The Michigan Wolverines kicked off the Kyle Whittingham era in incredibly interesting fashion, beating the Western Michigan Broncos at home under the lights of Michigan Stadium on a Hail Mary from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan on the final play of the game.
Here is one thing I loved and one thing I hated during Michigan’s season opener.
1 thing I loved: The defense…I guess?
There isn’t much to “love” from this game, but Jay Hill and the defensive unit certainly held up its end of the bargain.
There were some great individual performances
in this one from the Wolverines’ defense. Linebacker Troy Bowles compiled 12 total tackles and two tackles for loss. Edge rusher Dom Nichols racked up nine total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits. Cornerback Jyaire Hill and safety Chris Bracy also stood out in the secondary, with Bracy totaling nine tackles and Hill adding seven tackles and one tackle for loss.
The Broncos only threw for 89 yards and ran for 132 yards. That’s how well Michigan’s defense played on Saturday night.
Fortunately for Jay Hill and company, it just was just enough to get the Wolverines in the win column. But there were far too many mistakes across the board, and those will have to be cleaned up in quick fashion with the Oklahoma Sooners coming to town next weekend.
1 thing I hated: Almost everything else
There truly is a lot to hate from this game, but the *bleep* show started in the first quarter, so I feel like I have to start there.
One thing head coach Kyle Whittingham has not put up with historically are bone-headed mistakes. His Utah teams were known for being very disciplined and fundamentally sound, which usually made it difficult to go up against the Utes.
Well, let’s just say things didn’t start off on the right foot in that regard in Whittingham’s Michigan debut.
On the Wolverines’ first drive of the game, quarterback Bryce Underwood missed center Jake Guarnera’s snap, forcing the sophomore to scramble back to corral the ball before heaving a prayer to wide receiver JJ Buchanan, who somehow made an incredible one-handed grab to keep the opening drive alive.
On top of that, there was also an illegal formation penalty on the opening drive, as well as another illegal formation penalty on Michigan’s second drive. Also coming on the Wolverines’ second drive of the game was a near Underwood interception, which was eventually reversed after the officials gave it another look.
Then, wide receiver Andrew Marsh muffed the first punt return opportunity he had:
That 7-3 score you see in the video above held throughout the rest of the half, with the Wolverines struggling mightily on offense after that. After their beautiful opening drive, they put together drives of 17 yards, two yards, six yards, one yard and 25 yards the rest of the half.
Oh, and that last drive also included an Underwood interception with nine seconds left that led to a WMU field goal right before the half.
And then there is everything from the second half. The 13-minute, 40-second drive from the Broncos; the push they consistently got on both sides of the ball; the first-down conversions that they picked up over and over and over again; and the turnovers from Underwood, a guy that has apparently had a really good fall camp.
It was all disgusting, and it’s completely unacceptable for a team with this much talent and this type of coaching staff to nearly lose to a program like Western Michigan. If it weren’t the the Hail Mary at the end of the game, we would be talking about how embarrassing a loss this is and how the season if already over.
But for now, the Wolverines will prepare for Oklahoma next Saturday afternoon at The Big House.
