Michigan 28, Maryland Squat – Recap

Okay, let’s get the bad news out of the way first: the offense, overall, was not very good. Most of their points either came on a big play or were set up by a big play. That is not sustainable. On the one hand, De’Veon Smith was out, so I’ll be shocked if the offense isn’t a lot better Saturday against Northwestern. On the other hand, it’s a little concerning that Smith means that much to the offense. It is worth noting here that Isaac had a pretty bad game. If had played like he did against Oregon State, we’re talking about how great and versatile this team is.

Now for the good news: the defense was excellent again. In their last 15 quarters, they’ve given up seven points and are giving up only 6.2 points per game on the season. That is also probably not sustainable just because one would think that Northwestern and MSU are probably going to find the end zone at least once. Maybe not more than that, though. This defense is good enough to keep Michigan in a game with anybody in the country.

Game Grades

A few notes here: first, I’m just calling Jabrill Peppers a safety now. I’m still not differentiating between free and strong safeties, because Delano Hill is listed on the depth chart as a free safety but looks more like a strong safety. Peppers is listed at strong safety and plays like one, but is more of a nickel back. That’s the thing about this defense, though; guys are all over the place. They will occasionally take a DE, (usually Ojemudia or Jenkins-Stone) and put him a step behind the middle of the line (almost like a 20-tech, but not as far back as a LB). They call that position BUCK. That guy is a down lineman enough for me to still just say DE. Wormley and Henry have both moved around between tackle and end. They’ve used multiple guys in nickel spots and against spread offenses, Peppers plays almost like a linebacker. Also, I started differentiating between Y and H for TEs last week. Poggi is listed as a FB, but was up near the line a few times, and with Kerridge back for the Northwestern game, who knows where he’ll be, hence “FB/TE-H.” Coach Harbaugh will put guys all over the plays. I’ll do my best to describe what those places are.

(A “+” is awarded for a positive play, a “-” for a negative one. For big positive or negative plays, 2 “+” or “-“, respectively, may be given.)

How Excited Should You Be?

QB: 3.5/10. Last week, Rudock looked better than he graded out. This week, he graded out better than he looked. By this point, it’s not a case of Rudock not being on the same page with his receivers or not having a great command of the offense; this is just who he is at Michigan.

RB: 7.5/10. That number is still as high as it is because Michigan was missing De’Veon Smith. Ty Isaac had a rough day, putting the ball on the ground twice. Derrick Green had a couple decent runs, but still hasn’t fixed his vision issues. Drake Johnson had a very nice game as a runner, but isn’t a particularly good blocker. Both his minuses were whiffs in pass pro.

WR: 6.5/10. Darboh had another very nice game. Chesson dropped a well-thrown deep ball, but had a great TD run. Nobody else really stood out, though. I’m really wishing Grant Perry had redshirted.

TE: 8/10. After the game he had last week, I would have liked to see more of Khalid Hill. Nobody really stood out here, but nobody was actually bad.

OL: 7.5/10. Graham Glasgow had another very nice game. Nobody else graded out well. Mason Cole had a difficult assignment and all things considered, was okay. Braden, Kalis, and Magnuson just weren’t very good.

DL: 7/10. The line was excellent, but Michigan lost Mario Ojemudia for the year. That’s a big loss, but I’m confident that Royce Jenkins-Stone will at least be okay filling in here. My guess is that we see more of Taco Charlton; he’s been pretty good when on the field. Lawrence Marshall is going to have to step up. He had a ton of preseason hype, but then didn’t see the field until garbage time in the UNLV game, at which point we found out why that was the case.

LB: 7/10. Desmond Morgan’s helmet Saturday should just be one big sticker. Bolden had his best game of the year.

CB: 8/10. Don’t throw at Jourdan Lewis. If you do, it probably won’t end well. Clark wasn’t great in this one, but I wouldn’t be particularly concerned about the position since Michigan was missing Stribling.

S: 8.5/10. Peppers was very good. Hill and Wilson were both fine.

K: 6/10. Allen still hasn’t missed from 40 and in this year. He’s been shaky outside of that, though.

P: 9.5/10. O’Neill pinned Maryland deep a couple times and had a 59-yarder as well.

ST: 8.5/10.Peppers had a very nice punt return and was a better Sione Houma block away from a very nice kick return. Michigan kept Likely from hurting them on punt returns.

Helmet Stickers

(Generally the 3 players on offense and defense I have graded the highest, plus the best special teams performer, but I reserve the right to award as many or as few stickers as I see fit.)

Offense

Graham Glasgow, C

Sione Houma, FB

Amara Darboh, WR

Drake Johnson, RB

Jehu Chesson, WR

Defense

Desmond Morgan, LB

Willie Henry, DE/DT

Maurice Hurst, NT

Ryan Glasgow, NT

Mario Ojemudia, DE

Chris Wormley, DE/DT

Jabrill Peppers, S

Jourdan Lewis, CB

Joe Bolden, LB

Special Teams

Blake O’Neill, P

Helmet Sticker Count

Chris Wormley, DE – 5

Desmond Morgan, LB – 4

Jourdan Lewis, CB – 4

Jabrill Peppers, S – 4

Blake O’Neill, P – 4

Graham Glasgow, C – 4

Jake Butt, TE – 3

De’Veon Smith, RB – 3

Mason Cole, OT – 3

Kyle Kalis, OG – 3

Amara Darboh, WR – 3

Ryan Glasgow, NT – 3

Willie Henry, DE/DT – 3

Joe Kerridge, FB -2

Maurice Hurst, NT – 2

Erik Magnuson, OT – 2

Taco Charlton, DE – 2

Sione Houma, FB – 2

Ben Braden, OG – 1

A.J. Williams, TE – 1

Brian Cole, WR – 1

Matt Godin, DT – 1

Ty Isaac, RB – 1

Khalid Hill, TE-H – 1

Channing Stribling, CB – 1

Jeremy Clark, CB – 1

Ben Gedeon, LB – 1

Joe Bolden, LB – 1

Jehu Chesson, WR – 1

Drake Johnson, RB – 1

 

Go Blue!

 

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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