Via the #1000SSS game notes: “The U-M defense forced 12 three-and-outs, holding the Maryland offense to 1-of-18 on third-down opportunities.” Yikes. For the second straight week the opponent didn’t even get close to scoring. I haven’t felt bad for an opponent in a long time but I was seriously concerned about the welfare (well before he was body slammed) of that Terrapin back-up QB. The dude should have hid his helmet. Bullets: We’re fortunate to have many options at back, but clearly De’Veon Smith was missed. Here’s to hoping he’s ready for Northwestern. Brandy and Dierdorf went on and on about this on the radio call (I #mutedMillen) but the physical recovery of Drake Johnson after the ACL is remarkable. I love how that dude runs with the pigskin. Check out this shot (HT: G. Loose), DJ gets up at least 6’ on his repaired knee: You can’t do it, but seriously, I’d love to see the analysis on whether Michigan should have elected to kickoff to start the second half. Mathlete? I loved the performance of Desmond Morgan – if nothing else for how many times the guy had his hand on the football. Via the Michigan Daily: From the shelves of Ann Arbor Armchair & Nitpick: I don’t get going for two up 12-0 with eight minutes left…
-
-
Testudo Champions | Dr. Sap’s Decals
Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis Well, I was one of those guys who predicted a shutout against Maryland – just not like that – yikes! The defense is starting to look very 1980/1985-ish. But the offense? The offense is still a work in progress, or is it? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out where this team is in the next two weeks. In the meantime, here are the Champions for the Maryland Game: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – Gotta go with Drake Johnson. With no De’Veon Smith and Ty Isaac not being able to hang on to the ball, The Drake made plays and looked comfortable running the ball – brace and all on his left knee. When the team was sputtering and looking for a spark on “O,” #20 made the most of his opportunity. DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – It’s obvious the D-Line is playing lights out these past few games, but when the game/match was resembling an FA Cup Final and tied nil-nil after 15 minutes, Desmond Morgan was the difference on defense. His INT and strip thwarted Maryland drives when the game was still in doubt. The more I see of #3, the more I think that he is starting to look like a classic Michigan middle linebacker. SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION – Speaking of soccer, you…
-
Dr. Sap’s Decals | Terrapin the Tail on the Donkey Butt
[Ed. Bless you Sap for putting some heart into the final home decals of the year after…that.] OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN GARDNER – To me, New 98 is the LaVell Blanchard of the Michigan Football Team. Great kid. Smart kid. Face of the program for the past few years. Much like Blanchard, Gardner has been caught in the middle of a coaching change during his career. Caught in the middle of a program trying to find its way. Caught in the middle of a university trying to figure out what kind of identity they want their football team to have. Much like we do when looking back on the career of Blanchard, I’m sure we will say much the same for Gardner: “Oh, the Gardner years! Tough kid. Never quit. Never gave up. Sad that his record wasn’t better.” At the half, I saw no one on offense who stepped up to spark this unit. This offense rushed for almost 300 yards and only Gardner got into the endzone. You can see he’s feeling better, but he is obviously still a shell of himself, physically, and probably mentally. There’s an old Canadian hockey saying about a goalie that gets peppered with so many shots that draws a parallel to a QB in football who gets hit and sacked a lot: “That…
