I was sitting next to a buddy who is a big time Notre Dame fan.  Even when ND had the 17 point lead heading into the 4th quarter, my buddy couldn’t even find an ounce of enjoyment in it because he knew ND would figure out a way to blow it – and they did – in mind boggling fashion.

But still, it’s hard to put this game into words because it was so much of everything.  The Under The Lights anticipation of the event itself, ESPN College Gameday, the Desmond Howard honor and tribute, the 9/11 reflection piece, the throwback uni’s – all of this is before the game even started!  So before you even get to playing football – you’re left with more happening around the Big House than ever before for a football game.

Eventually, come 8pm-ish, we get to watch the football game.  And let’s be honest, those first three quarters were U-G-L-Y.  What Al Borges is doing is interesting, intriguing, and you kind of get the sense that even Borges himself isn’t really sure what he has in this offense.  Stephen Hopkins was largely ineffective.  Mike Shaw didn’t get a single crack at a hole big enough to attack.  And Fitz Toussaint, come to find out in today’s presser, had a shoulder dinged up from the Western Michigan game.

A box-score tells you a lot, but not often will it tell the whole story.  Let’s see how this box-score translates into everything else we now know about this epic game.

Michigan on Offense

Well, it’s more like “Denard on Offense”, but there were a lot of big plays made by Junior Hemingway, Vincent Smith, Roy Roundtree, Kelvin Grady, etc.

Time to box-score this daddy up, here are your numbers that typically would lead any team to losing the football game:

1. Only 16 first downs to ND’s 28, with only three of them coming in the first half.
2. 11 completions, 24 attempts, 3 interceptions from your quarterback.
3. Gaining 6 total yards from your running backs, with a 3 yard run being your longest run.
4. Outgained by opponent in total yards.
5. Zero drives lasted longer than 5 plays.

Here are your numbers that typically would lead to any team winning the football game:

1. 338 passing yards averaging nearly 31 yards per completion.
2. Average a 9 yard gain per offensive play.
3. Four 4th quarter touchdowns.

Michigan did not look sharp on offense throughout the entire game.  Parts of the fourth quarter when Denard got all in the mood to “make the magic happen”, the offense executed and looked good, but Michigan’s receivers deserve a ton of credit for reeling in those lollipops Denard put up there.

Junior Hemingway.  Junior is quickly and impressively becoming Michigan’s best threat on the outside.  His ability to go up and snag a ball at it’s highest point, just as you are taught, is just part of the talent that big Junior has going for him.

Jeremy Gallon.  I was all up in the 42nd row asking myself how short is this guy and did he really just pull down that fade in the endzone!??!?!!  Gallon is proving to be a solid player and a major contributor two games into the season.  And for as shaky as he looked last season catching punts, Gallon has done a fine job thus far and actually looks like he’s got some return skills. 

Denard Robinson.  Maybe it’s because it’s happening right now, like as in this season and we are in the midst of his Michigan football career, but he is my favorite Michigan player of all time.  Denard love aside, he showed some great strength and poise.  His toss to Junior Hemingway in stride late in the third quarter essentially kick-started Michigan’s rally – and it’s not possible if Denard doesn’t hit Koger on the prior 3rd and 7. [EDIT: that was me trying to get cute there,  also like a Tommy Rees whoopsie, neither turn out well.  That Koger 3rd down conversion came in the prior drive that did not result in points.] Roll the tape:

Michigan on Defense

Same routine as above – from the box score, this is where you will typically lose a football game:

1. Give up 198 yards rushing at 6 yards a pop.
2. Give up over 500 yards of total offense.
3. Allow 8 out of 14 3rd down conversions.

