It's Monday morning, which means we've had over 40 hours to better process what we saw from Michigan Wolverines football in a 47-14 win over Western Michigan Saturday, and watch the film, before turning the page to Washington, U-M's next opponent.
We take a look at the top aspects of the Maize and Blue's win, areas they can clean up and break down position-by-position battles in this edition of "Monday Morning Quarterback."
RELATED: Snap Counts, PFF Grades, Takeaways From Michigan's Win Over WMU
Key Moment Of The Game
Michigan scored a touchdown to start the game. WMU answered. The Wolverines responded with a field goal to go up 10-7, which was the score at the end of the first quarter, before the two teams traded punts.
Then, the Michigan defense stepped up, with redshirt freshman defensive end Mike Morris and redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross laying the wood on WMU sophomore running back Sean Tyler and bringing him down for a loss of three yards on 3rd and 2, forcing the Broncos to punt.
Three plays later, the Michigan offense cashed in, with redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara taking advantage of junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell being matched up with a safety one-on-one in the slot. McNamara hit Bell down the field, and the Wolverine wideout broke free to take it the distance for a 76-yard score and give Michigan a 17-7 lead.
That sequence helped open the floodgates. The rout was on from there.
Three Things That Worked
1. Explosive Plays On Offense, Limiting Big Plays Defensively
Michigan's offense was able to hit on several big plays, including two that went for over 70 yards — Bell's aforementioned touchdown and second-year freshman wide receiver A.J. Henning's 74-yard scoring rush on an end-around. Michigan and rival Ohio State are the only two teams in the nation to have multiple 70-plus-yard plays at this point in the season.
All told, the Maize and Blue had 14 plays of 10-plus yards, six plays of 20-plus yards, four plays of 40-plus yards and three plays of 50-plus yards.
WMU, on the other hand, didn't hit on many big plays at all, with the credit there going to first-time Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and his 'bend, don't break' unit. The Broncos had just 10 plays of 10-plus yards and five of 20-plus yards, never gaining 30-plus yards on a given play.
2. Rushing Offense As A Whole
As Michigan radio analyst and Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf eloquently put it in the postgame, "Any time you run the football and the [yardage total] number begins with a three — and it's not like 35 — that's a good thing."
The Wolverines racked up 334 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, with second-year freshman Blake Corum (111 yards, one score) leading the way and redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins (70 yards, one touchdown) also making a significant impact.
Wolverine wideouts also got in on the action, with Henning scoring on a 74-yard rush and classmate Roman Wilson gaining 43 yards on a similar looking play.
Michigan averaged a whopping 7.8 yards per carry and wore down the Bronco defense as the afternoon raged on.
3. Defensive Adjustments
In 10 plays, WMU marched 75 yards down the field on its first offensive possession to tie the game at 7-7. The Broncos picked up 51 yards on their second drive, before ultimately punting it away.
But Macdonald had the answers. That's something we heard quite a bit since he was hired in January, but it's impossible to know how what happens on State Street will translate to Main Street.
Michigan played a bit more Cover 2 (man coverage with two safeties overtop) in the back end and began getting pressure on WMU redshirt sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby. On the Broncos next three possessions, they mustered up only 17 yards. Michigan went on to score 40 unanswered points en route to a comfortable win.
Three Things That Didn't Work
1. Forcing Turnovers
Michigan's defense had a few opportunities, but wasn't able to come away with the big, game-changing turnovers it was looking for.
Fifth-year senior safety Brad Hawkins had an interception go in and out of his hands in the first quarter, and redshirt sophomore cornerback Vincent Gray had a great chance to go up and get a pick late in the second quarter but wasn't able to come down with it. Meanwhile, junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson made a strip sack in the third quarter, but the Maize and Blue didn't come up with the ball (though it must be noted it was on the ground for a short period of time).
The Wolverines didn't need takeaways to win this one — the defense was able to rattle off stop after stop after stop — but they might once the competition is a bit more stiff.
2. Coming Out Of The Game With No Injuries
In a game against an overmatched opponent, goal No. 1 is always to win, obviously. Goal No. 2 is to get out of the contest without losing a man to injury. Unfortunately for Michigan, they didn't accomplish the latter, with Bell having gone down with a knee injury following his 31-yard punt return deep into WMU territory in the second quarter.
Bell underwent an MRI Saturday night, but the results have not yet been made public.
3. Consistently Stuffing The Run
While Michigan's defensive performance was impressive, it wasn't perfect. The Broncos only ran for 126 yards on 32 carries (average of 3.9), but a closer look suggests the team's running backs actually had some success. The stable was able to gain 4.6 yards per carry and churn out six or more yards on its 24 runs with a long of 22. In addition, Michigan stopped WMU for a loss on just two run plays.
Breaking Down Position-By-Position Battles
Michigan's Offensive Line vs. WMU's Front Seven
The Wolverines didn't get a lot of push in the run game on their first couple offensive possessions, but the men in the trenches settled in nicely. All in all, Michigan yielded three tackles for loss on run plays. The WMU sack the Maize and Blue allowed in pass protection was one of just two hits on the quarterback the offensive line gave up.
WMU's Offensive Line vs. Michigan's Front Seven
Michigan's front seven got the better of the WMU offensive line, disrupting the flow of the Broncos' passing game by notching eight hits on the quarterback, according to PFF, and six QB hurries. Hutchinson cashed in with the aforementioned strip-sack, but it was evident that Eleby was affected by the Wolverines' rush as the day progressed. Michigan totaled three tackles for loss, and only one WMU offensive lineman — redshirt junior left guard Trevor Campbell — posted a PFF run-blocking grade of above average.
Michigan's Pass-Catchers vs. WMU's Secondary
Aided by the accuracy of McNamara and freshman signal-caller J.J. McCarthy, Michigan's receivers enjoyed a stellar afternoon, hauling in 13 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns. It was efficient outing, with the Wolverines only attempting 17 throws. Two were batted down at the line of scrimmage, meaning virtually no mistakes were made by the receivers in the pass game.
WMU's Pass-Catchers vs. Michigan's Secondary
As noted above, Michigan's secondary didn't come away with any interceptions despite having a couple chances, but the defensive backs were in position and playing tight coverage most of the game, with few lapses after the first two possessions. All told, Michigan allowed 20 receptions ... but the Broncos only gained 191 yards through the air for an underwhelming average of 9.6 yards per connection.
Quarterbacks
After beginning the game 6-for-8 passing, Eleby completed just 14 of his final 29 throws (48.2 percent). McNamara, on the other hand, was efficient right out of the gate until he was taken out of the game midway through the third quarter, completing 9 of his 11 pass attempts for 136 yards and two touchdowns. McCarthy relieved him and hit on 4 of his 6 throws for 80 yards — including a 69-yard score.
Running Backs
The Wolverines' backs were dominant, led by second-year freshman Blake Corum, who racked up 111 yards and one score on 14 carries and also notched a receiving touchdown, and redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins' 70 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts. WMU's Sean Tyler rattled off a 22-yard run, but he and La'Darius Jefferson were largely held in check (combining for 93 yards on 23 rushes).
Special Teams
This is another area in which Michigan dominated. The Wolverines blocked a field goal, posted a 79-yard kick return and ran back a punt 31 yards into Bronco territory. Redshirt junior Brad Robbins punted twice for 87 yards, including one pin inside the 20-yard line, while redshirt sophomore place kicker Jake Moody made field goals from 37 and 20 yards out, and connected on all five of his point-after attempts. WMU punter Nick Mihalic was used six times but performed well, pinning Michigan inside its own 20-yard line four times. His other two boots were 50-plus yards.
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