I think every UM fan is predicting a win here, but I'm pretty undecided, even as I right this. Here's what I put in my pre season review:
"After 5 home games to start, the Wolverines hit the road and are given their first loss in my book. Dan Persa is a very good dual threat QB, and if he's as good as last year, he could rip through Michigan's D and rack up some serious points."
Oh how things have changed. Michigan now has a respectable defense, and Dan Persa probably isn't 100% healthy! Plus, Northwestern's top RB is out for the year, which means Michigan can really focus in on Persa. Even if he gets off to a hot start, we know that our defensive coordinator is actually capable of making the right adjustments to slow him down!
On offense, if Denard gets into a rhythm like last week, expect UM to put up a lot of points on a suspect defense. UM showed last week that they have a few tricks up their sleeve, and I don't think NW has the athletes/playmakers needed to stop Denard and co consistently. I think Fitz Toussiant could have another big game.
As for the whole, 'it's our first road game thing', where better to start than Evanston, where the fans aren't exactly the rowdiest.
The only way this game gets close is if Persa plays out of his skin, and I just don't think he will against Greg Mattison's D.
Prediction: Michigan 38; Northwestern 17.
Anyone hear about the news with Mitch Mcgary?
ReplyDeleteBenji,
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you. Go Blue.
Good to hear about Payton.
This is from The Big House Blog. The Burbridge new makes my head hurt. But thought everyone may like to read it.
ReplyDelete•Jordan Payton Update: He is a new Army All American and told TV reporters he is planning to announce his decision in two weeks after his trip to ND with his teammates. If you remember, he was considering canceling that trip. There is also a rumor floating around that Michigan has a silent commit on the offensive side of the ball. Those seem like good signs.
•Sam Web hinted yesterday that if Aaron Burbridge gets his grades in order that Michigan might come calling again and there might be some interest from Aaron. AB is committed to MSU right now.
•Sam also gave us his final 4 guys he thinks will be in the class: Wright, Dunn, Payton and Darboh. I will take those 4 all day!
•Speaking of Yuri Wright, he is planning his official visit to Ann Arbor for THE GAME - Michigan vs Ohio
Alright Benji! 38-17 was my pick too!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a good perfect prediction since UM-EMU in 2009, so that's probably a bad sign if you have the same prediction as me!
ReplyDeleteAs for Burbridge, it would be very strange to end up with him as a commit, tbh I don't see it happening.
I saw an article on espn that tomvh believs we are taking another 5 guys to end the class with 27. However, since I don't have an espn insider account I wasn't able to see who he believes these final five guys will be. Also I didn't know if anyone else saw that we offered to another OT I believe according to the scouts website. Personally I would like to see us end our class with Wright, Payton, Wiggins, Madris, Banner.
ReplyDeleteOhh yeah also my prediction for this weekend is Michigan 31-10
ReplyDeleteI think it will be more of a shoot out... Michigan 45 Northwestern 31....final five - dunn, wright, banner, payton, and madris.
ReplyDeleteBenji, what do you know about this Alex Kozan kid we offered on Thursday. Seems like a good one. 4 star, 244 ranked in the nation. What would be the chances of landing him and do you think we may jot be 100% with banner?
ReplyDelete@Bendy...who is Wiggins? I thought he was a 2013 recruit or are you thinking of someone else?
ReplyDelete@akmed
ReplyDeleteyour right i got the shaquille's mixed up. I was thinking of Shaquille Thompson. I don't know exactly where we stand with him but i remember reading somewhere(maybe on this site) that payton was possibly try to help recruit him to Michigan. I know we are loaded with DB's but you can't pass up a top recruit like Wright or S. Thompson. I was originally thinking Dunn over S. Thompson but i would rather us get deeper depth on the D. And i feel we are stronger with young talent at RB than we are at DB's. Finally i believe if Dunn wanted to be a Michigan Man he would have switched by now like Kalis but this wishy washy stuff just makes him seem like a Drama Queen to me. Either way i am extremly excited for where this class is headed and i have a feeling we have silent commits from Banner and Garnet and we lead with Wright... don't ask me why its just a gut feeling. Maybe Benji could fill us in on some of these unknowns cuz i don't know about anyone else but the anticipation of finishing this class is killing me!
