Former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene and defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen shared their thoughts on U-M's performance yesterday, and we've gathered up the highlights of what they said below:
Doug Skene:
The game as a whole: "I can't say I was surprised. Michigan tends to have these letdown games this time of year. There are things that caused me to think things aren't all rosy in Ann Arbor.
"I don't feel comfortable enough to say U-M has a real shot at the Big Ten championship yet. There were some good things out there and they'll take the win, but not enough of what I was looking for to be comfortable."
The offensive line: "When teams like Wisconsin come to town, the things this offensive line is doing cannot happen — not a low percentage of the time, they can't happen.
"The expectation is that no one touches the quarterback ever, and I'm not coming off that standard. SMU didn't give U-M anything that was dynamic, and it shouldn't have caused problems it did. The expectation is to execute all the time."
Defense: "SMU's offense executed on a lot of their throws. The defense yesterday played a lot like the offense at times — disinterested, unmotivated, and thought 'it's SMU and it's hot, the Big Ten starts next week so let's get out of here.'
"We had games like that 30 years ago, so I'm not criticize them a ton for that, but it has to be cleaned up because the margin for error in conference is zero."
Nebraska next week: "Things change once conference play starts. That'll be a different Nebraska team that comes in here.
"They'll play tough and hard, and Michigan will be ramped up too. It's time for this team to make a run to a championship, and this program needs to be a W. Others down the road are question marks, but this one needs to be a win."
Ryan Van Bergen:
Positives from the win: “[Fifth-year senior defensive end] Chase Winovich had himself a game. He showed up and was in the backfield a lot, and refused to be blocked. That’s vintage Winovich.
"We’ve seen more development in the secondary, especially with [junior safety Josh] Metellus making that play on the ball. We’re starting to see guys get comfortable and be in position to make plays.
"The passing game has also improved — receivers are catching touchdowns in consecutive games. [Redshirt junior tight end Zach] Gentry had a shaky start to the year with a touchdown that was dropped against Notre Dame, and to see him get involved made the offense look dynamic, which hasn’t been the case in a while.”
Patterson's play: “We finally saw [junior quarterback Shea] Patterson settle in and show why he has that top quarterback spot. It was great to see him linking up with Gentry and [sophomore receiver Donovan] Peoples-Jones consistently. We saw him move around and roll out a bit more too since the offensive line protection wasn't great.
"He made guys miss while keeping his eyes downfield, which was impressive. Granted, it was against SMU, but it bodes well for the future.
"His passes are hitting his receivers right when they’re making their breaks and gaining separation, and it seems like has a better clock on him each time we see him.”
The ground game: “I liked what we saw from [junior running back] Tru Wilson, but I thought [junior running back] Chris Evans would have done a little more with his opportunity with [senior running back Karan] Higdon out, but there just weren’t many holes made.
"There wasn’t a ton of movement made by the offensive line — I was hoping they’d establish the run early and often, but they weren’t executing their will against them. Bigger plays and creating holes were lacking in the run game.”
The Big Ten in general: “The Big Ten will be a race to see who can get better by late October. Wisconsin is on the side of the conference where there isn’t as much competition, but they’re still in the driver’s seat, even though yesterday was not good for the conference.
"I don’t think Michigan State, Penn State or Wisconsin have things more figured out than Michigan does. I'm hesitant complimenting them, but Ohio State looks to be the most polished team in the conference and everyone seems to be playing catch up.”
Big Ten Network's Gerry DiNardo:
Patterson's performance: "Shea had a terrific day, even after the slow start the team got off to. He sat in the pocket well and showed poise, even when he had guys coming at him and in his face. I thought he did a lot of good things against SMU."
Big Ten Network's Howard Griffith:
The offense and the team as a whole: "The offensive line wasn't perfect, but Shea showed his ability to stand in the pocket, because he trusts his guys. Peoples-Jones was able to get open down the field, and Gentry was also able to get open consistently.
"Their offense is starting to look like what we expected. They still have some issues, so we really don't know that much about them yet, but it's obvious they're gaining confidence on both sides of the ball."
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