Saturday 19 November 2011

Post Game Review

The first half was a pretty decent performance, scoring 17 points and defensively we just had one bad play. But that second half...wow. That was something else.

Michigan well and truly dominated a good Nebraska team in all three phases of the game, and I literally couldn't stop smiling whilst watching. Perhaps most uplifting of all was the fact that Denard Robinson looked really good out there, and his form couldn't have come at a better time with the OSU game next week. Ok sure, the interception was bad, but it was also a very good play by that defender to deflect the ball upwards. Apart from that Denard was good both on the ground and through the air; the pass to Odoms for a TD was really, really nice.

As mentioned above, the defense did have that one bad play, conceding a 54 yard TD, but they still held Nebraska to only 260 total yards, and 17 points. They also contained Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez, allowing them to gain only 36 and 49 yards respectively; both were under 4 yards per carry.

And then we have special teams! Even those guys were making plays today, two fumbles forced and a blocked punt! This really was a great team effort.

Recruiting:

Brionte Dunn was at the game, and was seen taking a photo with 2013 commits Shane Morris and Dymonte Thomas (his cousin); can't be a bad thing. Dunn is coming back to Michigan next weekend for the Ohio State game, per Sam Webb, and Sam also said that Brionte will be enrolling early. This is seemingly great news, because will all the uncertainty at Ohio State that will probably go on for another couple months at least, would he really want to enroll early there? I doubt it, Michigan are now favorites.

Pharaoh Brown will be taking a visit to Oregon tonight for their game against USC, or at least that was the word last night. Not sure how Hoke feels about this, Brown will have already told him about it for sure, especially after the TR and RJS thing. Personally I doubt much will come of it.

49 comments:

  1. Benji we had a OTN of 2013kids at the game apparently. Any word on how the class is progressing? WHo some of the top targets are? I know it feels like jumping the gun a little with 4 spots left in our 2012 class still but it was something like a dozen visitors and we already have a few commits for that class, and some of this years class will count against their numbers. Got any rough ideas?

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  2. Was Garnett at the game and if so what did he think?

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  3. Jake Ryan is fast becoming one of my favorites on the D. And he is only a freshman.
    Hoke should get coach of the year.

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  4. Garnett changed his official to the OSU game

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  5. Michael, the main visitor today for 2013 was Kyle Bosch, a guy that's pretty much a lock to be a four star offensive lineman. I think he's visited before, so a 2nd visit is a really encouraging sign.

    I'll start to focus more on 2013 recruiting over the next month or so.

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  6. That would be a nice to see Dunn come to UofM and solidify the HB position under Hokes system

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  7. It's got to be a slap in the face to OSU to see a OSU commit on the Michigan sideline next week.

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  8. @Jer89
    I was thinking the same thing, then i thought which sideline will he be on cause it will most likely be an unofficial visit. and if that is the case we might have a maurice clarrett situation on our hands where he is just coming to the game to get a chance to be at "The Game"

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  9. He has to be a the UM side. You can't visit on a away game.

    I also here there was a juco QB at the game.

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  10. Great win. And great announcing job. I loved how Urban and Chris called the deep pass to seal the deal a couple of plays before it happened.

    Two other things I liked seeing, among many:

    Big Will giving Gibbons lots of love after the "long" FG, and DR showing exemplary class. After a play where he scrambled, he tried to throw the ball to the ref and missed. He got up, and went way out of his way to apologize to the ref.

    CLASS. Can't teach it, can't coach it.

    Who among us would not have taken a 9 win season and run to 2012?

    Michigan now has a legit shot at 11 wins, including a BCS bowl against a quality opponent.

    Then, it's 2012, AL, and Dallas. I'm there.....

    Go Blue!

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  11. @BlueMarrow
    Speaking of which tomvh tweeted that reps from the Fiesta Bowl were at the game.

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  12. Great win today. Michigan dominated in all three areas. Michigan could have easily scored 1 or 2 more TD if they didn't go conservative in the fourth quarter.