I think Thompson would be pretty difficult to get because I know Notre Dame has been recruiting him HARD and I thought they were the leaders...however it does help when a friend is trying to recruit you and Michigan has so much buzz right now with their season and their recruiting. I think Dunn is trying to wait as long as possible about switching to a different school other than OSU because he saw the reaction and everything that Kalis had to deal with when he switched. If he does come, great, if he doesn't there are plenty of other RB recruits out there like Garmon or the kid from GA who is a lifelong Michigan fan next year (his name has slipped my mind). Anyway, getting excited for the game...I really hope they punch NW in the mouth on national television!
ReplyDelete"Texas vs Oklahoma second greastest college football rivalery to Ohio State-Michigan!"
ReplyDeletestraight from Dwayne Stanford's facebook
ok that first deep pass by DR was sick...right on the money!! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe first deep pass was a 50-50 ball not on the money, the last one was a punt pass to the free saftey off the back foot. Everyone can jump on this comment but I'll be glad when a couple years go by and we have a quarterback at the quarterback position and not a punt returner. fun to watch run and that's it. I can't look at this thru my go blue beer goggles.
ReplyDelete#Hater
ReplyDeleteBefore people start hating on denard... Tom brady threw 4 picks a week ago, i agree he has to get better and in time he will each week but he gives us the best chance to win right now! I hope we can hold off NW! Go blue
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but you made me spit up my diet coke using the Brady comparison :/
ReplyDeleteI don't think he's comparing DR as a qb to Tom Brady as a qb...I think what he's trying to say is that even the best qb in football right now can have bad throws and bad reads. BTW if DR didn't play the way he did in the 2nd half we don't win...not bad for somebody you call a punt returner
ReplyDeleteI love the stat they keep showing about how when Michigan starts the season 6-0, they end up in the Rose Bowl. I also love that Brady Hoke would say he doesn't care about stats...just wins and losses.
ReplyDeleteHaha it was no comparison what so ever... I was just saying that it can happen to the best passing qb in the game so dont dog denard. He made some real nice throws in 2 nd half but please know it was no comparison lol
ReplyDeleteDR plays that way every game, highlight filled runs and terrible throws... so that is still a terrible comparison. and if you're not comparing you don't bring it up. I like seeing reality, look at it any way you want it's your right. It's not like I'm rooting against the kid. I just see the throwing off the back foot, best completions are jump balls, barely ever hitting a receiver in stride, Terrible redzone and other interceptions. goes on and on.... I hope he does a 180 but I'm not gonna hold my breathe.
ReplyDeleteHe made great throws in the 4 th quarter. When on balance he throws pretty good and i brought up brady because he threw 4 picks and didnt get crucified. Watch how denard does the next 5 days... Either way denard is a great QB in his own way!
ReplyDeleteTerrible redzone? Um I don't think so...I'm pretty sure their red zone offense is one of the best in the nation...I don't think they've been stopped many times if at all in the red zone this year. Is there something wrong with completions as jump balls? If there are then I think Calvin Johnson must really suck. You sound like a hater. You're probably one of the people who constantly wants Devin Gardner as QB and Denard Robinson as RB (or punt returner apparently). BTW, you should check out the recent interview with Al Borges about the Denard and the change in offense/Denard's mechanics. Considering he is someone that has made a career out of coaching football he probably knows better than you about what Denard will be able to do in the future. Borges brought up that Denard won't be the QB he can be in this offense until the end of this season or early next year. It takes a year to get used to the new routes, different drops and new footwork. He also brought up the fact that when he coached at UCLA the first year in the offense Cade McNown was the worst QB in the Pac 10 statistically. The year after (once he had learned and practiced the offense much more) he was towards the top of the entire FBS. Have patience...the offense is completely new. I actually think his progression as a QB is going pretty well...if you can't throw the ball you can't have 300 yard games in an offense that is completely new to you.
ReplyDeleteBrady has superbowl rings, he's earned a little leeway I take that back a LOT of leeway he went a whole year last year with 4 interceptions I believe. Dernard had his usual game, great runs, couple good throws, and some terrible int's. we'll have to agree to disagree here. I'll never vote a good game for a qb who throws 3 int's
ReplyDeleteDid they win the game? Yup. Did he have a great 2nd half? Yup sure did. All that equals great game. He's still learning the system...give it a rest you can't fault him for having a coach the first 2 years of his collegiate career that clearly has absolutely no grasp of the fundamentals whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteAn excerpt from the article where Al Borges talks about Denard Robinson/Cade McNown courtesty of espn.com:
ReplyDeleteBut Borges maintains that when Robinson is comfortable he is an accurate and efficient passer. He compares it to the situation he had at UCLA with quarterback Cade McNown. In McNown's sophomore year, his first year under Borges, he was near the bottom of the Pac-10 in pass efficiency. But, as a junior, the quarterback led the nation in pass efficiency.
