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.

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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.

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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]

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