepping in at right tackle. Meanwhile, Indiana is #110 in the nation in rushing yardage allowed per game, giving up almost 217 yards weekly. The patchwork offensive line will face off against redshirt junior defensive end Ryan Phillis (6’3″, 260 lbs.), sophomore defensive end Nick Mangieri (6’5″, 260 lbs.), junior 3-tech Bobby Richardson (6’3″, 281 lbs.), and sophomore nose tackle Alex Todd (6’3″, 301 lbs.). Mangieri leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss. Three of the top four tacklers are defensive backs, with redshirt junior linebacker David Cooper (6’1″, 235 lbs.) tied for the team lead at 45 tackles.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Offense vs. Indiana Pass Defense
Michigan is #72 nationally in passing yards with 222.5 per game but ranks #45 in passer rating. Gardner is 86/146 for 1,276 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Michigan’s pass protection has generally been solid, but he has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long and/or lock onto receivers, which has resulted in too many turnovers. Wide receiver Jeremy Gallon is the team’s leading receiver with 31 catches for 462 yards and 5 touchdowns, but tight end/U-back Devin Funchess has come on strong the past two weeks with 11 catches for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. The other receivers have been uninspiring so far. Indiana gives up 240 yards/game through the air, good for #76 in the nation. Fifth year senior safety Greg Heban (6’1″, 205 lbs.) has 2 picks, and three other guys have 1 each. Junior cornerback Tim Bennett (5’9″, 175 lbs.) has 14 pass breakups and 1 of those interceptions, so I would expect Michigan to attack redshirt sophomore corner Michael Hunter (6’1″, 190 lbs.). Redshirt junior defensive end John Laihinen (6’4″, 255 lbs.) leads the team with 3.5 sacks, and the team has 12 total, good enough for 52nd nationally. Funchess will be a matchup problem for anyone, and Gallon should be tough to handle if used properly. If Michigan can run the ball a little bit and keep Gardner from getting happy feet, the Wolverines should be able to make some more big plays in the passing game.
Advantage: Michigan

Rush Defense vs. Indiana Rush Offense
Michigan is #9 overall, giving up 89.5 yards/game on the ground; and they’re #10 at 2.86 yards/carry allowed. They don’t get a ton of penetration, but the linebackers diagnose plays quickly, the team swarms to the ball, and they’re mostly sure tacklers. Middle linebacker Desmond Morgan and weakside linebacker James Ross III share the team lead with 42 tackles, and defensive end Frank Clark leads the team with 5 tackles for loss. Outside linebacker Jake Ryan returned to action last week, which could help out even more. Indiana is #64 with 173 yards/game and #49 with 4.7 yards/carry. Sophomore tailback Tevin Coleman (6’1″, 205 lbs.) has 557 yards and 8 touchdowns, and fifth year backup Stephen Houston (6’0″, 230 lbs.) averages 6.6 yards/carry. Sophomore starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld (6’5″, 230 lbs.) is the throwing quarterback, while redshirt sophomore Tre Roberson (6’0″, 200 lbs.) is the runner with 27 carries for 97 yards and 4 touchdowns. It might be tougher sledding this week with Indiana down to its third right guard and second right tackle, due to a few season-ending injuries. It’s a fairly light crew up front with the five starters averaging 6’4″ and 291 lbs. Sophomore left tackle Jason Spriggs (6’7″, 297 lbs.) was All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last season. I expect Michigan to be able to do a solid job against the run because they almost always do, but they are going to get gashed at times due to the nature of Indiana’s high-tempo offense.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Defense vs. Indiana Pass Offense
The Wolverines have been susceptible to the passing game this year, giving up a lot of short passes and an occasional deep ball. The Wolverines are tied for #64 nationally at 229.7 yards/game allowed through the air. However, they’re holding opponents to a 52.6% completion percentage (18th overall) and a 109.98 rating (24th). The Wolverines have racked up 14 sacks (38th), and Clark has 4 in the last three games. Meanwhile, cornerback Blake Countess has 4 interceptions, and both cornerback Raymon Taylor and free safety Jarrod Wilson have 2 picks each; the Wolverines have 9 total (17th). The short completions have been frustrating, but the numbers suggest that Michigan is getting the job done. Both Sudfeld and Roberson complete approximately 60% of their passes, but Sudfeld has five times as many attempts. Combined, they have 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while throwing for 1,960 yards, and they’ve been taking just 1.5 sacks/game. They’re #13 nationally with 331.5 yards/game through the air. The starters at wideout are junior Cody Latimer (6’3″, 215 lbs.), senior Kofi Hughes (6’2″, 217 lbs.), and junior Shane Wynn (5’7″, 170 lbs.). Those three have combined for 75 receptions, 1202 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Fifth year senior Ted Bolser (6’6″, 252 lbs.) is the top red zone target with 5 touchdowns while averaging 10.8 yards/reception. Even though Michigan has harassed teams into low completion percentages, I think they’re going to have a tough time getting to the quarterback, and Michigan doesn’t have enough talent at defensive backs to keep all of Sudfeld and Roberson’s targets in front of them. The Hoosiers will probably put up a good deal of yardage and some points on the board, although it may not be enough to win.
Advantage: Indiana