Do dis yo, and you most likely gonna win a football game:

1. Snag five turnovers, one coming in the red zone.

That’s it ya’ll.  There is something really evident happening with this defense.  And first, let’s face it, outside of a few personnel differences, this is the same defense that was horrendous for all of last season.  The evident, obvious change in this years D – better coaching and defensive structure.  Greg Mattison is dialing up different blitz packages and disguising some looks that have been the difference in both of the first two games.  Instead of sitting back and getting ripped, sitting back and getting ripped – this D is coming at you and every once in a while they are going to make a big play that has the potential to be a game-changer.

Jordan Kovacs.  Dude is still bringing it.  His 40 time isn’t anything to write home about, but his instinct is.  Watch his pick - and he makes a nice break on the ball and does so rather quickly.

Brandin Hawthorne.  Who is now the starter on this week’s depth chart, made himself some very nice plays out there.  This was a great stop that Michigan needed in an bad way late in the game.  He’s always been a guy with great size and potential, so it’s nice to see this Pahokeean do his thing out there.

After the Game

This my friends, is a great, great interview from Denard by Craig Fowler on the Gameday set inside the Big House after the game.  Sometimes Denard gets a bit too camera shy and ends up not even addressing the question being asked, but he did great up on the set and under the big lights.

What an amazing game to watch, let alone be fortunate enough to be at with great seats.  For the majority of the game, and that’s like the whole game in this case, it really looked like Michigan was going to drop the game and mark their first loss under Brady Hoke.  It was hella nerve-racking and it was hard not to be really tense about what was happening on the field.  Even when the clock displayed 0:02 seconds, I don’t think any Michigan fan in that stadium vomited with emotion and songs of glorious Under The Lights Denard Robinson and Brady Hoke praise.

At the end of the day, Michigan escaped with a lot of help from Notre Dame and made it one of the most memorable games in the history of Michigan Stadium.  For me personally, the only games I can put there with this one are the 2009 ND game (mainly because I was there), the 1995 OSU game (mainly because I was there), and the 2004 Braylon-fest (wasn’t at that one).

An incredible day indeed.

This is flat out awesome from The M Zone:

Photo credit: Detroit News.

Michigan loses another Big Ten contest. Michigan loses again at the Big House. It was almost predictable, and definitely so as the game progressed – but I can never see it coming. I’m a guy that allows the game to dictate the general enjoyment or lack there of of a great fall Saturday – and convince myself as the game draws near that this is the day Michigan garnishes that W column with another notch.

I thought that this Michigan team could play well enough to win. I thought last week was the anomaly – and the self-inflicted mistakes wouldn’t happen again. I mean, with an electrifying quarterback that just had a bad day against Michigan State, you figured he would come back with a big game against Iowa. Regardless of the accomplished opposing defense with NFL talent, I expected Michigan to find success and score some points (not in desperation mode).

Penalties, turnovers, defensive ineptitude on third down, missed tackles, another blocked field goal, unable to kickoff the ball inbounds, two straight ugly home losses – so isn’t it time to freak out a little bit if you are a Michigan fan? The quick answer is no. And the long-winded answer is also, no.

Last week against Michigan State, there were a handful of plays you could point to that were mistakes, missed opportunities, or points left on the field by Michigan. This week, you can say the same thing. Taylor Lewan killed two drives early when Michigan could have expanded a 7 point lead. Later in the game, just past the midpoint of the third quarter, Michigan is down 14 and driving until Vincent Smith fumbles. Before that Tate threw an interception on his first drive. I guess when you move the ball all day long, as Michigan seemed to do against both Michigan State and Iowa

Michigan is 5 and 2. Optimism? Well, Michigan has lost two games to teams that have a collective record of 13-1. Both are ranked in the top 11 or 12 – depending on what poll you are looking at. I still maintain that this is a better team with more resolve than last year.

