Michigan's Offense Tries to Throw the Game, But the Defense Is Up To the Challenge

Vladimir Emilien making a nice interception

Michigan's offense was constantly getting in their own way today, but in the end, Michigan's offense and defense were both much too strong for the Hawkeyes. Michigan would fumble the ball 4 times, lose 3 of them and throw an interception during the game. These 4 turnovers kept putting Michigan's defense in rough spots, but they pulled through. Michigan's 1st team defense only surrendered 3 points in Michigan's 45-17 victory @ Kinnick Stadium.

Michigan ran the ball well as they had 4 HBs gain at least 45 yards on the day. Starter Vincent Smith was the big gainer as he ran for 81 yards and 2 TDs on 13 carries. Michigan had 3 runs on the day for 20+ yards. QB Tate Forcier didn't throw the ball often, but when he did it was usually for a big gain as he threw for 203 yards on only 10 completions. Michigan's defense only allowed 267 yards on the day and they forced 2 turnovers themselves.

#3 Michigan will next play on the road again next week. This time they'll travel to Minnesota to try to retain the Little Brown Jug.

Game Statistics
Category	Michigan	Iowa
Score	45	17
First Downs	18	14
Total Offense	457	267
Rushes-YDS-TD	42-254-5	26-80-1
COMP-ATT-TD	10-15-1	21-39-0
Passing YDS	203	187
Sacked	3	1
3rd Down Conv	6-9	4-15
4th Down Conv	0-0	1-2
2pt Conv	0-0	0-0
Redzone-TD-FG	7-5-1	4-1-1
Turnovers	4	2
Fumbles-Lost	3-3	0-0
Intercepted	1	2
PR Yds	58	5
KR Yds	55	172
Total Yards	570	444
Punts-Average	2-43.5	6-34.7
Penalties-YDS	1-10	1-13
T.O.P.	14:32	13:28

Michigan's Defense Does It Again!

Michigan was simply bigger and stronger tonight

Michigan came into their game with the #9 Florida State Seminoles expecting a dog fight and a likely offensive shootout. When it was all said and done, the Wolverines would walk out of Doak Campbell Stadium with their 2nd shutout in 3 games, 30-0.

FSU's defense played fairly well as they did a decent job of taking away what Michigan's offense does best; run the ball. Yards were very difficult to come by on the ground which forced Michigan to pass much more than they are comfortable doing. Luckily, the Michigan QBs were very proficient in the passing attack today. They completed 20 of 27 passes and threw 1 TD pass with 0 INTs. Due to the driving rain which was prevalent all game, Michigan played it safe and thus the QBs only averaged about 11 yards per completion. Despite the difficulty to run on the ground, Michigan stuck to their running game down the stretch and managed to gain 124 yards and 2 TDs on 34 carries. Michigan was also fairly difficult to get off the field as they converted 8 of their 14 3rd down conversions and scored on all 5 red zone trips.

While Michigan's 331 yards of offense seems like little, it towers over what their counterparts were able to achieve against our defense.

• They only allowed 167 yards of offense.
  
• They didn't allow FSU to convert a single one of their 8 3rd and 4th down conversions.
• They only allowed 8 first downs in the entire game.
• They never let FSU enter the red zone.
• They forced 3 turnovers.
  
• They only allowed the Noles to possess the ball for 9 of 28 minutes in the game.

As is usually the case with this Michigan defense, they weren't on the field long enough to rack up many stats so coach Jello gave the game ball to the entire defensive squad.

It didn't seem to matter what FSU tried on offense, Michigan's defense seemed to be 1 step ahead of them and their players just seemed to outplay their counterparts. FSU employed the help of the former Oregon Duck's O.C. for this game and mixed things up nicely. They tried various things from the wildcat. They tried a lot of pistol formation. They tried going 5 wide with a DB taking the snap. They tried using their SG wing formations. None of this worked. Michigan held both of FSU's QBs to under 81 QB rating and under 40% completion percent. They held the scarily dangerous Marcus Baker to less than 3 YPC.

Michigan will now begin their trek to try to win back the Big 10 title after failing last year. They open up in Ann Arbor against Indiana.

Here are some highlights of the game:

Game Statistics
Category	Michigan	Florida State
Score	30	0
First Downs	16	8
Total Offense	331	167
Rushes-YDS-TD	34-124-2	15-42-0
COMP-ATT-TD	20-27-1	10-24-0
Passing YDS	207	125
Sacked	1	1
3rd Down Conv	8-14	0-6
4th Down Conv	0-0	0-2
2pt Conv	0-0	0-0
Redzone-TD-FG	5-3-2	0-0-0
Turnovers	0	3
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	1-1
Intercepted	0	2
PR Yds	29	1
KR Yds	21	150
Total Yards	381	318
Punts-Average	3-39.7	4-44.8
Penalties-YDS	3-20	1-3
T.O.P.	19:02	09:07

Michigan's Defense Gets Thrashed, But Offense Gets the Job Done

Michigan traveled to Cincinnati for the 2nd year in a row to face the Bearcats. Their defense looked completely lost at times and they did everything in their power to ensure a Bearcat victory (including three roughing the passer penalties). Luckily, Michigan's offense was just good enough to overcome this poor defensive performance and pull out a 26-14 victory. Cincinnati managed nearly 400 yards of offense on the day including 104 yards rushing and nearly 300 yards passing. Michigan was incapable of stopping either facet of Cincinnati's offense. While our defense did a lot of bending, it did very little breaking as they only allowed 2 TDs and 3 of 12 3rd down conversions.

