Greg Dooley recently added another great post to his comprehensive coverage of “the greatest trophy in college sports,” titled “Making it official – Jil Gordon and Painting the Little Brown Jug.” This year, Ms. Gordon will be painting the numbers 58 and 0 on the jug, which will make the trophy even better looking. Dooley’s series (listed below) covers “everything you’d ever want to know about the story of the Little Brown Jug” and is infused with additional factoids/information on the history of Michigan football.
Didn’t you dummies watch the Notre Dame film? What else is there to do in Minnesota but watch film?
(image via AnnArbor.com)
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Thomas Rawls. The freshman running back (10 carries, 73 yards) is yet another runner who looks better than Stephen Hopkins. The lower Hopkins goes on the depth chart, the better off Michigan will be. Fitzgerald Toussaint (11 carries, 108 yards, 1 touchdown) looks like the best back, Vincent Smith is a solid change-of-pace and third down back (5 carries, 27 yards; 3 total touchdowns), and Michael Shaw (8 carries, 60 yards) ran the ball well on Saturday, too.
Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Hopkins. It was necessary for #33 to play almost the entire way because starting fullback John McColgan missed the game due to injury. McColgan has developed into a better blocker this year than he had been previously, and I think he has some value when running out of the I-formation. Hopkins made a nice catch out of the backfield for 28 yards, but I’m hoping McColgan can return when the schedule gets tougher.
Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Blake Countess. The freshman cornerback looks to have surpassed sophomore Courtney Avery. He’s a decent enough tackler and has better coverage skills than Avery or redshirt junior J.T. Floyd. Countess had 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble to go with his 5 tackles.
Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Troy Woolfolk. For goodness’ sake, let him have a week off. For the fifth week in a row, Woolfolk left the game due to injury. He’s got a tweaked ankle. I know he wants to play and I commend him for it, but everybody and their mother knew that Michigan didn’t need Woolfolk to beat Minnesota handily. The coaches had a chance to rest him against Minnesota so he would be available for the two tougher offenses coming up the next two weeks – Northwestern and Michigan State. Now he’s still injured, Northwestern looms as a snake in the grass that could rise up and bite the Wolverines, and Michigan State follows with its dangerous passing game. There won’t be another possible opportunity to rest him until possibly Purdue, three weeks from now.
Play of the game . . . The most exciting play of the game was Devin Gardner’s scramble and run. He bootlegged right into a defender, ran out of an arm tackle, reversed field, juked two defenders, gained about 4 yards up the sideline, and then churned his legs for another 2 or 3 yards after the defense caught up to him.
MVP of the game . . . It’s a tough choice between Denard Robinson, Vincent Smith, and Fitzgerald Toussaint. I’m going to go with Smith, who didn’t have a monster day numbers-wise but had a hand in three offensive touchdowns. His day included 5 carries for 27 yards and 1 touchdown; 1 pass reception for 28 yards and a touchdown; and 1 halfback pass for 17 yards and a touchdown to Drew Dileo. On top of that, he made a heads up recovery of a Devin Gardner fumble late in the game.
Verb: Beat (someone) repeatedly with a bludgeon or other heavy object
I bet Minnesota fans are yearning for Glen Mason. I know Minnesota wasn’t exactly a juggernaut under their former coach, but at least a winning season was within reach. Today was downright embarrassing for the Gophers. They managed only 177 yards to Michigan’s 580, of which 363 came on the ground. It’s not just that they were overmatched physically – it’s that they didn’t look like they wanted to play.
Vincent Smith yay. Smith had a day that would make LaDainian Tomlinson jealous. Smith carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards and 1 touchdown, caught 1 pass for 28 yards and a touchdown, and threw a halfback pass to Drew Dileo for a 17-yard touchdown. The touchdown reception looked like the exact same play on which Smith scored against Notre Dame a few weeks ago.
Trick plays galore. I think Al Borges ate a box of sparklers for breakfast this morning, because he was farting out fireworks. Backup quarterback Devin Gardner took some snaps early in an effort to confuse the defense, which worked in a way, because he turned what looked like a triple pass into a gain of about five yards. In the first quarter, with Gardner at quarterback and Denard Robinson at a wing position, Gardner pitched to Robinson who ran right, then threw back to Gardner on the left, and Gardner wanted to hit a wide receiver (Junior Hemingway?) streaking downfield. But the receiver was well covered and Gardner just tucked it and ran. Eat your heart out, Eastern Michigan. Meanwhile, the halfback pass and other option plays with both Gardner and Robinson in the game made me think Brady Hoke has been sneaking into Chris Petersen’s bedroom and reading his diary.
Blake Countess is the next Leon Hall. Yep, I said it. Minnesota doesn’t have the greatest talent in the world, but Countess has looked pretty darn good for two weeks in a row. Courtney Avery had a nice 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but Avery has been getting beaten more regularly than any of Michigan’s other corners this year. He’s still not bad, but it looks like Countess will grab a starting spot sooner rather than later.