The five remaining games are as such: a night game at Penn State, home against Illinois, at Purdue, home against Wisconsin, and at Ohio State. So, at best, the ridiculous fan in me sees that Michigan has only two losses. Should Michigan string together a few wins – surely it’s possible – they could be sitting at 8 and 2. Hence, a happy me because an eight win season equals marked improvement over last year. This is definitely a team that is better than a year ago…below from Jim Brandstetter’s blog about this Michigan team…

Look, this team after seven games is much improved from a year ago. The answer to their troubles is simple. Turnovers, penalties, kicking game snafu’s, and defensive missed assignments and tackling have cost them. If they eliminate these things and play a complete game, they’ll win. They will be very hard to handle. These things are all correctable. They are not regressing. They are very close. When they get it all right…they will win some of these games, and we won’t have to be as frustrated as we are now.

Michigan will be fine. I’ll smile if there’s an 8 in the win column when it’s all said and done. Anyway, on to the game…

On Offense…

Again, Michigan moved the ball Saturday for a total of 522 yards! You’d think you’d have a better shot at winning when you amass that many yards against a good defense. Box score standouts shall we? We shall…

• 29 first downs (Iowa had 21)
• 86 plays on offense – 26 more than Iowa
• 187 yards rushing – before Saturday, Iowa allowed 63 yards per game – 2nd best in the country
• 8 penalties for 66 yards – most were drive-crippling penalties
• 4 turnovers

Denard uncomfortable in the pocket

Denard Robinson…[13-18 for 96 yards, 1TD 1 INT, 105 yards rushing]
Denard made one huge mistake in throwing a terrible deep ball that was reminiscent of his errant throw last week against MSU and his desperation toss last season at the tail end of the Iowa game. Other than that, Denard didn’t play poorly. Although, I gotta say something about Denard in the pocket. When Denard has too much time in the pocket and he can’t decide on who to throw to – it’s like he doesn’t know what to do and appears to panic a bit. That is a legitimate knock or a gap in his game right now. He just needs to be more decisive after he’s finished his progressions – instead of freezing back there – he needs to bring his eyes down to the defenders in front of him and take the hell off.

Tate Forcier…[17-26 for 239 yards, 1 TD 2 INT, 1 rush TD]
Tate played well again and definitely brings the pent up enthusiasm out when things go well on the field for him. It’s been said before, and it’s true, Michigan has the best second string quarterback in the land. Tate is extremely accurate when he makes a decisive throw, but too often pulls a terrible play out of his ass in wild panic freak out scramble mode. His first pick of the game on 3rd and five is a coachable moment – one that resulted in a significant field position shift in Iowa’s favor. Iowa then walked down the field and put Michigan’s deficit at 21.

Junior Hemingway…[9 rec. for 134 yards, 1 TD]
Love what Junior is bringing to the table right now. Not only is be becoming more and more reliable, he seems to be turning into the teams best deep threat. Expect Denard and or Tate to continue to throw deep balls and jump balls in Junior’s direction. His frame is tough for a smaller DB to contend with, so as Junior said in the postgame presser, he can pretty much box out the defender and get in position to make the catch.

Other noteworthy items of note…

• Darryl Stonum also put in a big performance once Tate got in the game – pulling down 9 for 97 yards
• When Denard is in the game, I’d like to see a couple early bubble screens set up the fake for a Denard run up the middle. I haven’t rewatched the game, but I recall most of his called runs were more of the iso model rather than a pass fake and jet
• Rocko Khoury stepped in for David Molk and did a decent job. It’s clear that Denard has a much greater comfort level with Molk – as the next several plays after Molk went down were from under center – not in the shotgun
• More Stephen Hopkins. More Stephen Hopkins. More Stephen Hopkins. Vincent Smith – ball security man

Gergged up

On Defense…

Well, I think Kenny Demens played a lot better than Obi Ezeh. Therefore, maybe there is an ounce of hope for the linebacker play to improve as Michigan hits this season’s home stretch. Michigan didn’t allow the big one on the ground like they did twice against Michigan State. J.T. Floyd got smoked when he was on an island in man coverage. James Rogers lacked in coverage as well on Iowa’s second touchdown – the corner route that was bobbled and ultimately ruled a touchdown. To the boxscore…

