Michigan vs. Miami (Ohio) Live Blog
By Nate Sandals, written on Sep. 6, 2008
We’re about an hour from game time here at the Big House and here’s the first news of the day.
Wide receiver Greg Mathews is not on the dress list and will not play today. He suffered an ankle injury in the second half against Utah. Redshirt freshman tight end Steve Watson is also absent from the dress list.
Kevin Grady is on the dress list as expected. We don’t know when he’ll see his first game action specifically, but it will happen this afternoon.
Some other interesting notes from the dress list include the presence of freshman quarterback Justin Feagin, who Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said would redshirt earlier in the week. Safety Shakir Edwards, true freshman offensive lineman Elliott Mealer and defensive end Ryan Van Bergen are all on the dress list.
Word leaked out yesterday that redshirt freshman Steven Threet will get the start at quarterback. That decision doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering his performance last week as compared to redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan.
11:30 a.m. We’re about 30 minutes from game time now and there’s nothing especially new to report. The stadium isn’t nearly as full as it was this time last week. Maybe fans realized the athletic department was being a bit alarmist in recommending an hour early arrival. It’s also a noon game, which means the students won’t be here for a while.
The Wolverines just ran through what I like to call the “Barwis Circle”. The entire team formed a circle around the a group of mostly seniors, then ran in quickly. Looks like some sort of motivational tool. After that, Michigan ran up the tunnel and back to the locker room.
11:45 a.m. The starting lineups were just announced here. Other than Threet, the only real change is that redshirt sophomore Jonas Mouton will get the start at weakside linebacker, relegating Austin Panter to a backup role.
With Mathews out Darryl Stonum and LaTerryal Savory are the starting wide outs for the Wolverines.
15:00 first quarter Michigan’s captains today are Charles Stewart, K.C. Lopata and Will Johnson.
The Wolverines won the toss and elected to defer, so Miami will be on offense to start the game.
The loudest cheer went up for Threet when he was announced as the starting quarterback.
10:48 first quarter So much for the announced starting lineups. On the first play from scrimmage John Thompson was at linebacker, not Marell Evans.
The RedHawks tried to run it up the middle on their first series. Utah was successful with that approach last week, but the defense held Miami to a three and out, including a big stop on third and 1.
On Michigan’s first offensive play we got one of those “Oh, that’s the spread,” moments. Threet faked a handoff to Sam McGuffie and then hit Martavious Odoms in the slot. The speedy Odoms sprinted up the field and took it 50 yards down the field. The play was longer than any Michigan drive last week.
From that play the offense kept moving, choosing to establish the ground game. McGuffie, fullback Mark Moundros and Threet each had a great run.
And the drive ends with six for Michigan. Threet fakes a handoff to the right and keeps it for himself, scampering up the middle untouched for the score. The drive covered 77 yards in just five plays. That’s the offense everybody was expecting when Rodriguez was hired last December. 7-0 Michigan.
Steven Threet scored Michigan’s first touchdown on a quarterback keeper. (JEREMY CHO / Daily)
8:53 first quarter And the Michigan defense comes up with a big play of its own. Miami fumbled the snap on first and 10. Obi Ezeh grabbed it, giving the Michigan offense great field position at the Miami 35.
But the Threet-led offense wasn’t as dynamic as in the first drive, gaining just five yards. Lopata came on for a 47-yard field goal, which he nailed with room to spare. That’s 2-for-2 on field goals for Lopata this season. 10-0 Michigan.
3:50 first quarter Another three and out from the Michigan defense.
On its third drive the offense is back to the spread and shred. Threet looks great keeping the ball himself. Remember that he has some experience in a similar offense from his high school days at Adrian High School in Adrian, Mich.
Kevin Grady got his first action of the season, converting on a third and 1 play. The Wolverines’ running attack has already surpassed its total yards from the entire game last week. Michael Shaw put together a couple of nice runs, showing the combination of speed and power that made him a four-star recruit.
Michigan’s no-huddle offense forced Miami to call a timeout before a third and 9 play from the Miami 24. Carson Butler got open behind the defense on the play, but Threet overthrew him. Lopata comes on for a 41-yard field goal, but it came up short and may have been partially blocked. Still 10-0 Michigan.
End of the first quarter The score is still 10-0 Michigan. Both sides of the ball have been impressive for Michigan. The offense has already gained 139 yards. We’ll see if the passing game gets established. There has been just one completion since the 50-yard play for Odoms to start the first drive.
The defense has done a much better job stopping the run up the middle so far this week. Miami has been forced to try to take it outside, which isn’t working well against the speedy Michigan defense.
12:32 second quarter Well, the offense wasn’t going to be like clockwork every time. Zoltan Mesko got his first opportunity to punt after a scary moment for Michigan. Threet dropped back to pass on third down, but the ball slipped out of his hands as he went back to throw. Threet managed to recover the ball, but it was fourth and 21, bringing Mesko on.