    Dunn, Morris and Thomas where all at the game and took a pic at the 50 after. Dunn coming up for the game next week is a very good sign. He first said that he wasn't going to because he thought it wasn't right to do that to Ohio. He also told TomHV after the game that he is know again planning on enrolling early. These are all great signs for Michigan. But I wouldn't expect a commitment after the game. He might be a silent at that point but probably won't announce until sometime in Dec.

    Dunn would be a great addition but honestly Fitz is a game among boys out there right know. Also, could Spielman and Meyer bash Michigan anymore in that first quarter than they did?

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  13. If the crowd rush's the field if we beat OSU,does Dunn rush it too?? How sickening would it be for buckeye fans to see their start recruit rushing the field at UM!!! HaHaHaHa

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  14. As a lifelong Wolverine fan living in Nebraska, I couldn't have been happier! The second half was incredible! Go Blue!

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  15. Forget about getting Dunn and start worrying about losing our current verbal commits.....The post Tressel nightmare is coming true. Urban Myer just agreed to a contract with Ohio State and there's a very good chance he's bringing the LSU offensive coordinator with him. I can guarentee that Kyle Kalis is gone for sure as well as any hope for landing any of the 2013 talent from Ohio which is a loaded class.

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  16. I also heard the sky was falling and the seas have turned black...

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  17. Although I will say I did rather enjoy is Saban-esque speech at the beginning of the game saying he hadn't taken the job or that it wasn't offered. I guess he doesn't mind the fact that they're going to be losing 2 years of postseason eligibility and multiple scholarships per year at least.

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  18. http://umgoblue.com/talk/tm.aspx?high=&m=166848&mpage=6#189558

    a thing of beauty

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  19. Also would like to state the obvious because it's worth repeating: I thought we would win, but I thought it would be close. We absolutely dominated Nebraska. Blow out city! What a game! Ohio lost and nobody even noticed. They let Penn State put up 20 on them in the first half. Michigan will totally pants the buckeyes next week. GO BLUE!!!

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  20. okay so the question is.... is urban meyer really the new coach of OSU or was that just some bs info? Because i can't find anything to prove it true.

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  21. SI.com reported that some OSU blog was quoting unnamed sources saying he accepted the job. OSU fans were also saying he has already agreed to purchase Kirk Herbstriets old home in Columbus. It seems to be rumors and speculation at this point. No one I actually think of as a credible source has said anything yet.

    He still may take the job, but I don't believe he has agreed to anything yet (Just my opinion though, I could be completely wrong).

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  22. This is just me but if I am some big recruit and Urban Meyer is telling me to come to his school the first thought that pops into my head is.... I wonder how long he is going to be coaching there. He already left Florida for health reasons. If he couldn't handle the stress at Florida how does he plan on taking over a program that is losing scholarships and maybe even losing out on being in bowl games. OSU is already going to have a harder time getting recruits with all the negative recruiting that is going to be going on with their school. Then to add on a coach that know one knows how long he will be coaching because of health problems. Not to mention Meyer's is known for getting thug players just check his record at Florida. Over the course of his time there he had more football players go to jail than any other school lol sounds like a perfect fit for OSU. I say who cares if he does go.

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  23. At first I was bummed when I heard about the possibility of Meyer to Ohio with his strong track record and obvious appeal to recruits since I would love the opportunity for us to make them the new little brother for the next decade, but as I have thought about it more, I honestly feel like I would put Hoke, Mattison, and Borges up against anyone and believe we are getting the right talent in the right systems and that we will be able to hang with anyone. It could set up some Woody v. Bo classics with the winner in the national championship talks in a few years.

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  24. Finally someone got it right...who cares who they get/don't get as coach. Our program is moving in the right direction and that's all that matters. Look, OSU is ALWAYS going to recruit their own state very, very well. Just like we have our own recruiting pipeline. Michigan did pretty well through the 80s and 90s with our own recruiting pipeline. Clearly our coaches know what they're doing when they're teaching fundamentals. Meyer isn't a coach that I would consider to do "miracle" work in teaching his players fundamentals. We already have the best defensive coordinator he ever had in Mattison. OSU will be getting punished and there's no way out of it for them. USC arguably had less going on wrong with their program and look at how the NCAA handled that. Even if he does take the job he won't get the recruits that he should right away because of post season bans they will inevitably be facing. The future looks bright for U of M...Go Blue!