• Allowed 383 total yards – they’ve been much worse, but Iowa wasn’t pushing either. They didn’t need to.
• Zero forced turnovers. Tough to beat a team, a good team specifically, when you go -4 in the battle of turnovers
• Iowa converted on 7 of 13 third down plays – with a late conversion putting the kibosh on Michigan’s comeback efforts
• Iowa’s 5 trips to the redzone resulted in 4 TD’s and 1 field goal. That’s 5 for 5 – scoring 100% of the time! Dammit

J.T. Floyd…[11 tackles - led team]
It’s probably not a good thing when this guy is your team’s leading tackler. J.T. is decent now and certainly has a bright future in front of him at Michigan, but he’s got a long way to go. And here’s what I don’t understand, when he’s playing man coverage, why is he so willingly giving the inside up so easily? On Iowa’s last touchdown, I could have ran that slant with all that room he gave. I don’t know if that’s a coaching issue or if that’s on J.T., but you gotta close off the inside and force your man to the sideline if you are playing man coverage. J.T. looks small out there.

Kenny Demens…[8 tackles]
I think you’ll see a lot more of him this year as long as he is healthy. In his first major action, Kenny played relatively well. He seems to play downhill and is in an attack mode – something Obi Ezeh lacks. There was a noticeable difference with he was in the game as opposed to Obi. Also, Kenny is a big dude.

Other noteworthy items of note…

• Michigan’s front seven over-pursues like a mug. And, the backside defensive end isn’t compensating for the linebackers who have over pursued and are hence out of the play. Greg Banks seems to get locked up pretty quick and struggles to get off blocks.
• Courtney Avery’s missed tackle on 3rd and 16 broke the camel’s back. Avery makes that tackle and Michigan gets the ball back in Forcier’s hands down only 7. So for as many mistakes and bad plays as Michigan had throughout the game – they were one tackle away from an opportunity to tie up the game

Unhappy people...

[Top and bottom pics are courtesy of Michiganexposures.]

Photo by Det. News

Denard does it again. Michigan’s defense, again, can’t stop a thing. Lots of interesting numbers from this game on both sides of the ball – from both teams. I don’t think Michigan learned as much as they wanted to this game. Denard is still ridiculous and will be the best, fastest, most talented athlete on the field in every game this season. When’s the last time Michigan went two straight games (check that – apparently it’s 3 straight) without even attempting a field goal? Beats me, but I bet it’s been a while.

I was fortunate enough to land a field pass (check out the pics) and spend the entire first half on the Michigan sideline.

On Offense…

It’s been talked about to a level of extreme exhaustion, but Denard is so impressive he is being put in the same category by many as Barry Sanders. Barry Sanders! The dude that in-arguably had the most statistically dominate and productive season ever. What’s even more impressive is that Denard works his magic with a limited number of opportunities – Michigan only ran 45 offensive plays compared to Indiana’s 98. If you give Denard 98 snaps – yeah, Michigan would be breaking scoring records for a single game. Box score stand-outs say you? …

• 12.8 yards averaged per play
• Michigan scored a touchdown on all 6 offensive possessions when they were behind or tied
• Big plays of 74, 72, 70, 56, 42, 32, and 28 yards
• Averaged 10.6 yards per rush on 28 attempts
• Averaged 25.2 yards per pass completion
• Michigan ran 45 plays – coming into the game Michigan has averaged 75.5 plays per game

Denard Robinson…
It’s absolutely amazing and I love watching it. Everything Denard does on the field is pure and spectacular – and that’s exactly how he is off the field. Denard’s persona makes him that much more of a joy to watch. The alternative could be this guy. Watching that makes me feel, as a fan, thankful to have a guy that remains humble in the midst of the bright lights that extreme success brings.

