The Michigan Wolverines pulled out a hard fought victory Saturday night for UTLII. It marked another spectacular event thrown by the Michigan athletic department, and another data point about why Notre Dame wants out of the rivalry. Michigan quarterbacks have been the main storyline in the past four games of this series, with 3 of them making Wolverine fans extremely happy. Devin Gardner’s 376 yards was the 8th most yards in one contest in Michigan history, and the 2010 and 2011 matchups resulted with Denard topping the all-time list. So as the fighting chickens move on to greener pastures against the likes of Michigan State and Purdue, lets look back on yet another unforgettable matchup in the Big House.
The optimism for the Maize and Blue defense faded a bit after week one. The most concerning part being how badly the Wolverines were controlled in the trenches. Notre Dame does boast one of the best offensive lines that is currently on Team 134’s schedule, but I expected the defensive line to perform better. It was obvious early-on that the front four was just unable to generate much pressure on Tommy Rees, and he was able to pick apart the secondary. Coach Mattison rarely sent blitzes, and when he did Rees was able to audible to a quick pass and still avoid pressure. However, this appeared to be by design. The Michigan coaching staff decided to play softer in the back 7 in order to keep every pass play in front of them, instead forcing the mistake-prone Irish QB to beat them with short throws all the way down the field. The result was Notre Dame looking unstoppable between the 20s, but as the field reduced so was Tommy Rees’ efficiency. This game plan put a lot of pressure on the Michigan secondary tackling ability, and they did not disappoint. Raymon Taylor and Thomas Gordon led the team in tackles, and I can only remember one missed tackle all game from the unit which came from the 3rd cornerback (Hollowell). Since I think Tommy Rees is the best pocket passer on the schedule this year, forcing any other signal caller to beat you by stringing together multiple accurate short passes will be a positive for the Michigan defense.
In the running game, Notre Dame again had some success outside of short yardage situations. I am unclear how much this was to do with Michigan sitting back in a 4-2-5 Nickel package for most of the game, or it’s a concerning weakness of the defense. At this point I am leaning towards the former. The front four struggled to hold their blocks, or generate any penetration which resulted in the linebackers getting swallowed up by the Irish offensive linemen. Since linebackers are much better in space, attacking gaps, this was not ideal. Michigan pulled the nose tackle often and left undersized ends to hold up in the middle of the defensive line. I have a feeling a similar type of defensive strategy will be used against Nebraska, Northwestern, and Ohio State.
The Michigan offense hung 41 points on by far the best defensive lines (and one of the best overall defenses) on the schedule. Notre Dame had no answer for Devin Gardner’s athleticism, accuracy, or playmaking abilities. Even though the young interior line struggled, the running backs did not go over 100 yards, and the 2nd receiver is still unknown; Michigan scored more points than any team will on the Irish this season. Outside of the one terrible decision from Gardner, he was near perfection and likely vaulted himself into national recognition. He constantly looked down pressure and made the confident throw to the open receiver. It helped that Notre Dame just could not stay near Jeremy Gallon. The Wolverines consistently moved the ball against the Irish, and sustained drives by mixing in runs by Fitz or Devin and an effective play action passing attack. It now looks like the true freshman that will be relied on most will be Jake Butt who’s in line blocking is already as good, if not better, than Devin Funchess. Yes, it would have been nice to see the offensive line not break down so much against the stiff competition, or Toussaint having more running lanes and topping 100 yards again, but scoring 41 points on a real opponent is impressive. The scary thing is that the Michigan offense isn’t clicking on all cylinders yet, but they have scored 100 points in the first two games for the first time since 1947.
Top Performers
1.
Jeremy Gallon
2.
Devin Gardner
3.
Blake Countess
4. Raymon Taylor
5. Thomas Gordon
Areas of Concern
1.
Defensive
line’s ability to rush four
2.
Interior
offensive line’s run blocking
3.
Frank
Clark’s lack of production
4.
2nd
receiver position
Michigan just pulled out what will likely be the conference’s best nonconference win in the 2013 season. While there are many areas to improve, the Wolverine’s schedule lessens drastically which should give them a chance to prepare for the grinding November schedule.
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