Michigan 40, Middle Tennessee State 21
It was far from a flawless debut. Two Michigan fumbles, including a Shea Patterson miscue on the season's first play from scrimmage, led directly to Middle Tennessee State touchdowns. The receivers couldn't haul in a handful of catchable passes. The offensive coaches repeatedly tried a two-quarterback package that produced little but confusion. The O-line couldn't get the needed push on a fourth-and-goal. The second-string secondary yakety saxed a late deep ball into MTSU's third touchdown.
The natural progression of the season should work out many of those problems, however, and what was left was exciting indeed. Examine Michigan's opening drive of the second quarter, for instance, if you want to understand the optimism surrounding first-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. After a Patterson keeper for five yards, Gattis called consecutive run-pass options to free up Tarik Black for big gains, then a conventional play-action bomb to Nico Collins for a leaping 28-yard touchdown. Four plays, 67 yards, no huddles, 1:14 off the clock, seven points. This isn't last year's Michigan offense.
There were other signs of a contender. Blue chip freshman running back Zach Charbonnet got the start, ripped off a 14-yard gain on his first career carry, later added a 41-yard dash through contact, and made multiple blitz-killing pickups. Christian Turner made some nifty cuts and displayed surprising power, while Dylan McCaffrey hardly had to use his arm to move the offense downfield. Michigan finished with 252 rushing yards at 5.9 a pop.
Deep fly to right-center. [Fuller]
The aerial attack didn't quite produce as much, though that had more to do with gameflow than anything else. Before the quarterback shuffling began, Patterson looked comfortable and confident; he began the game 15-for-20 for 188 yards and three scores before scuffling to a 2-for-9 finish in a choppy, frippery-filled second half. Collins and Black looked dominant, combining for 129 yards and two scores on nine targets and seven catches. Sean McKeon bulled through a safety to finish off a 28-yard touchdown up the seam. True freshman Cornelius Johnson reeled in a difficult catch when he plucked a comeback route out of the air that he appeared to expect over the other shoulder.
The defense also had a somewhat uneven performance, letting MTSU QB Asher O'Hara rip off some annoying runs, though they were relatively dominant statistically until the backups ceded a 59-yard touchdown pass deep into garbage time. That allowed the Blue Raiders to edge over 300 yards; unless Michigan's secondary depth is tested against a stronger opponent it shouldn't be too relevant. It felt like the defense could do more—perhaps because Lavert Hill not only muffed a punt but also let an easy pick-six slip through his fingers—but in reality they did about as much as they could.
Ambry Thomas stood tall in the secondary. [Patrick Barron]
We may have even seen a couple questions answered. While injuries held Donovan Peoples-Jones, Donovan Jeter, and Jon Runyan Jr. out of the game, cornerback Ambry Thomas took his place in the lineup after fighting off colitis. He made an impact, too, cutting off a throw to the flat for a leaping interception, then later coming up with a fumble recovery.
His cornerback counterpart, redshirt freshman Vincent Gray, was the biggest unknown in the starting lineup, and he passed his first test with flying colors. Gray looked adept in coverage and fought through traffic for a few jarring, no-YAC-allowed tackles in the flat. With Thomas evidently healthy, Gray looks like the third corner everyone hoped would emerge.
Not everything clicked tonight. That's a season opener for you. Even with the errors, you didn't have to squint much to see a very dangerous football team on the Michigan Stadium turf.
[After THE JUMP: the box score]
September 1st, 2019 at 12:15 AM ^
Are you sure that's what happened? After looking at the snowflakes threads (bad idea) it looks like we played terribly, we might have even lost!
September 1st, 2019 at 12:22 AM ^
Correct. What I learned from the flakes:
- Drunk guys in the stands actually CAN coach better than Harbaugh.
- The defense, despite all statistical evidence to the contrary, is a sieve.
- Patterson is a bum and we should roll with McCaffrey, and his (/checks notes) TWO pass attempts were all we needed to see to confirm that.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:50 AM ^
I agree with your general sentiment regarding the criticisms, but those jabronies actually saw 4 McCaffery passes. Even though they aren’t recorded in official stats, he had two throws that resulted in pass interference penalties to go along with his 2 completions (1 tipped and caught, the other originally ruled incomplete then overturned).