Fitzgerald Toussaint, please stay healthy. Toussaint seems to have gained some confidence since the 2011 opener. He’s running more decisively and doing a better job of running with a purpose. He had 11 carries for 108 yards, including his customary single-back dive over the top for a goal line touchdown. What’s the over/under on how many times he scores on that play this year?
FIRE JERRY KILL. He grabbed a kid’s facemask. This madman must be stopped!
Shoelace, Jr. Devin Gardner made some very Denard-esque plays, topped off by losing his shoe on one scramble. Only two of his five throws were completed, but one was a downright drop by Roy Roundtree and another was a catchable ball that Jeremy Gallon probably should have had; the fifth should have been an interception, but Minnesota’s defensive back wanted his belly button to get its first career pick. I found it hilarious that the BTN’s color analyst said he made “a great play on the ball”; if making a great play on the ball means jumping for a pass that hits you in the chest, then I used to coach some superstar middle schoolers.
William Campbell killed a guy with a trident. Campbell literally ran over the center on one play and also crushed quarterback Max Shortell into the ground. The switch is getting closer and closer to being flipped . . .
Biggest blowout in series history. Michigan won this game with the biggest margin of victory in series history, beating the 1993 episode that saw the Wolverines beat the Gophers by a score of 58-7.
Rush Offense vs. Minnesota Rush Defense
Last week the Gophers allowed the much heralded D.J. McNorton to run for 92 yards and 1 touchdown on 13 carries. McNorton plays for the North Dakota State Fighting Sioux Baby Rabbits, who have been terrorizing the likes of St. Francis and Lafayette so far this year. North Dakota State’s quarterback added 37 yards on 6 carries. Extrapolate that out over Denard Robinson’s 21 carries a game (minus the shortened Western Michigan exhibition) multiplied by Robinson’s talent, and that means Robinson alone should have approximately 800 yards rushing. Factor in eight handoffs to Fitzgerald Toussaint, five to Vincent Smith, and one fumble by Stephen Hopkins, and Michigan should rush for close to 300 yards. Advantage: Michigan
Pass Offense vs. Minnesota Pass Defense
Cripple fight! This is going to be like Stephen Hawking vs. Christopher Reeve Larry Flynt. Denard’s passes are allergic to wide open receivers, and so are Minnesota’s defensive backs. Denard will complete approximately seven passes; four of them will be hitches while he rolls to the receiver’s side, two will be play action slants over the middle, and one will be a screen pass. The other eight passes will fall harmlessly to the ground or hit the umpire in the face. Advantage: Stephen Hawking
Rush Defense vs. Minnesota Rush Offense
This all depends on whether quarterback MarQueis Gray – who’s questionable for Saturday – plays or not. Historically, Michigan has trouble with running quarterbacks (who doesn’t?), and Gray is averaging almost 88 yards a game. Gray was a wide receiver last year and probably should still be a wide receiver, because he’s 6’4″, 240 lbs. and throws like a punter. Starting running back Duane Bennett is scary in the same way that every running back has been scary over the last few years; he’s not very good but Michigan has the ability to turn him into a quality back for a week. Advantage: Minnesota
Pass Defense vs. Minnesota Pass Offense
Gray is barely completing 50% of his passes, and that’s true no matter what caliber of defense he’s facing. He targets wideout Da’Jon McKnight most often, and McKnight is actually a decent player. He’s 6’3″ and 211 lbs. and while he doesn’t have great speed, he has decent hands and provides a big target. McKnight caught 9 passes for 146 yards against New Mexico State a few weeks ago. Other than McKnight there aren’t many big threats to catch the ball. Meanwhile, Michigan has been picking up the pass rush over the past couple weeks, and the Gophers are allowing 2.5 sacks a game. Backup quarterback Max Shortell has red hair and, as we all learned from the NFL Draft this past year, no good quarterback has ever been a redhead. Advantage: Michigan
Player notes
Michigan recruited Minnesota LB Keanon Cooper out of Dallas (TX) Skyline a few years ago
Michigan also recruited Minnesota LB Brendan Beal, who chose the Florida Gators before transferring to Minnesota
Minnesota WR J.D. Pride was Seantrel Henderson’s best friend and the guy Minnesota offered in the hopes of Henderson becoming a Gopher. Henderson went to USC Miami, anyway. And as if this wasn’t apparent enough in the first place, Pride has been deemed unworthy at quarterback and is now buried on the bench at wideout.
Former Michigan OG Tim McAvoy has two younger brothers – twins Kyle and Luke – who are freshmen on the offensive line for the Gophers.
Predictions
Denard runs for 120 yards before getting knocked out of the game
If Gray plays, Michigan gets a pick six. If Shortell plays, Michigan gets four sacks.
