So how did that go? Did you feel like the Toledo game or maybe even the App. State game again. I sure had flash backs and that uneven feeling in my stomach. The Wolverines didn't show up today. This clearly is on the coaches. Greg Robinson and whoever coaches the special teams failed miserably today. RR also failed on that second to last drive on the third down and 1 call when Smith is tackled for a two yard loss. A drive with points ends the game and UMass hadn't stopped the Michigan offense in the second half. The punt was blocked and UMass scored soon after.
With that said, let's get to the cheers and jeers.
Cheers:
- Michigan won the game and scored 42 points
- Mike Shaw went over 100 yards and 3 TD's
- Darryl Stomun had a good day receiving with 2 TD's
Jeers:
- Michigan Special Teams are a mess. The kickoff return is the only unit that is somewhat playing effectively. The kicking game is terrible. The kickoffs are short line drives and I'm not sure if we could make a 20 yard field goal from the middle of the field. Punting is not much better with the blocked punt almost costing Michigan the game. The punt return was a comedy of errors.
- Greg Robinson: When Michigan plays an FCS team you would expect that Michigan has better talent then the other team. Michigan needed to man up on the WR and stop the run. UMass ate up the zone most of the day and the Michigan rush hardly ever pressured the passer.
- UConn lost to Temple. That win now doesn't look so good.
- Mistakes all over the field: Missed coverages, penalties, fumbles after interception, dropped snaps, block punt, and so on.
- Not getting time for the backups. The starters had to play the entire game.
- The linebackers had a pretty poor day
- Way too many missed tackles
I could go on, but it's too depressing. A win is a win for this team as much as it feels like a loss. A couple of things to take from this game. Michigan has a long way to go on defense. Michigan might have been a bit lucky in it's first two games on defense (UConn is not that good and ND had 2 back up QB's and a starter probably playing with a concussion).
Not being able to kick field goals will cost Michigan a win this year. They have to find someone to put the ball through the up rights. The kickoffs have to have some hang time. I'm not sure what is going on with that unit.
I know the Michigan coaches didn't want to introduce anything new on offense for this game, but success is not measured by not showing your future opponents something and getting Denard less hits. If there was a line on this game (estimated at 21-28 points for Michigan) it wouldn't have been close. UMass also has given every team Michigan plays a blue print on how to score points on Robinson's defense.
If you want to take a positive from this game, a win is a win and maybe this will be a wake up call for Bowling Green next weekend. Right now the trip to Indiana is much more in doubt then it was 24 hours ago.