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  25. Check out the OSU blogs that refer to us as scUM. They are devastated that Kalis and Dunn are taking their officials together next week, Dunn with his family. They believe (as we do) that part of the reason he is going to enroll early, is that he has to get out of the state of Ohio after he commits to UM! The universe is quickly returning to it's normal state.

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  26. I could care less if it's Urban Meyer, or Oscar Mayer. Whomever it is, they will be following a legend, which is almost always a prescription for failure. Kiffin seemingly being an exception.

    But, ohio will land someone, and someone good. It's a premier job. I hope it stays that way. I hope the Big Ten can look more and more like the SEC on the field: Great coaches, multiple great teams, and top level play.

    As far as Urban's health, a lot of talk is out their that the health thing was just a cover story. A lot of talk. If he takes the job, I will tend to believe it was not just talk.

    Meyer, Gruden, Dungy, who knows? Who cares?

    I say: bring it!

    And, if it is Meyer, we have the extra added bonus of having a DC who knows him like the back of his hand.

    Some reasons he might not come: The NFL, he likes his current job, his health is bad, he knows he won't have the success he had at FL at ou, he really wants the ND job and is content to wait for Kelly's head to explode.

    But again, I say bring it, oscar bucky boy! Michigan will be fully back in two years, maybe less, and not only ready, but dying to go toe to toe with the best of the best.

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  27. Meyer to Ohio does not bother me one bit. Fla. offense got alot of the attention when Meyer was there. But if you look back it was there defense that was the strength of the team. A defense run by Mattison and Strong. Once they both left Fla. stopped winning national championships.

    Secondly recruiting for Ohio will take a hit. NCAA will most likely put them on a one year bowl ban and limit scholarships over the next couple years. Plus he will not have the best recruiter in college football Greg Mattison. Those are Meyers words when Michigan hired him. They also will not be able to pull the same talent to Ohio not matter who the coach is. Most kids in Fla. want play ball in Fla. Yes you might be able to get a few every year. But with Fla., FSU, Miami and South Florida it will be hard.

    Unless Michigan gets blown out next week, I think that is it a safe to say that Dunn to Michigan is as good as done.

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  28. Let me just start by saying what Brady Hoke has achieved in his first season at head coach is remarkable. Sure we had quite a bit of talent returning from Rich Rod, but I think its the approach to the way we play defense that sets this team apart. Watching all the pregame specials on youtube, I see in this defense what Hoke said to Urban Meyer when interviewed... We are going to play fanatical. They have, they swarm to the ball and they deliver the blow. Evident in the game against Nebraska.

    Attitude, Attitude, and more Attitude! This defense is playing with it. When you see production from Ryan, Morgan, as well as Countess. Couple that with quality recruiting and you have a blueprint for future success. Mattison is a fantastic recruiter, as well as Hoke. I think people fail to remember that when Hoke was an assistant he was a great recruiter as well.

    As far as Urban Meyer goes, I happen to like Urban Meyer. I think if he did go to Ohio its a good thing for not just Michigan but the Big Ten... ask yourself a few questions.
    Will he get top level talent?
    yes.
    Will he get recruits to go to OSU as opposed to U of M?
    you bet.
    Will Ohio be a great program underneath him?
    absolutely.
    However if you really want Michigan to BE the Michigan of old, you must beat top level talent. Ill site 2006 as an example, OSU vs Michigan #1 vs #2.
    They got SMOKED in their bowls... why? cause they werent as great as we thought. So now you have all the SEC schools blowing up and ruling college football. TBH of Ohio sucks till the end of time and gets a horrible coach, sure we will beat them, but it will not be what we need to compete nationaly as well as the greatest football rivalry of all time will be greatly diminished.
    Its not a rivalry if your team never wins. I can not Stand that team down south, but I also realize that they make us better.
    Lets be honest... Ohio got to a ton of BCS games and were destroyed.. why? cause we werent good enough as opponents.