When the D finally caught the Bearcats, they smacked them in the mouth.

Michigan's offense was average at best, but they got the job done. They gained 142 yards on the ground and 157 through the air. HB Vincent Smith was the biggest weapon as he gained 85 yards and 2 TDs on 12 carries. Michigan's RBs were beat up during the game as the top 3 guys were knocked out @ 1 point forcing Michigan to go 5 deep @ HB. Luckily, everyone is healthy after some ice baths and ready to make the trip to Tallahassee next week. Hopefully both the offense and defense will play better against the Seminoles as they'll have to if Michigan has any hope of a victory.

Vincent Smith and the offense played just good enough to win.

Game Statistics
Category	Michigan	Cincinnati
Score	26	14
First Downs	13	19
Total Offense	299	397
Rushes-YDS-TD	29-142-3	31-104-1
COMP-ATT-TD	12-21-0	25-34-1
Passing YDS	157	293
Sacked	1	3
3rd Down Conv	3-9	3-12
4th Down Conv	0-0	1-4
2pt Conv	0-0	0-0
Redzone-TD-FG	4-2-2	6-2-0
Turnovers	1	2
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	1-1
Intercepted	1	1
PR Yds	5	22
KR Yds	73	144
Total Yards	377	563
Punts-Average	4-45	1-40
Penalties-YDS	4-55	2-20
T.O.P.	14:23	13:47

Wolverines Defense Dominates #6 Texas in Season Opener

#8 Michigan, who plays a positively brutal schedule this year playing 4 teams ranked in the top 6, opened the 2012 season against #6 Texas. While the game looked good on paper, the Wolverines showed early who was the better team. SR QB Tate Forcier returned from his devastating injury last year to lead the offense and they played very well. The well balanced offense rushed for 249 yards while passing for 211. Michigan spread the carries around as they had 3 guys rush for at least 48 yards and had 3 guys rush for a TD. Forcier had a solid game, completing 61% of his passes for 185 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. He also led Michigan in rushing with 85 yards on the ground and 1 TD.

With as impressive as the offense was, this game was all about Michigan's defense. The defense last year dominated opponents last year including 2 shutouts and 2 games where they only gave up 3 points. In this game, the defense picked up where they left off last year. They got after the QB all game and Texas' offense was ineffective throughout. They forced 4 fumbles, caused 2 turnovers, sacked the QB 4 times, held Texas to -3 yards on 17 carries, allowed 76 passing yards and 73 total yards. In addition to all of those impressive numbers, they allowed 0 points and didn't allow Texas to convert any of their 10 3rd or 4th down conversions.

After this impressive victory Michigan will rest a week as they prepare for #11 Cincinnati the following week.

Game Statistics
Category	Texas	Michigan
Score	0	42
First Downs	5	19
Total Offense	73	460
Rushes-YDS-TD	17-(-3)-0	43-249-3
COMP-ATT-TD	13-19-0	13-20-3
Passing YDS	76	211
Sacked	4	2
3rd Down Conv	0-8	6-10
4th Down Conv	0-2	1-1
2pt Conv	0-0	0-0
Redzone-TD-FG	1-0-0	9-4-1
Turnovers	2	2
Fumbles-Lost	4-2	1-1
Intercepted	0	1
PR Yds	11	71
KR Yds	180	0
Total Yards	264	531
Punts-Average	6-43.3	1-45
Penalties-YDS	2-27	2-28
T.O.P.	09:29	18:39

2012 Season Preview

Michigan is coming off of a disappointing 10-3 season, but hope is very much alive in Ann Arbor. Michigan returns a ton of talent this year and should contend for a Big Ten title, and possibly a national title in only coach Jello's 4th season. Michigan lost some talent on offense in their top rusher, Mike Shaw, and 3 of their top 4 receivers, not to mention 2 starters on the offensive line. Defensively, they lost a studly DT (Mike Martin), 3 excellent LBs (including superstar MLB Kenny Demens), and the most prolific corner in the coach Jello era in Boubacar Cissoko.

The Offense:
None of this seems to matter, however, as the Wolverines are even better this year than they were last year. Everyone hopes that QB Forcier can remain healthy this year (he has 2 seasons where he threw fewer than 105 passes due to injuries) in his final campaign for the maize and blue. Michigan will miss Shaw at HB, but they have plenty of backs to step up and fill his shoes. While they lost 3 great WRs, they've replaced them with equally good, and much faster ones. @ TE, Michigan has a potential secret weapon in Brandon Moore if coach Jello chooses to utilize him (which he has yet to do in the past). Moore is 6'6 and is rated 94 OVR with 86 speed. Michigan's O-line should dominate as they boast 4 90+ rated guys with an 88 as their only "weak" link.