9:08 second quarter True freshman defensive tackle just recorded the first sack of his career. Martin’s a player the coaches are very high on, chances are it won’t be the last sack of Martin’s career. The RedHawks didn’t gain any yards after the sack, but Miami punter Jake Richardson boomed a punt 74 yards into the endzone for a touchback. That guy has what’s called a “big leg”.
Sam McGuffie broke off a nice run, showing his signature speed and shiftiness. But the drive ended after that first down. The key for Michigan (and really any football team that wants to win) is to get at least four or five yards on first down. The Wolverines just haven’t done well in second- and third-and-long situations.
3:58 second quarter Miami got across the 50-yard line for the first time thanks to a great catch of 42-yards by Dustin Woods. That gave the RedHawks first and goal from the nine, but they couldn’t get any closer and Nathan Parseghian, the great-grandnephew of legendary coach Ara Parseghian came on and hit the chip-shot field goal. 10-3 Michigan.
Halftime True freshman Boubacar Cissoko had a great return on the ensuing kickoff, taking it from the goalline to the Michigan 46-yards, but it was called back on a holding penalty.
Michigan started its drive on the 14-yard line. Nick Sheridan came out for the series. Sheridan started the game against Utah, but struggled in the first half and was replaced by Threet in the third quarter. Sheridan had an eight-yard scamper on third and 10, but he didn’t look as impressive as Threet has so far. I’ll be interested to here Rodriguez’s explanation for that move.
Miami moved the ball just past midfield on its final drive of the half, but didn’t get into scoring position and ended up punting with 10 seconds left. Sheridan came out again, but just took a knee to end the half. 10-3 Michigan leads at the half.
Halftime thoughts The second quarter went much better for Miami than Michigan. Bringing in Sheridan might have been a response to that, but the timing seemed pretty odd. Michigan still has just 57 yards passing, 50 of those on the opening play to Odoms.
The Michigan coaches have to be pleased with 110 yards rushing in the first half, especially considering how poorly the running game went against Utah. Shaw is the leading rusher for the Wolverines, with 45 yards on two carries.
In non-game related thoughts, the marching band’s boy band halftime show was a big hit with the student section, especially when the band did the dance to ‘N Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”.
The teams are back on the field and we should be back underway in a few minutes. Keep reading.
6: 37 third quarter Threet is back under center to start the second half. But it’s a three and out for Michigan, with another overthrow by Threet to a wide-open Junior Hemingway on third down.
On a Miami third-down play, Stevie Brown got victimized in pass coverage, for what seems like the fourth or fifth time today. In Brown’s defense, it was a well-thrown ball, but he let the receiver get away for a long gain after the catch, putting the RedHawks inside the Michigan 40-yard line.
From there, Miami kept moving deeper into Michigan territory, eventually gaining a first down on the 13-yard line. But the Wolverines held their ground there, Brandon Harrison broke up a potential touchdown at the last second. Parseghian hit a 23-yard field goal to bring Miami within four points of Michigan. Michigan leads 10-6.
4:04 third quarter The Michigan offense has fallen off considerably since opening the game with a bang. To make matters worst, starting left tackle Mark Ortmann just left the field with what looked like a wrist injury. The offensive line is already inexperienced, this is not going to help.
1:04 third quarter And we’re back to Sheridan at quarterback. A 26-yard run by McGuffie brought the Wolverines up to their own 48-yard line on the first play of the drive. But nothing more from there. This offense needs a spark. Mesko made a great punt and Miami will start its drive from the seven-yard line.
10-6 Michigan going into the fourth quarter.
11:19 fourth quarter Miami looked like it would get a drive going, and may have been an inch away from taking the lead as a pass sailed just high over a wide-open receiver. But the Michigan defense, which must be tired considering how much time it has spent on the field, buckled down and forced a punt. It looks like Sheridan will be out at QB again for Michigan.
8:12 fourth quarter Sam McGuffie seems to be the official Michigan drive starter. He busted another first-down run to start this drive. Fifteen yards got added onto that because of a Miami personal foul.
McGuffie had another big play on a third down just past midfield, taking a swing pass from Sheridan and running it down the sideline to the 15.
On the very next play Brandon Minor, who hasn’t seen much time today, broke at least two tackles and took the ball into the endzone, giving Michigan some breathing room. But in one of the more bizarre plays I’ve seen, Lopata missed the extra point. It looked like there was some trouble with the snap and hold. 16-6 Michigan.
Well, The Michigan defense found another gear. Miami didn’t threaten to make the game close at the end. The first win of the Rich Rodriguez era at Michigan is in the books. Read SportsMonday for complete coverage.