Michigan 33, Florida 17
Ty Isaac repeatedly broke into the open field. [Chris Cook]
The score doesn't do it justice.
Outside of two no good, very bad plays, Michigan put it on Florida. The Gators offense had no answer for Don Brown's defensive strategy, which was to bring heat from all angles around a three-man line, eschewing a DT in favor of speed an unpredictability. Two first-half pick-sixes by Wilton Speight, a bizarre illegal formation penalty that negated Michigan's first touchdown, and a blocked punt not only kept Florida around, however, but allowed them to take a 17-13 lead into halftime.
Eventually, the score reflected Michigan's dominance. The offense turned up the tempo on their opening drive of the second half, springing Ty Isaac free for 18 yards on a fourth-and-one to set up a Karan Higdon touchdown plunge. While the offense could only muster two Quinn Nordin field goals—and two Nordin missses—after that score, the defense hardly required help. They held the Gators to a total of 192 yards and capped the scoring when Noah Furbush dove on a fumble forced by Chase Winovich in the end zone.
Yes, the defense technically returned only one starter, and that starter, Mike McCray, missed a couple series early for reasons unclear. They hardly missed a beat, stiffening up in the red zone to hold Florida to a field goal on their first drive of the game, then outscoring UF's offense 7-0 the rest of the way. Maurice Hurst, Rashan Gary, and Chase Winovich made a three-man line feel a whole lot like a four-man line to the Florida offensive front; linebackers Devin Bush and Khaleke Hudson often flew into the backfield unimpeded; the young secondary didn't let anything get over the top. Michigan finished with six sacks, 11 TFLs, four forced fumbles (one on special teams on a great rip by Ambry Thomas), and five pass breakups. They were aggressive. Florida had problems.
Chase Winovich's strip-sack effectively ended the game. [Cook]
The offense would've fared nearly as well if not for those two Speight interceptions; the first bounced right to Duke Dawson off the hands of Kekoa Crawford, and the other sailed over an open Grant Perry into the hands of CJ Henderson on the ensuing possession. The next two drives were turned over to John O'Korn, who could only get Michigan into position for a 55-yard Quinn Nordin field goal.
Save for that stretch, Michigan moved the ball with regularity against a strong UF defense. Running back Ty Isaac put forth the best performance, rushing for 114 yards on only 11 carries, repeatedly breaking into the secondary as the coaches dialed up running plays on passing downs. With sacks removed, Michigan ran for 6.1 yards per carry, which kept the offense moving despite an uneven day in the passing game.
We saw flashes of what the aerial attack can look like. Tarik Black exploited a Florida bust for his first career receiving touchdown in the first half and added an impressive catch from O'Korn down the sideline; Grant Perry had a couple tough catches over the middle; Sean McKeon picked up a couple first downs on catch-and-runs; Nick Eubanks had a big play up the seam late to help seal the game. There are a lot of weapons, and while many of them are still getting acclimated to college ball, it's easy to see the potential.
Michigan overcame some self-inflicted adversity to get past their first of four major tests slated for this regular season. The next one, at Penn State, doesn't occur until mid-October. If the Wolverines hold this form while cleaning up some of the more heart-stopping mistakes, they have a great chance of heading into that game 6-0. Consecutive home games against Cincinnati and Air Force should allow them to carry this momentum into conference play.
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
Instead of JH, Sp8 needs his "Happy Gilmore" moment. Without it, we're #*$#'ed.
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 11:40 PM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 12:12 AM ^
What?
Grant Perry did what?
September 3rd, 2017 at 1:03 AM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 5:52 AM ^
That penalty was bullshit. I'm so tired of the refs taking emotion out of the game. He did it later in the game after another reception (wasn't as aggressive as the first) but it didn't get flagged. I don't think "selfish" was the issue here. That seemed to be a habit or a reflex that he will need to break.
September 3rd, 2017 at 7:29 AM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 9:32 AM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 10:15 AM ^
It is stupid. Couldn't agree more. That said, it's so stupid, it should be easy to remember and not break. I believe one of Perry's strengths is intelligence, so time to use it.
September 3rd, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^
That's the problem I have with it—it was a garden-variety catch in the middle of a game—it didn't clinch the victory, let alone a conference championship or a playoff game. Just hand the ball to the fucking ref and focus on the next play instead of trying to call additional attention to yourself with a juvenile display that is completely irrelevant to beating the opponent.
That shouldn't be a 15-yarder though—at most it should be a five-yard delay of game penalty.
September 3rd, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 7:43 PM ^
If he would've just put the ball on the ground, the ref wouldnt have thrown his flag.
September 3rd, 2017 at 9:31 PM ^
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September 4th, 2017 at 10:39 PM ^
I swear, officer. It just started spinning all by itself!
September 3rd, 2017 at 1:02 PM ^
The play counted, so it was only a 15 yard penalty, for what it's worth.
September 3rd, 2017 at 6:29 PM ^
September 4th, 2017 at 8:20 AM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:48 PM ^
Defense is fast and looked really good. I like the speed they show. Speight will make us or break us this year.
Go BLue
September 3rd, 2017 at 2:21 AM ^
don't think Speight will make or break the team. He certainly needs to be better, but what was lacking last year was a dominant offensive line that could close games late. The line is certainly a work in progress and the make-up may look a different by seasons end in terms of who is starting. I am interested to see the UFR as it appeared that Ulizio had some breakdowns in the run game and pass pro.
September 3rd, 2017 at 2:19 PM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 2:22 AM ^
looked awesome.
September 3rd, 2017 at 4:26 PM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 1:34 AM ^
I lean more to make us. not to say he was perfect, when he missed tht wheel route with no one arounrd i let out eough f bombs to have my wife tell me to calm down. But i really think the offense will progess as a whole and Speight can be the qb to gt them there.
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:48 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:48 PM ^
but what did our BBPI end up looking like for the game???
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:55 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:02 PM ^
Big Boy Pants Index...if you can believe that. Can't they just call good players dudes? Please?
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:02 PM ^
Big Boy Pants Index...if you can believe that. Can't they just call good players dudes? Please?
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:03 PM ^
uh well, i guess that's one way to get mgopoints. :/
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:12 PM ^
hell of a start fenrir!
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:14 PM ^
to increase your mgopoints.
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:49 PM ^
Great win for Michigan! The final score doesn't truly reflect how dominant Michigan was over Florida. I'm happy to see that we were able to run the ball so effectively.
Good win to start the season!
September 3rd, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
September 3rd, 2017 at 9:36 PM ^
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September 3rd, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:49 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
We look quicker and faster. Year two of Don Brown, baby.
September 2nd, 2017 at 10:55 PM ^
especially when we pulled the NT (did we ever even play with one? I don't recall Mone in the game). Guys flying all over the place.
UF has a bad OC and abysmal QB play, not to mention some suspended skill players so they didn't stand a chance. I'm not sure many teams do stand a chance though.
September 3rd, 2017 at 4:12 PM ^
lol oh my!
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:51 PM ^
Total domination. If Speight can get the ball on target this team firts with a fifty point victory here. But I guess we were having similar discussions last year about Speight.
September 2nd, 2017 at 7:51 PM ^
It's a small thing, and probably not terribly important, but does anyone know why Robbins wasn't punting?
Two 35 yard punts and a blocked punt aren't exactly encouraging from Hart.
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:04 PM ^
September 2nd, 2017 at 8:31 PM ^
I was watching the cars and trucks around me on the highway as I listened to a very spotty audio stream of the game.
So thanks for being an asshole. Are you always like that, or just when you falsely feel superior to someone asking a question?
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