    I hope he goes to Ohio. We have our coach and we will have the players we need to compete.

    God Bless and Go Blue!

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  29. This OSU MIchigan game may be one of the biggest games in a very long time... This game could change our future for the next 5 years or so! Think, if we win we are most likley going to get another 3 or more top 50 kids in the nation. Not to mention letting 2013 recruits know we are the real deal. On top of that we will be going to a BCS bowl game that is very winnable assuming alabama gets back in championship. I see us playing boise state, houston, stanford or any of the one loss teams... What a way to start theHoke Era. The best thing is we have a great teacher who has surrounded himself with great teachers. No matter who comes in, the kids will learn football and life! I believe we will start sending a lot more kids to the NFL like years past! Hoke has changed Michigan football for the best!

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  30. http://www.freep.com/article/20111120/SPORTS06/111200658/Three-Michigan-football-questions-Drew-Sharp

    another "back handed" compliment from Drew Sharp. Giving Michigan props, but only because he has to, since we keep winning. When talking about coach of the year? He still thinks Dantonio should get it over Hoke. Hmmm, Drew sharp had Michigan winning 6 games this year. So who deserves the trophy? Hoke, who took a "6 win team" with the worst defense in the country and now has a top defense and 9 wins? or the same Dantonio who returned his 11-1 team from last year...

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  31. Hey Lalond, this just tells me that Drew is not a very "Sharp" man, in fact he's a piece of crap shithead.

    U-M is kicking ass, I predicted a 10-2 record before the season started. I'm really glad they have proved that they can get that done with a win next week, which I believe will occur. In fact, I think we're going to put a whoopin' on that school in ohio.

    I don't see them being able to move the ball with any consistency and our Offense will be diverse enough to move the ball and score, we have the home field and pent up anger going for us.

    After we kick their arses, we can claim that it will have been 365 days since they beat us via cheating, M 27 TSIO 9, I'm calling my shot right now.

    Go Blue!!!

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  32. Does anyone know what happened to Vincent Smith? I know Fitz is playing amazing I just like to see Smith in there on 3rd and long situations. He is such a good pass blocker and has great hands as another WR option out there.

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  33. @balla

    I agree, Vsmith is definitely our best option as a "3rd down" back. (meaning 3rd and 3+ yards, for whoever it was saying 3rd down back should be the big bruiser a few months ago). He's an excellent blocker and he can do the most in space.

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  34. Did UM make Shaq Thompsons top 5?

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  35. We all realize how important next weeks game is for both a quality bowl as well as recruiting. That said I don't like making predictions due to the fact that had we taken care of IOWA, we're would we be. We should have beaten them as we should be that team south of us. Few factors to consider.
    1. We are at home, that is huge.
    2. 7 straight losses is hard to fathom, but it does give OSU a slight edge in confidence. We must start this game hot, and demoralize them early.
    3. I finally saw this in the Nebraska game. Denard forced less throws, there were maybe two passes he should not have thrown, but on a few occasions he finally tucked that ball and got positive yards, instead of forcing it. Also the pass to Odoms was actually ahead of him... Amazing!
    4. Braxton Miller IS a better passer than Martinez and Posey is back. I think he is young enough that we can really confuse him. (crowd MUST be amped up all 4 quarters.)
    5. End the DR/DG experiment for now. Stick with D Rob. Look how it worked against the children of the corn.
    6. Keep pounding Fitz, but throw a few screens to Smith here and there. He is a great weapon.

    All in all I think If Michigan plays like it can, there is no reason they can't beat Ohio by 17 PTs or more.

    On a sidenote, I really liked that option pitch Nebraska used to score on us. I'd like to see that play with our personnel.

    Garnett will be there as well as Kalis, and if your Dunn how can you not want run behind those monsters?

    Let hate week commence, go Blue!