September 1st, 2019 at 8:55 AM ^
my favorite part was the booing after mccaffrey drew a delay of game before his (/checks notes) second snap.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
If I recall correctly, that was one of the plays with two quarterbacks, where the offense looked completely discombobulated. Dylan and Shea switched positions after lining up, and other players seemed confused.
My impression was the crowd just wanted to see Dylan run the regular offense.
September 9th, 2019 at 4:32 PM ^
it was not.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:35 AM ^
I’ll be conservative and say 10% of the crowd was yelling presnap that you’re about to FUp. You’re either going to get a penalty or call a timeout. Players were still turned toward the interns with the flash cards trying to figure out if we’re running the three trousers play or the Sherman tank play. I didn’t boo, but exasperation or incredulity was on my countenance.
September 1st, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Jesus Christ Michigan fans.
Fuck people that boo.
September 1st, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
I have removed the snowflake threads from my reading list after reading about a dozen comments on one thread. I don’t get anything of value from them. It seems to be the place where drunk/depressed posters go to vent.
September 1st, 2019 at 11:30 AM ^
Game threads on any internet site are to be avoided at all costs. So are the comments section after articles on DetNews or that other detroit rag.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
I had never ventured into a snowflake thread until today. What a swamp of misery. There are a number of people that should follow Dave Brandon's advice and stop drinking and go to bed.
September 1st, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
I mean they're called snowflake threads for that reason - everyone thinks they have a unique snowflake comment to make that we all consolidated them into one thread. And the type of people who think they have a unique thing to say immediately after a game (that other people want to hear) are exactly the type of posters you find in those threads, so all the reasonable posters (like myself) avoid them. I'm not saying there aren't any decent comments in there, but the shit-to-decent ratio is about 20:1 so it's a waste of time.
To be honest, it's a brilliant idea because it's a place where a) the real shit holes can go and lament with each other, and b) the regular-yet-drunk-or-discouraged posters can post something without the risk of anyone actually reading it (because no one actually goes to those threads to read, just to post).
September 1st, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
Yeah I was not expecting that sort of response to my lamenting about drunk idiots coaching from the stands.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:24 AM ^
I was going to post something similar.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:34 AM ^
I haven't looked at those threads yet, but this game is very much an eye of the beholder type of thing. With my eyes, against better competition and athletes, Michigan could easily have lost. Yes, it's the first game so let's not be too hasty. But the O-line pass protection was not great and very bad at times. Against Michigan State's defense, we've seen this movie before and it ends badly.
The defense was routinely giving up 5-6 yards per play. Against an offense like Wisconsin's, we've seen that movie as well and it also ends poorly.
I'm optimistic that the coaches will correct much of problems in the coming weeks but I would certainly not blame anyone for tempering expectations after this game.
September 1st, 2019 at 1:20 AM ^
This is exactly where I'm at. Michigan looked really sloppy on all sides of the ball and could get away with it because they were playing MTSU. If they continue to play like that then they're going to have more than a couple losses this year.
The coaches and players both have a lot to improve on if they intend on winning anything notable.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:24 AM ^
Very true. I’m just glad we were able to get our sloppy first game out of the way at home against a mid-major rather than at Notre Dame at night.
September 1st, 2019 at 1:21 AM ^
After OSU last year, we need nothing tempered. From what I recall, our offense returned almost everyone but is running a brand new system and our defense is the same-ish system but a lot of new players. Seems to me that’s exactly what we saw on the field tonight. The only things I couldn’t explain were Lavert Hills uncharacteristic mistakes and the fact that no one mentioned Harbaugh ditched the glasses for contacts!
September 1st, 2019 at 2:52 AM ^
Glasses gone = Approved!
September 1st, 2019 at 8:41 AM ^
No glasses?! Did anyone notice if he's still wearing the lululemon khakis instead of the walmart khakis?
September 1st, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
I did and yes he still is... No Walmart khakis!
(I know it was sarcastic/rhetorical)
September 1st, 2019 at 8:24 AM ^
But that's a bit unfair of an assessment, for two reasons:
1.) Mid Tennessee CONSTANTLY blitzed. Even the best O line can't stop every blitz, and to be honest for most of the night they did their job providing a pocket, all things considered. Some of the sacks were due to QB simply holding the ball too long. The O line can only buy so much time for a QB.
2.) Mid Tennessee is a perennial 7-8 win team. No, their not elite. But they're not a 3-9 cupcake either, and remember that two of their three touchdowns came because of our fumbles.