"Is it all of a sudden a magic wand touched you and you're an accurate passer? No," Borges said. "It's understanding the offense, and not just [the quarterback's] understanding, but everybody else's too. It's all the growing pains that go with this."
Borges said it is both mental and physical growing pains. Robinson has been able to rely on his speed to bail him out of situations so far this season, but Borges believes that as the season goes on and as Robinson gets more comfortable, he will have a better feel for both aspects of the game.
**For the whole article here's the link for anyone who's interested...
http://espn.go.com/colleges/michigan/football/story/_/id/7028728/michigan-wolverines-work-passing-denard-robinson
No he didnt have a great game at all... He would tell you that and im not gonna attack you like akmed 11 is but denard is starting for a reason... There is a reason that after 3 picks none of his coaches or players lost faith in him. Yes he's no tom brady but he's one of the best in college at his position. So i agree with you about the great game but a jump ball is toughest play for a corner back who has got burnt! Id take denard at QB any day now that we have a good defense to get stops! MSU will be tough! We need to run him to the outside more in spread not up the middle so much!
ReplyDeletePoints I agree with and disagree with Hail, Dernard is are best option right now no doubt if we read up above I'm pretty sure I said I'll be glad in a couple years. (So we have a UM team not RR) was not crying for devin or anything else. I want UM football back, his style is not that and don't think he can be that. Till then I'll still cheer and root for wins anyhow anyway. appreciate ya not overdoing it like the other guy. done responding to him considering all I get is hater every post from him.
ReplyDeleteI agree i can understand if you were a buckeye or sparty but your rooting for same team! But i believe football has changed forever. The triple option was a typical offense, then pro and now every where you look it is spread offense. Yes big ten is mostly spread but best teams do a lot of spread. Oklahoma oregon auburn florida and etc but i just want to win and dc how we do it honestly.
ReplyDeleteDenard was 7/8 with 148 yards on 3rd down. High pressure situations where it matters most. I beg anyone to find better numbers.
ReplyDeleteTwo coaches in two years is a LOT to ask of any QB. We all know Denard is not the typical UofM QB, but I think he is doing a great job.
Why do we keep getting people on this blog who hate on Denard? Look, we all watch the games, we realize he needs to work on his passing, can we leave it at that? Whether you want him on the field, at a different position, benched, whatever. He's the QB Hoke wants on the field, and that's good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteKill, I think we all agree that Denard's game was not anywhere close to where we'd all want it to be, but there is a reason Hoke and co. aren't trying to recruit a QB this year. If Denard was a major concern at QB they'd have been trying to snatch up a QB asap
ReplyDeleteI don't remember reading on this blog or any other blog on this site during any of the DG vs DR or about any of the DR's lack of accuracy in passing, that anyone who was a UM fan said they hated Denard. I pretty sure everyone who is in agreement that his passing game is lacking still says he is a very dynamic and electric player and we need the ball in his hands. Sure sometimes he can make a nice throw, and nobody denies that he has an arm. We just state that simply as of right now his footwork looks sloppy sometimes and the touch on his ball has no finese. He missed a wide open kevin koger early in the game and his deep balls are always a jump ball between the reciever and db. And i don't know who in the hell on this site said it or even agrees but a deep ball should not be a jump ball that is just ludacrious. A QB when throwing the deep ball should hit his reciever in stride no throw the ball up for grabs. The ONLY time a jump ball should be thrown in like a post route into the end zone. Either way I think we can all agree that denard needs work in the passing game some. I was honestly one of the biggest supporters to get DG some reps he has and ive been well pleased. Now can we please put this issue to rest and talk about some recruiting. Does anyone know if any recruits were at the game? How many does everyone think we will take to finish the class? Who are those final names? Why do you believe we will get those final players? Thanks and Go Blue!
ReplyDeleteWe won the game with denard and we'll finish the season with denard. Remember those who stay will be champions. Thats why denard stayed. The Team The Team The Team! For all you so called michigan fans thinking we where going to lose. Buzz off! This is the new michigan. 42 the good guys 24 the bad guys. And a shut out in second half. GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust because some of you have a man crush on DR does not mean that other UM fans are any less a UM fan just because we don't think he can throw the ball very well.If all you think about is the numbers then you must have wanted to keep RR.
ReplyDelete