Denard makes the play of the game by standing in the pocket and taking a shot downfield to a resurgent Junior Hemingway. My brain forces me to say just a few words after seeing Denard spring up off the turf after taking that shot – “yeah, he’s a bad ass”. What more can you say?

Junior Hemingway…
It’s great to see Junior contribute. He’s always struggled to make it past the first couple games of the season because of an ankle, hamstring, etc. While he only had three catches on Saturday, they were all big and his final catch was essentially the game-winner. If he can stay healthy, that’s just another valuable guy on the outside that can block, gain yards on the perimeter, and as he showed against Indiana he can go up and snatch a jump ball.

Vincent Smith…
As the only back to see carries, V Smith played well with and without the ball. Smith had some great blocks on the final drive and finally broke one for a TD. Michigan will obviously have better backs in the future, but I can’t hate on what Vincent brings to the table. Ball security isn’t an issue, he’s becoming a better blocker, and maybe in due time his shiftiness that he displayed towards the end of 2009 will be back and better. Definitely good to see him bust a long one.

Notables…
I didn’t like the 4th and 1 call late in the game when Tate came in for Denard and punted. Initially, I thought that RR may have been trying to draw Indiana offsides, but definitely wasn’t going for it with Tate on his third snap of the game. On second thought, I think the catalyst for having Tate punt was the wind at the time. Michigan didn’t have the wind in the 3rd quarter – so Hagerup would have kicked a line drive anyway.

The fumble…
After the goal-line fumble Denard and Molk ran over to the sideline right in front of where I was standing. RR was asking what happened and then proceeded to tell Denard to “get lower, get lower” – and for a split second was demonstrating to Denard to get his hands lower. As fans, we don’t see all the in-game coaching that goes on and don’t realize just how much the coaches are coaching up the players constantly during games. Was definitely interesting to see.

Stonum’s kick returns…
Going into the season, a special teams strength for Michigan was Darryl Stonum’s seemingly natural ability to spot the crease on kickoff returns and give Michigan substantial field position. Well it just ain’t happening my friends. Not sure what the deal is – but I’d like to see Darryl at least threaten to take one to the house in the next couple of games.

On Defense…

Yo yo ma. I guarantee you I am speaking for every Michigan fan at that game Saturday – Indiana’s PA guy couldn’t have been more annoying in calling IU’s first downs. He growls “1st Down” then draws out “hooooooooooosiers”. Heard that oh, around 35 times. Straight to the box score…

• 35 first downs – ouch
• 45 completions for 480 yards – breaking records for both teams
• 568 total yards
• Drives that went 11 plays for 77 yards, 13 for 99, 9 for 54, 10 for 72, 12 for 50, and 13 for 80. That’s a lot of third down conversions – 11 to be exact

Part of what is frustrating about the defensive performance – is that Indiana is one-dimensional. Michigan knew that IU was throwing the ball on most downs. While they defended the run well – 34 attempts at 2.6 yards per attempt – the soft zone coverage opened things up for Indiana’s passing game all freakin’ day long.

Cam Gordon…
I think Cam is making some good strides out there – he lead the team with 15 tackles. Cam brings it man. In the second quarter, Indiana’s tight end bobbled a pass and eventually caught it, but took a beat down from Cam. I was amazed this kid held on to the ball. I couldn’t have been more than 15 yards away from that hit on the sideline and it was a serious pop – loud. One of these days Cam is going to jar a ball loose – he’s had too many crushing hits this season for it not too have happened. Good to see Cam get the pick and hold on to the ball – I was worried about him fumbling again. So, thanks Cam, appreciate you not fumbling.

Jonas Mouton…
Jonas has already established himself as Michigan’s best linebacker, and showed it again on Saturday. Jonas has a couple plays each game where he flattens a ball carrier. Jonas and Cam have to be the team’s hardest hitters out on the perimeter.