3.) Don Brown admitted as much that they've actually been spending more practice time prepping for Army on D for the past three weeks. That's not to be discounted.
This was a game to iron out the wrinkles, and that's what it did. Three-score win, even with those errors. And believe me, I'd rather see those errors now, where they can be corrected more quickly, than later against another B1G team.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
Is there anyone else who was shocked to see Ben Mason as our starting DT? I know Jeter was out, but still? I thought he did okay, but what do I know?
September 1st, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
I thought it bizarre that, at the stadium, they never announced the starters. Did I miss something?
September 1st, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
MTSU was a decent team. They had shifty playmakers at QB and RB. Their D had some speed to it
Our young D had some missed assignments. Mayfield looked like he missed some goal line blocks. Drops. Missed guys in the flat by both QBs. You have a new offense. Grey lost his man on the TD pass (unless he was supposed to pass him off)
All of this stuff is correctable.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:57 PM ^
Gray was picked on the TD pass you’re referring to. Could’ve been called for a penalty, but it wasn’t. Even the announcers mentioned it.
September 1st, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
Refreshing to read a reasonable take on the situation, and I agree with all of these points.
We scored 41 points in the opener with a new offense against a likely bowl caliber team.
Yes the defense needs to improve but it was the first game, no team is playing at their absolute best in the first game.
If we played like this in October it would be way more concerning, but I'm just going to enjoy the win.
Now if our offense was only able to score 7 points against a team like, say, Tulsa... that would be more of a cause for concern.
September 1st, 2019 at 5:51 PM ^
Exactly. I watched multiple B10 games this weekend, so much ineptitude was evident. I thought M actually looked better than most teams, especially playing against a decent team, unlike PSU who was basically playing a high school team (my wife is from Idaho and that's how much she thinks of them).
My takeaway is Harbaugh needs to stop scheduling service academies. It totally blows my mind how he's willing to have the D spend weeks of crucial time practicing for an offense they'll only see once.
September 2nd, 2019 at 1:19 AM ^
We may not play another triple option team this year. However, I think having to practice being extra assignment sound in order to defend the triple option is good for later on. I mean, they will see teams who run abunch of RO inwhich the DE has to do similar things against.
September 1st, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^
That's kinda what I thought. The O-line was somewhere between fine and very good. They did a good job blocking and picking up the blitzes (with the help of the RBs). I was surprised by Millen's commentary that our run blocking was not generating push. I haven't replayed the game, but I thought they were pushing their d-line around. Even on the failed 4th and goal, it looked to me that the o-line got some movement, but MTSU had 11 guys on our right behind the LOS in the box, and we ran right at them.
September 1st, 2019 at 5:30 PM ^
I have a VERY similar take to this one. Yes, the game was a little sloppy. But it was really never in doubt and our coaches did the smart week 1 thing which was to get a lot of different guys reps and try some things out against live competition that you can't do in a game you might not win.
The two biggest caveats where a) our All American CB had two bone head mistakes that were very uncharacteristic and likely won't happen again. If you remove those two drops, we win by 14-21 more points, and b) we were pretty banged up. No Runyan, DPJ or Jeter and it sounds like they'll be back soon. If not, that's a different story, but those guys will make a difference.
September 1st, 2019 at 6:25 PM ^
I'm with you guys. I only have two concerns: injuries, and I wanted to see our d-line over power them more. Everything else was either practice-fixable or the kind of things that just happen because nothing is ever perfect. The goal line miss on first glance was questionable, but when you look back it was a discomboobulation and is fixable.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:30 PM ^
I can't say I disagree with anything you're saying, but I'm wondering if you also kind of proving my point. If MTSU could get to our QB with constant blitzing, then a team with better athletes (e.g. Michigan State) will do at least the same and to greater effect than MTSU. With that said, I am very confident in our coaching staff to clean things up.
September 2nd, 2019 at 1:29 AM ^
Any team that is willing to do content cover zero blitzes will get home a time or two. This is because you bring 6+ guys on these blitzes. Michigan was doing things that would cause other teams to abort this because they were exploting the cover 0 (man with no safety help), but mtsu has to blitz like that because it's the only shot to stop Michigan's offense. But, if msu mas trying it and Michigan was hitting them with scissor routes, or other deep shots, that were beating their man coverage, or RPOs, or checking into runs that avoid the blitz, they would be forced to be less aggressive.