Roster Notes

• Players who held scholarship offers from Michigan include DT Darius Latham and WR Shane Wynn.
• Run game coordinator/offensive line coach Greg Frey coached the offensive line under Rich Rodriguez at Michigan from 2008-2010.
• Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/safeties coach Doug Mallory played at Michigan from 1984-1987. As a safety, he recorded 182 tackles and 6 interceptions for his career and was named team captain in 1987.
• Native Michiganders on the roster include redshirt junior OT Bill Ivan (Charlevoix), freshman K Dong Kim (Okemos), junior OG Bernard Taylor (Detroit Dakota), and redshirt junior FB Matt Zakrzewski (Traverse City St. Francis).

USA Today college football countdown: #73 Indiana

Paul Myerberg breaks down the Indiana Hoosier for the upcoming football season.

Video: Michigan 27, Indiana 20 (1996)

Michigan vs. Indiana Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Darryl Stonum as a good kick returner.  Seriously, what happened?  Stonum set a Michigan record for kick return yardage last year.  He has improved as a receiver this year, but the team is #102 in the country in kick returns this season.  It’s not all Stonum’s fault – the blocking hasn’t been there.  But yeesh . . . as I said in yesterday’s post, every unit on the team has been bad except the offense.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson as punters.  It’s not that Tate and Denard have done a bad job of punting.  But the punter position was created for a reason.  If you’re allotting a scholarship for a punter, then use him.  Saturday’s “surprise” punt came from Tate when Michigan was sitting in its own territory on a 4th-and-1.  Just send Hagerup out there and let him kick it.  These “surprise” punts aren’t surprising when the QB lines up 8 yards behind the ball for the shotgun snap and when you run it almost every week.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Jibreel Black.  He seemed to be getting a decent pass rush throughout the game, which is impressive for a freshman defensive end.  I don’t think he should be the starter because I think he’s a liability against the run right now, but Indiana was a good matchup for him with their 64 pass attempts.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Jeremy Gallon as punt returner.  Another game, another muffed punt.  Luckily he recovered this one, but man, these punt return experiments just need to end.  I don’t understand why Michigan, with all its athleticism, can’t find a good punt returner.  Gallon has the running skills to be a good returner, but he doesn’t judge punts or catch them well.  Drew Dileo’s redshirt has already been burned, and returning punts is his forte.  Put Dileo back there, or someone else who can at least catch the ball consistently.

MVP of the Indiana game . . . Denard Robinson.  Yet again.  These really are video game numbers.  He finished 10-for-16 for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He also carried the ball 19 times for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns.  And just like the Notre Dame game, he led the game-winning touchdown drive and scored the go-ahead TD.  How ridiculous is 27.7 yards per completion and 11.4 yards per carry?  Pretty ridiculous.