Rushing 3, Dropping 8…
No doubt, what was most frustrating for Michigan fans was the three man rush in obvious passing situations. Granted, Greg Robinson is doing everything he can to avoid the big play. But there’s a thing here. And the thing is, risking the big play isn’t a ridiculous proposition if you are going to play your corners ten to fifteen yards off the line of scrimmage – on every single play. Giving Indiana an automatic, minimum eight yard gain and Ben Chappell all day to throw isn’t doing Michigan any good.

Defensive Stops…
The D did give up an obnoxious amount of yards and usually didn’t get off the field before touchdowns were celebrated by Hoooooooooooosiers, but there were a few stops in the second half that Michigan’s offense couldn’t capitalize on. Michigan forced Indiana to punt twice and held on 4th down twice – all in the second half. So, should the offense have put another touchdown on the board and extended the lead to 14 – maybe things snowball further in Michigan’s favor and the D gets more credit for those stops.

EXTRAS…
So I’ve been documenting/updating the total yards gained and allowed by Michigan and Michigan’s 12 opponents each week – and using a simple analysis based on this season’s data to predict the yards Michigan will gain and allow each week. It was quite accurate predicting the Bowling Green game – predicting Michigan would gain 763 yards (gained 721) and allow 343 yards (allowed 283) How’d it fare against Indiana? Decent, check out the chart.

I’ve also added a Media Log page. I end up watching and using several video’s / photos for posts on here – so why not get ‘em all in one place. So there you go.

A nice touch from the Indiana fans. They tried. I liked it.

1) Junior Hemingway—Hemingway showed one brief but exciting flash against Utah last fall, catching a 33 yard touchdown late in the game to draw it within a score. Hemingway received a medical redshirt because he contracted mono, but at 6’1″ 220 lbs. he could become a serious redzone target, and possibly a dangerous deep threat.

It’s tough to call Hemingway Michigan’s best deep threat without seeing a consistent performance on Saturday. I look for Hemingway to compliment Matthews and share that deep threat role. It’d be great if one of those two turn out to be a consistent deep threat.

2) Darryl Stonum—Stonum got off to an extremely slow start as a true freshman last year, but emerged late in the year displaying the skill set that made him such a highly coveted recruit. Stonum had a 51 yard touchdown reception at Purdue, and a 33 yard catch at Ohio State in what was otherwise an abysmal passing game.

Stonum is another guy that really hasn’t shown much on Saturdays, but he’s had a few flashed to give the fanbase some hope that he’ll be a productive player.

Martavious Odoms

3) Martavious Odoms—He may be small, but don’t underestimate his ball skills even if just a little bit. Odoms was most often used on bubble screens, but his actual strength is downfield against zone coverage. Odoms was open on several intermediate and even deep routes last year but Wolverine quarterbacks failed to connect with him. His speed, quickness and route running have definitely improved this off-season so expect him to be a vertical threat.

Odoms doesn’t have great speed or size, but he gets the job done. I expect Odoms to leverage his experience this season and have a very productive season. Chances are that Odoms will catch most of his balls shy of 15 yards downfield.

4) Roy Roundtree—If the Spring Game this year was any indication, Roundtree is a sleeper in the making that is if you still don’t know about him. He had two touchdowns catches in the scrimmage, one of which was a 50 yard grab from Tate Forcier. Roundtree is fourth on this list, but could jump higher after September 5th with his smooth route running.

As mentioned, Roundtree was the star receiver in the spring game. Roundtree may emerge as a better deep threat than anybody else on this list. I’m looking for a semi-productive year from Roy Roundtree.

5) Je’Ron Stokes—Stokes is the newcomer to the fold. A true freshman, Stokes reminds many of Mario Manningham, and if he can provide that type of impact the Wolverines receiving corps could be very strong. Whoever is throwing the ball his way is going to have a serious vertical option.

Je’Ron’s high school highlight videos show that he’s got some skills, it will be a matter of seeing how those skills translate to the collegiate level and Michigan football.