Turnovers continue to be the achilles heel of this football team. Devin Gardner struggles to protect the ball when scrambling, and seems to have lost all confidence in his passing ability. Michigan now has a -5 turnover differential on the season, and the most of the blame should be directed at the starting quarterback. Garner has accounted for 10 turnovers by himself. On Saturday night he had Gallon wide open for an easy first down, but didn't set his feet which resulted in a high throw that was tipped and then picked off. The second interception is more excusable, and probably should have ended as an incompletion if not for poor play from Chesson. Gardner stepped up in the pocket and released a ball 40 yards downfield. The pass was intended for the redshirt freshman receiver, who had a step on the cornerback. Instead of leading Chesson towards the endzone and throwing the ball to his outside shoulder, the pass was a few yards underthrown. It looked like the cornerback came down with the ball with Chesson, but then outmuscled Jehu for the interception. Gardner's final turnover was on a quarterback sneak. Yes, the offensive line got pushed back into him and Kerridge ran up his back, but Gardner was still carrying the ball too loose. So far in 4 games the Michigan offense has given up 21 points, and that does not include 2 turnovers inside the 10 yard line.
On top of the turnover issues, the offensive line continues to get mauled by anyone lining up in front of them. Coach Hoke mentioned some potential changes to the inside 3 linemen before the UConn game, but ended up going with the usual suspects. I would guess that we will see at least one new face up front against Minnesota. While it is unfortunate to have to switch lineman this far into the season, the Wolverines have to make a change. Michigan is giving up the TFL's in the conference, and are one of the worst teams in the nation. The Huskies did not have a sack entering Saturday night, but came away with 3. On top of that, the defense that got sliced by a bad FCS team recorded 10 TFL. Most of those coming from inside runs. The B1G might not be the best conference, but most teams left on the schedule will have a better defensive line than UConn. It seems unlikely that Schofield will be changed to guard, but I think he makes a better guard than tackle. Also, having a left side of Lewan and Schofield is pretty tempting. It looks like the LG and C spots are up for grabs between Glasgow, Miller, and Bryant with Braden and Magnuson pushing for time at RT. We didnt think the offensive line could be worse than last season, but so far they are testing that statement.
Another thing that I noticed was all of the mistakes from true freshman on special teams. Ben Gedeon ran into the punter (luckily on a 4th and 7), Jourdan Lewis blocked in the back 20 yards behind the punt returner when Dileo put Michigan inside the 10, and Da'Mario Jones had a punt hit his foot on his very first play in a winged helmet. These types of mistakes cost the Wolverines 11 points, and they cannot happen against better opponents. Ever since Dymonte Thomas blocked the first punt of the year, true freshman seem to only be making big play mistakes on special teams.
The most encouraging aspect of Saturday night's game was how the defense performed. UConn by no means has a prolific offense, but anytime you can hold a divison one opponent at 200 yards for an entire game is pretty impressive. Michigan was able to get consistent pressure from the front four, and Frank Clark even recorded his first two sacks of the season. Both came when he beat the terrible RT, but they were the first of his career that he had to beat a block for. Jibreel Black was in the back field again, but Wormley and Henry both made appearances somewhat regularly. Coach Mattison even dialed up a few cornerback blitzes with Raymon Taylor, and each resulted in a sack or a rushed incomplete throw. The linebackers did a little better in coverage, but will need to continue to improve as Beyer and Bolden struggled in the seams at different points. However, the biggest play of the game came from this position group in coverage as Desmond Morgan was able to intercept a pass and return in inside the 20. The secondary still has its glaring issues, but with Avery back in the lineup it gives the coaching staff more options. Luckily Minnesota will not test the back end of the defense at all, which will basically give these guys 2 weeks to prepare for Hackenberg.
Top Performers
1. Bye Week
2. Desmond Morgan
3. Frank Clark
4. Fitz Toussaint
5. Blake Countess
4. Fitz Toussaint
5. Blake Countess
Areas of Concern
1. Devin’s tendency to give opposition points (this will stay on the top of the list)
2. Interior line play
3. Devin's lack of confidence in the pass game
4. Big negative plays from the special teams
Michigan is one of 4 teams that remain undefeated in the B1G, but they have definitely taken the ugliest route there. The bye week cannot come at a better time as the Wolverines have many problems that need to be fixed before Minnesota if Team 134 will be heading to Indianapolis.
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