The Defense:
It would seem that Michigan's defense has nowhere to go but down. They were rated #1 in the country in several categories last year and on several occasions would completely dominate the opponents' offenses. Surprisingly enough, this years defense should be even better than last year! Their SO MLB is rated an 86 OVR and he is the only guy on the defense that's not rated in the 90s. Michigan's defensive line is surely the best in the country. DEs Lalota and Roh are rated 99 and 96 with 87 speed each. In the middle is Michigan's all time sack leader Big Will Campbell who is rated 99 and true SO DT A.J. Keller who comes in rated 93. Their LBs are rated 90, 86, and 96. The MLB is the only slow guy with 81 speed while the OLBs have 89 and 88 speed. Turner and Floyd are the starting corners and are rated 96 and 95. The safeties, Emilien and Bell (both returning starters) are rated 95 and 94. Michigan's defense is extremely talented, powerful, smart, and fast. They should dominate opposing offenses once again this year.

Here are the preseason all american and conference players from Michigan:

1st Team All-American

• William Campbell - SR, defensive tackle

2nd Team All-American

1st Team All-Conference

• Vladimir Emilien - SR, free safety
• William Campbell - SR, defensive tackle
• Craig Roh - JR(RS), Defensive End
• J. T. Turner - SR, cornerback

2nd Team All-Conference

• Ricky Barnum - SR(RS), Guard
• J. T. Floyd - SR(RS), cornerback
• Jeremy Gallon - JR(RS), wide receiver
• Shane Johnson - JR, punter

The Maize Rage is on haitus for now

I'll get back to posting here whenever my desire to do so returns. This'll likely coincide with me getting some of my QBs back.

Black Shirts Stifle Bearcats as They Assist Charles in His First Start

All eyes were on true FR QB Mark Charles as he made the first start of his career in only his 2nd game. After being rushed into last week's game after Forcier was injured, Charles put up disappointing numbers as he threw 3 interceptions. While he showed once again that his passing game is in dire need of improving, he showed that the hype given to his rushing game was well deserved.

Michigan's offense was far from efficient, but they played well enough to get the job done on the road against a very good "A" rated Bearcats team. They only gained 341 yards of total offense and were really poor on 3rd downs as they only converted 2 of 7. Most of the Wolverine offense came on the ground as is the custom for them. They rushed for 196 yard and 4 TDs while Charles only managed to pass for 145 yards. He also threw his 4th pick of the season while he still has yet to throw his first TD pass. Mike Shaw, who missed most of his JR year due to injury, ran the ball well between the tackles as he gained 58 yards on 9 carries including a 17 yard TD run where he ran over a Bearcats' defender. Last year's leading rushing, Vincent Smith, was completely shut down in this game as he was never able to turn the corner on any of his runs and was tackled for a loss on 5 of his 7 carries. The story of the day on the ground, however, was Charles. Things were scary at the beginning of the game for Wolverines fans though. On his second carry, he was blasted by a Cincinnati defender just like Manti Teo hit him last week and knocked him out for a few plays. Luckily, he bounced right back up as he showed his toughness. For the game, he ran for 62 yards on his first 13 carries for a nice 4.8 yard average. It was his final carry of the game, however, that really left Michigan fans salivating. He took the snap on a QB power run off tackle and scampered, untouched, 44 yards for his 2nd rushing TD of the day as he left all of the defenders in his wake. He ended the day with 106 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.

While all eyes were on Charles, it couldn't go unnoticed that the reason Charles was able to do his thing was because the blackshirts played so well. They only allowed 10 points and they scored as many TDs as the Bearcat offense. They only allowed 18 rushing yards on 27 carries and only allowed 3 of 10 on 3rd down conversions and stopped both Cincinnati 4th down conversion attempts. They also forced 2 fumbles, 1 of which was returned for a TD by LB J.B. Fitzgerald. While they shut down Cincinnati's running game, they need to do better against the pass. Cinci's QB was nearly superman as he completed 24 of 29 passes for 310 yards. Everyone on the Wolverines' defense was flying all over the field as they were lead by 4 players who had 9 tackles. They also played most of the game in the Bearcats' backfield. While they only had 1 sack on the day, they tallied 18 TFLs.

The Wolverines are now preparing to take on a ranked Virginia Tech team in their final game before they begin their Big Ten title defense.

Here are the highlights from week 3:

Game Statistics
Category	Michigan	Cincinnati
Score	35	10
First Downs	16	16
Total Offense	341	328
Rushes-YDS-TD	35-196-4	27-18-0
COMP-ATT-TD	11-18-0	24-29-1
Passing YDS	145	310
Sacked	1	1
3rd Down Conv	2-7	3-10
4th Down Conv	1-1	0-2
2pt Conv	0-0	0-0
Redzone-TD-FG	4-3-0	3-0-1
Turnovers	2	2
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	2-2
Intercepted	1	0
PR Yds	50	21
KR Yds	68	129
Total Yards	459	478
Punts-Average	4-43	4-42.8
Penalties-YDS	1-5	1-12
T.O.P.	15:40	12:20