Michigan Midseason Superlatives: MVPs, Top Position Groups, More
Michigan football has reached the halfway point of the season right where many believed they’d be — 5-1 with a loss at Wisconsin. But the record doesn't tell the entire story.
This Michigan team has yet to prove it can put a complete game together, minus Rutgers (and, keep in mind, pretty much everybody does that against the Scarlet Knights). We can’t say they’ve continued to show the improvement you’d like to see heading into the back half of the schedule — not after a 10-point game against Iowa and a second-half head-scratcher at Illinois.
Not only did the offense struggle, but the defense also played uncharacteristically poorly in the second half in allowing the Illini back in to the game.
That won’t fly against most of the other teams on the schedule. If they continue to play like they have the last six games, the Wolverines will be starting 8-4 in the face.
Here are bests, worsts, surprises, disappointments and more from the first half of the season:
Offensive MVP — Sophomore WR Ronnie Bell
The second-year wideout was supposed to be one of "the other guys” to complement juniors Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones along with redshirt sophomore Tarik Black. Instead, Bell has become one of junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s favorite targets, leading the team with 20 caches for 361 yards. He's moved the chains on 16 of those grabs, has been targeted 38 times this year — nine more than anybody else — and gained 210 of his yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The former two-star recruit and basketball player isn’t perfect, having dropped a few balls (three according to PFF), but he never takes a play off, is the best blocker of the receivers (from what we’ve seen) and plays every down like it matters. This offense has a chance to be very good if more follow his lead in the second half of the season.
You must be a member to read the full article. Subscribe now for instant access to all premium content.
-
Members-only forums
-
Predict prospect commits with FanFutureCast
-
Exclusive highlights and interviews
-
Exclusive coverage of Rivals Camp Series
-
Breaking recruiting news