That said, I think most the pressure was from the LBs getting through. I didn't see the line losing one on one blocks or not passing of guys on stunts. Moreover, against heavy blitzes from cover 0 you have to know the ball needs to come out fast. The pass to black was against a cover zero blitz and Shea problem throw at 2 to 2.5 seconds which is really the longest you can expect to get against those blitzes. The defense simply is bringing more guys than you have to block.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:37 AM ^
The Same is true for MSU as I think they would have had a rough time with UM because their offense was really bad against a bad team. Jury is still out on who can improve. I sure UM improves more than other teams as we have the potential and injured players. MSU had a couple out too on offense but their ground game was still awful. I don't their QB is going to improve.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:28 AM ^
I do worry about the defense. The offense looked sloppy to me but I knew there would be transition costs. I was amazed by some i hang with IRL who thought Michigan would come out looking like Bana or Clemson.
the kicker will be can the offense get good enough fast enough to cover the D against good opponents.
Also, I feel for Dylan. The way fans go one day he will go from being fan favorite to the guy in the starting spot holding down the “real talent”, Milton.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:49 AM ^
At the beginning, MTSU did a nice job using designing offensive plays that took advantage of the kind of defensive over-pursuit you'd expect to see in an opener. They had some speed and used it effectively. Once we calmed down, we held them down pretty well.
September 1st, 2019 at 10:05 AM ^
I completely agree. My eyes saw a team that still needs a lot of work. We made their QB look like a heisman candidate. I was thinking what will a top QB do against us. We missed way too many tackles
offense was good at times but not great. Thought we still should’ve been able to run the ball better and I think Dylan deserves more playing time. Shea put the ball on the ground three times and missed some throws badly He did some good things but Dylan adds a running dimension Shea can’t provide. Not sure why people on here are so against him playing more. He moved the team when he was in there
September 1st, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
He moved the team when he was in there? I don't know why so many were clamoring for him though either. The execution wasn't great when he was in there. He attempted... what, four passes? He ran pretty well, but I was hoping we were up by 40 or more so that we could run some real sets with Dylan. I don't think what we saw from Dylan's limited time was enough to give fans a sense (positive or negative) of what he can do.
September 1st, 2019 at 3:21 PM ^
It's the same people who absolutely knew John O'Korn was better than Speight.
September 1st, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
This is why a warm-up against MTSU to open the season is preferable to playing Notre Dame
September 1st, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
For the game, Michigan gave up 4.4 yards per play. One play in garbage time was for 60 yards...which makes it 3.6 yards per play.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:36 AM ^
I normally avoid the snowflake threads. I think I'm going to attempt avoiding the gamethreads themselves for the rest of the season. My sanity depends on it.
September 1st, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
You are very wise, grasshopper.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:38 AM ^
Snowflakes, by their definition...Melt under the Heat.
September 1st, 2019 at 1:58 AM ^
I used to post and read the board quite a bit. But the negative vibes have driven me away. Decided to check in the snowflakes offense thread after the game and it’s intolerable. Appreciate and love BrIan and the staffs work. But man the board has become a complete tire fire.
September 1st, 2019 at 2:55 AM ^
This. I can't even read the Snowflake threads. It's just a bitching festival, basically.
The internet equivalent of the weird older lady (with jet black dyed hair) who sits in front of me in my section yelling at the players to a) "get your head in the game"; b) "hit someone"; c) "try harder"; d) "stop running it up the middle all the time".
FFS
September 1st, 2019 at 9:31 AM ^
I feel for you. We have been treated to 20 years of the older lady behind us whose solution to everything unacceptable on the field is "they oughta bench that guy!"
Plus there's the my favorite FFS moment when, 40 seconds after a play is ended with an obvious flag on the field and the referees have been conferring for 10 seconds, she blurts out, "Oh. there's a flag on the field. Well, that's just stupid. That's a stupid penalty. Our guy is stupid for that. Just plain stupid. They oughta bench that guy!"
No, Lady, it's not the penalty and player that are stupid. She and others of her ilk make me relish watching games on TV, they really do.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
Damn guys!
I not changing my seats then. Got a really good group of fans surrounding me.
I feel for you both. Ugggggg
September 1st, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^
Give up your seats and become an usher. You stand in the portal with fellow team members who are not too passionate nor blockheads. If one starts on a rant you move to the other side of the aisle, smile and continue watching. There’s no moving from your 15” of aluminum bench.
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