There was a collective sigh of relief echoing around Ann Arbor at 3:40 on Saturday afternoon after the Michigan football team escaped with a 31-25 win over Air Force. As much as us fans would like to know exactly how good this football team is or can be, we will have to wait at least another 2 weeks for a better idea. As I detailed in the preview last week, Air Force runs a triple option offense. This system is extremely difficult to prepare for in only a week. The Air Force coach recently added a wrinkle of running the option at a high tempo pace. I expected Air Force to finish with 300 yards rushing, so I am not too surprised this afternoon as I am writing this.
It was good to see Denard get back on track and put up some huge numbers. Yes, the Falcon defense is not very good, but I am glad the playcalling went back to its strengths. Denard made his usual amazing cuts and out ran everyone to the endzone on 2 long runs. I would imagine the difference in defensive speed between Alabama and Air Force helped Denard feel more confident. Looking forward, I would not expect to see that many designed quarterback runs for the rest of the season. I was also impressed with Denard's passing technique and decision making. I definitely think he has improved as a passer, but it will likely take most of the season to really determine how much.
Fitz was back from suspension, which I assumed would mean the running game would be one of the nation's bests. I dont know if Fitz was still rusty and missed some holes or if the offensive line just forgot to run block when Denard handed the ball off. To me, it looked like Fitz had nowhere to go on most of his 8 runs. This leaves me concerned for the offensive line. I predicted that this unit would be one of the best in the conference this season, but so far they have been very underwhelming. Look for Fitz to get more involved in the offense this week when Michigan plays UMass in a glorified scrimmage.
Devin Funchess was fun to watch. He likely is Michigan's most highly touted recruits at the position in over 10 years. He hauled in 4 catches for over 100 yards in his Big House debut. Part of his success was due to Air Force not being able to matchup with his 6'5" frame, but pass catching has been his strength. I am very excited to see how he is used in the offense throughout the rest of the season. Having such a tall weapon can be really beneficial against the blitz happy MSU defense.
The defense left little to be desired from Saturday's matchup. I think there are a lot of individuals in the front 7 that will continue to improve with more game experience, but will that translate into the defense as a unit improving? The defensive line struggled to hold their blocks which resulted in the offensive line getting to the 2nd level too many times for a second week. I think we will continue to see Ondre Pipkens play more and more as the season progresses. I was happy to see Frank Clark back. I think he adds some impressive speed to the outside pass rush, and the combination of Clark, Ryan, Ross, and Beyer could give opposing quarterbacks problems. I was less than enthused by watching the Demens-Morgan linebacking unit. Apparently Hoke had seen enough as well, since Ross and Bolden played most of the 2nd half. While James Ross and Joe Bolden are both freshmen, I like the speed and instincts these two players bring to the field. Yes, they made their share of freshman mistakes, but both guys are head and shoulders more athletic than the starting duo. I would not be surprised to see Morgan on the bench with James Ross taking his place.
The secondary was not tested too much in the passing game, but when they were they seemed to struggle with the play action passes. Connor Dietz had little trouble completed throws to open receivers. Jordan Kovacs had a very good game like usual, and seemed to be around the football on every play.
Overall it was good for this team to get their first victory of the season, but there is definite room for improvement. The offensive line needs to continue to improve with run blocking. As good as Denard and Fitz can be, if there arent any holes to run through this offense will really struggle in B1G play. Defensively I still have no idea how good this team is. It looks pretty obvious that they are not as good as 2011, but they will likely improve a lot as the season goes on and become a very respectable unit. Look for the Michigan unit to have a dominating effort against a very bad UMass team. Next Monday's recap will be disappointing if the Minutemen score a touchdown. It will be a good opportunity to give the freshman more playing time and see if Demens-Morgan should be the starting linebackers on this defense. Next week is just a tuneup before the showdown in South Bend on September 22nd, but a tuneup is exactly what this team needs after what I have seen in the first two weeks of the season.
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