Michigan 38, Northwestern Jack Squat – Recap

I became a Michigan fan in the days of Chad Henne and Mike Hart. Of Jake Long and Mario Manningham. And of Lloyd Carr. After this game, I had a though that I had never before had as a Michigan fan: This team is very good and things are going to get even better. Under Carr, the team was usually pretty good, but aside from 2006, was never really in the national championship picture. Under Rich Rodriguez, things were never good and were only going to get better because they couldn’t get any worse. Under Brady Hoke, there was the “How did that happen” 2011 season, and then, well, remember how I said things couldn’t get worse than they were under Rodriguez? Yeah, I was wrong. For all the criticisms of Carr, mostly about how he played too conservatively, which he kind of did, for much of the last seven years, I found myself wishing the Wolverines could get him back. Yeah, he hired Mike DeBord twice and lost to the occasional I-AA team, but he also brought Michigan its only national championship that postdates the Truman administration.

Enter Jim Harbaugh.

We all knew things were going to get better. But we thought it would take more time than it has. I’ve purposely refrained from saying this so far, since there was always a “but” with all of Michigan’s wins prior to this one, but this is a very good Michigan team. And things are going to get even better. This was not supposed to be the case. These are not Harbaugh’s guys. But so far, it looks like more of last year’s problem was coaching than even I thought. The defense is dominant, the offense is good enough, and with a win against Michigan State Saturday, we’re talking playoff hopes.

And things are going to get even better.

Game Grades

(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: 6/10. Against BYU, Rudock looked better than he graded out. Against Maryland, he graded out better than he looked. Against Northwestern, he looked good and graded out well. I mean, certainly not “Heisman” good or even “future pro” good, but “guy we thought we were getting from Iowa” good. If that’s as good as Rudock is going to be at Michigan, that’s fine, so long as he’s that good on a regular basis.

RB: 9/10. De’Veon Smith is a very nice back. Drake Johnson was working through an injury, so he was limited. Ty Isaac had fumblitis against Maryland and was mostly held out of the game as a precautionary measure. Karan Higdon had a solid debut; he should be a very nice back as well in a year or two. But the reason this number is as high as it is: Derrick Green is hitting the right hole. I repeat, Derrick Green is hitting the right hole! This is not a drill! The biggest thing preventing him from becoming great was vision issues. If those are fixed, look out.

WR: 7/10. They were fine, I guess. Nobody was great, but nobody was really bad, either. Minuses were generally missed blocks. Harris was encouraging.

TE: 10/10. A.J. Williams has been the biggest individual surprise this year. He’s been an excellent blocker and was pretty good in the passing game as well in this one. Jake Butt had a very good game all-around. Poggi (I’m counting him as a TE-H. He’s called a FB as well on the chart only because that’s where he was listed on the official depth chart.) had some more nice blocks. I would like to see more of Bunting and Hill, though.

OL: 8.5/10. Cole was meh in pass pro. That may be an issue Saturday against Calhoun. Magnuson was meh in general. Braden has a few misses, but overall was very good. Graham Glasgow was Graham Glasgow. Kyle Kalis was excellent as well.

DL: 10/10. Jenkins-Stone was more than fine. If there was a drop-off after losing Ojemudia, it wasn’t a big one by any means. Charlton saw the field more and I liked what I saw from him. Chris Wormley and Ryan Glasgow were excellent. In other news, water is wet. Brian Cook at MGoBlog compared Glasgow to Mike Martin. I like that comparison. I like that I like that comparison. I like that I like that comparison and Glasgow still has a year of eligibility left. Hurst and Henry also had very nice games. Marshall was fine in limited action. Godin was meh. That would be slightly concerning if everyone else wasn’t so great.

LB: 7/10. Morgan was great. Again, water – wet. Bolden was pretty good. Gedeon was fine when he was on the field. I’m not overly concerned about missing Ross for the first half against MSU, even though Michigan may want a third LB on the field more against them. I thought Gedeon outplayed Ross against Northwestern.

CB: 9/10. What I said here last week:

“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.”

Change that “probably” to “almost certainly.” Both of Lewis’ minuses were catches that went for about ten yards. He’s making a legitimate case for himself as the best CB in the country. Enjoy your trip to Lewis Island, Aaron Burbridge!

S: 9/10. The minuses were mostly guys getting beat in man coverage.

K: 7/10. Allen hit a 47-yarder. I think we might have a kicker.

P: 9.5/10. Blake O’Neill stuck more punts inside the 20, but had two touchbacks, his first two all season, one of which just took a bad bounce, and this seemed like down game for him. More Aussie punters, please.

ST: 9.5/10. HAIL JOHN BAXTER! The game-winning score came on the opening kickoff, a return by Jehu Chesson that really was a total team effort.

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

Kyle Kalis, RG

Ben Braden, LG

Sione Houma, FB

Joe Kerridge, FB

Jake Rudock, QB

Derrick Green, RB

De’Veon Smith, RB

Jake Butt, TE

A.J. Williams, TE

Defense

Ryan Glasgow, NT

Willie Henry, DE/DT

Maurice Hurst, NT

Chris Wormley, DE/DT

Royce Jenkins-Stone, DE

Jourdan Lewis, CB

Jabrill Peppers, S

Desmond Morgan, LB

Special Teams

Jehu Chesson, KR

Kenny Allen, K

Ben Gedeon, ST

Jabrill Peppers, KR/PR

Helmet Sticker Count

Jabrill Peppers, S – 6

Chris Wormley, DE/DT – 6

Desmond Morgan, LB – 5

Graham Glasgow, C – 5

Jourdan Lewis, CB – 5

Blake O’Neill, P – 4

Jake Butt, TE – 4

Kyle Kalis, OG – 4

Ryan Glasgow, NT – 4

Willie Henry, DE/DT – 4

De’Veon Smith, RB – 4

Mason Cole, OT – 3

Amara Darboh, WR – 3

Joe Kerridge, FB – 3

Maurice Hurst, NT – 3

Sione Houma, FB – 3

Erik Magnuson, OT – 2

Taco Charlton, DE – 2

Ben Braden, OG – 2

A.J. Williams, TE – 2

Jehu Chesson, WR – 2

Ben Gedeon, LB – 2

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

Joe Bolden, LB – 1

Drake Johnson, RB – 1

Jake Rudock, QB – 1

Royce Jenkins-Stone, DE – 1

Kenny Allen, K – 1

 

Go Blue!

 

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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