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  36. Would like to respond to Urban Meyer talk
    1. Urban Meyer runs a spread, which is most successful when recruiting elite "speed" athlete from Florida and Louisiana. It also isn't well-suited for games in the midwest during late november. Some teams are running watered down versions, but I think that Urban's system is more suited to being down south.
    2. Meyer could recruit anybody he wanted out of Florida when he was there. Much like RichRod, he will struggle to lure elite southern speed up north to play in the cold. Ohio normally churns out power type players (save for Ted Ginn). That state won't produce enough of the types of players he needs to win at the level he did in Florida.
    3. This HELPS michigan recruiting. Since Hoke will go after "big uglies", and power backs as opposed to lean lineman and people who make plays in space. Compounding with Notre Dame playing a spread and OSU going spread, any Pro-Style QB/RB/Linemen in the midwest would have to put Michigan right up near the top.
    4. Defensively they will be as good as ever, but I just don't see Urban Meyer being able to run the same offense as he did at Florida. We will see though

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  37. Also, I think Yuri Wright comes. Dunn is probably more likely to come than Stefon Diggs. The offense is a running offense, Denard had a big day and didn't even throw for 200 yards. As a receiver he has to be thinking Big 12 where every team averages what seems to be like 400 passing yards per game.
    My best guess for last 3/Dream predictions
    Yuri Wright
    Jordan Diamond/Josh Garnett (an OL, look at the depth chart!)
    Brionte Dunn or a WR

    2013 should be a NICE recruiting class. No need to throw out 100 some odd offers to gain interest. Recruits have to love what they see, so Michigan can be even more selective.

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  38. @ mancave
    Let me pose this question to you then for you make an excellent point about the recruiting of speed athletes. Lets say for a moment that you are 100% correct in your assessment of speed type athletes not wanting to play in the cold. I agree, but if that is the case does it not hurt the teams from the midwest who then go to play in a bowl and are not ready for the speed that is set against them? Cause we all know there isnt a "cold weather" bowl out there.

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  39. Kind of random; but what's up with a bunch of our players in the nflusing their high school's for their intros? Hopefully Hoke can fix this, that doesn't look good for anyone involved. I know I've heard at least avant, manningham, and david harris; not to mention braylon Edwards announcing that he plays for "Lloyd Carr's Michigan"

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  40. @C-Note... Have you seen the SEC dominance in bowl games? I'm absolutely saying that! I'd LOVE to see that old Florida spread playing at Soldier field in January... won't happen though, people want to vacation down south.

    Speed kills, but it kills even more on turf, not so much in the cold, wind, and snow.

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  41. Pharaoh Brown is no longer a part of this class after visiting Oregon. He hasn't committed to them, or uncommitted from us technically, but by going on a secret visit to Oregon, he's no longer considered committed.

    Really crappy news, hopefully he can still come be in a winged helmet.

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  42. @Todd, so does this mean that Bri'onte Dunn is not considered to be "committed" to Ohio?

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  43. Pharroh didn't like that he was bein recruited as a tight end. A shame for sure, but if he doesn't want to be here, don't let the door hit ya where te good lord split ya.

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  44. @ fursty

    Hoke and Co's rules about commits taking other visits are different than other schools. If on of our commits visits another school as Brown did, Hoke doesn't consider them committed anymore. No relevance to Dunn at all.

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  45. 2 Things.
    1. Mancave- Brady Hoke is going to a run first offense, but that doesn't mean he won't be passing more once he gets a traditional drop back passer. So, if Stefon Diggs commits, he would be coming in a year ahead of the future QB of Michigan(Shane Morris). Hoke is going back to traditional Michigan Football, from his time in the 90's up until Carr retired. Michigan was known for great receivers, hence the #1 jersey. Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant, Mario Manningham, just to name 3 recent ones.

    2. I don't think people need to jump to conclusions about Brown. If it comes out officially, then I'm on the side of C-note and everyone else who says just let him go... Like I said, until then, don't help spread rumors.

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  46. @Todd, thanks for clearing that up. I'm really starting to like our chances with Dunn and Diggs. Michigan's offense should be electric in a few years when we have a dangerous passer in Shane Morris!

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  47. Per Sam webb P Brown is no longer considered apart of the 2012 class

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  48. It's been said before... "Those who stay will be champions". Anything else?

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