UA-59049186-1 Michigan 35, Oregon State 7 - Recap - Good if it Goes

Michigan 35, Oregon State 7 – Recap

Oregon State is not a very good football team. They may be eventually; Gary Andersen could certainly build a good program there. But right now, they’re not very good. Michigan is far from a finished product, too. But after far too many close calls against lesser competition during the Hoke era, it was nice to see Michigan play the way they should play against a team that’s not very good.

For the second straight week, Michigan struggled with option play early and then adjusted. This week, after the defense adjusted, they dominated. Oregon State had two yards in the final three quarters. The Beavers lost 48 yards when their long snapper forgot their punter isn’t twelve feet tall, but even if you add those yards back, holding a team to 50 yards over three quarters is very impressive.

On offense, the run blocking was much improved. That has to be taken with a grain of salt, though, as, as previously stated, Oregon State is not a very good team, and they often only had seven men in the box and when they didn’t, they had less. An optimist would say that they respected Michigan’s passing game. I think Michigan probably could have beaten them deep a few times if Oregon State had brought a safety down; they nearly did a couple times as it was, but I think that this was more so a case of poor coaching by Oregon State.

Game Grades

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

m-orst-o

m-orst-d

m-orst-st

How Excited Should You Be?

QB: 3.5/10. Rudock managed the game, but that was about it. However, that was really all he needed to do. Could he have done more if he needed to? Probably, but when you win by four touchdowns and the quarterback grades out at 0, that’s less than ideal. He also threw another bad interception.

RB: 8/10. De’Veon Smith was awesome. He still wasn’t perfect in terms of finding holes, but he improved over his performance against Utah. It helped that the offensive line was creating more and better holes than they were against Utah. Smith was also an asset in the passing game, making blocks when he needed to. Ty Isaac was solid and Derrick Green finally started to look like the back Michigan thought they were getting when he committed. His vision problems are not totally gone yet, but he’s gotten significantly better at identifying and hitting the correct hole. Joe Kerridge was fantastic, although he was hurt in the game. Coach Harbaugh (that’s still fun to type) said Kerridge was day-to-day, but if there’s any question, I would err on the side of caution and sit him against UNLV. Sione Houma was fine when he saw the field, and if you can’t beat a team like UNLV with your backup fullback, you have some major problems on your hands.

WR: 4.5/10. What I wrote about how worried you should be about the WRs after the Utah game:

“4/10. Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson exceeded expectations. Behind them…uh, well, hey how about Darboh and Chesson? Drake Harris didn’t see much action. Grant Perry looked like a freshman. Brian Cole did, too, in much more limited action.(The bright side here is that only freshmen looked like freshmen Thursday, instead of half of the team.)”

That mostly applies to the Oregon State game, too. Harris saw more action and was okay. He’s definitely got potential, but he’s not there just yet. Perry looked like a freshman that I’m beginning to wish was being redshirted this year. If he’s needed for depth, that’s not good. Cole didn’t see any action on offense this week, but nearly blocked almost every Oregon State punt.

TE: 9/10. Let’s get the bad news out of the way: Henry Poggi was not particularly good. He looks like he’s still getting used to playing tight end. Tom Strobel was okay when he was on the field, but okay’s about it. Khalid Hill must be hurt, as I doubt Strobel would see the field before him. Hopefully, Hill gets back on the field soon; he should thrive in Coach Harbaugh’s offense.

Now for the positives: Jake Butt was everything you’d expect. He was very good in both the run and passing games. Ian Bunting needs to work on his blocking, but looked like a good receiver. A.J. Williams had his best game as a Wolverine; a bigger asset in the run game than the passing game, he had a nice reception as well.

OL: 6.5/10. The offensive line was very good in this game. However, I’m going to be conservative here, since, as stated earlier, the Beavers did a poor job of trying to stop the run. But even though Oregon State’s defensive line is a far cry from Utah’s, it was a welcome sight to see guys getting to the right spots and executing when they got there. As a guard, Ben Braden is one of the most important people in Drevno’s power run scheme. After his performance against Utah, I said Michigan should explore other options at LG. Braden bounced back in a big way, receiving the highest grade among offensive linemen. The other guard, Kyle Kalis, whom I had very high hopes for this year, looked to be getting the hang of the scheme. Mason Cole and Erik Magnuson were both excellent at the tackle spots, even if Cole graded out significantly better than Magnuson. And Graham Glasgow was Graham Glasgow. Fine performances by all.

DE: 5.5/10. Mario Ojemudia needs to improve his play. He is still making too many mistakes. Harbaugh and Durkin should probably consider giving more playing time to Taco Charlton and Royce Jenkins-Stone here. I don’t know why Lawrence Marshall hasn’t played yet, but if he’s healthy, I’d give him a look, too. At the other DE spot, Willie Henry was great.

DT: 8.5/10. It’s still early in the season, but thus far, Chris Wormley has been Michigan’s defensive MVP. I’m pretty sure if you looked at his driver’s license, it would list his address as “Oregon State’s backfield.” Ryan Glasgow was as solid as he’s ever been at NT.

LB: 6/10. Desmond Morgan turned in another great performance. Joe Bolden made some really nice plays. He made some bad ones, too. Right now, I think Ross is the better option. I’d like to see more of Ben Gedeon, too.

CB: 5/10. Jourdan Lewis was pretty good before leaving with a concussion. The concussion was reported in a timely manner, so well done there, Hackett. As with Kerridge, I’d err on the side of caution with Lewis against UNLV. Clark and Stribling were both solid.

S: 7/10. Jarrod Wilson and Delano Hill both had nice performances. I was particularly impressed with Wilson.

DW: 7/10. Peppers wasn’t perfect in coverage again and didn’t have the chance to blow up screens like he did against Utah, but still had a very nice game and should only continue to improve.

K/P: 6/10. Allen made both field goals he tried. Both were routine kicks. O’Neill punted well again. The Australian was a nice pickup for the Maize and Blue. (Side note: If you get a chance, check out Australian Rules Football. It’s a pretty fun game to watch.)

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

De’Veon Smith, RB

Joe Kerridge, FB

Mason Cole, OT

Ben Braden, OG

Graham Glasgow, C

Kyle Kalis, OG

Erik Magnuson, OT

Jake Butt, TE

A.J. Williams, TE

Defense

Chris Wormley, DT

Willie Henry, DE

Desmond Morgan, LB

Taco Charlton, DE

Special Teams

Brian Cole, WR

Helmet Sticker Count

De’Veon Smith, RB – 2

Desmond Morgan, LB – 2

Jake Butt, TE – 2

Chris Wormley, DT – 2

Joe Kerridge, FB -1

Mason Cole, OT – 1

Ben Braden, OG – 1

Graham Glasgow, C – 1

Kyle Kalis, OG – 1

Erik Magnuson, OT – 1

A.J. Williams, TE – 1

Willie Henry, DE – 1

Taco Charlton, DE – 1

Brian Cole, WR – 1

Amara Darboh, WR – 1

Jourdan Lewis, CB – 1

Jabrill Peppers, DW – 1

Blake O’Neill, P – 1

 

Go Blue!

 

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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