The Official Fresno State vs ][V][ichigan Game Thread

[Monster]

Welp, a win is a win. Guess Warren starts against Texas next week.

Yeah that one Orji pass scared me. I didn't think it could be that bad.

 

[Monster]

The Will johnson pick 6 reminded me of Jabril Peppers pick 6 against little bro sparty

 

[rumseyhouse77]

Mullings leading rusher with 92 yrds. I didn't expect that.

 

[Cam]

Yeah that one Orji pass scared me. I didn't think it could be that bad.

He's a freak athlete, surely they can involved him more in the offense than what they did. His brother was a stud at Vandy a couple years ago.

 

[bphillips4gg]

The Will johnson pick 6 reminded me of Jabril Peppers pick 6 against little bro sparty

Peppers' was a fumble recovery on a 2 pt conversion but certainly a resemblance.

Pretty mid performance, honestly glad all the players appear to feel that way as well.

 

[rumseyhouse77]

It appears that eveyone came through healthy so that is good for next week. Gonna need everyone to play better than they did today.

 

[Cam]

Oregon really struggled against Idaho too. I think life in the B1G is going to be quite the adjustment for them. A lot of tough games down the line, and they’re #3 right now.

 

[wlvrnstlr4life]

If Michigan plays like they did today on offense, theyre going to get their shit pushed in next week. I didnt think the Oline could be that bad. You cant wait till the end of the game to assert the run against Texas. Oline played really well at the end, though, so that was a good sign. Besides Loveland, the receivers had trouble getting open. And when you do get open, they cant dropped the ball or stop the route. I think it was Morris in the 3rd quarter that stopped running on a bomb down the sidelines. Cant do that, it wouldve been a huge play. Get ready for everyone to stack the box until Warren can prove himself. Right now, this team cannot comeback being down too many points. Very frustrating game, but Fresno is a good team and they had nothing to lose. Christ, it felt like we were Iowa today.

 

[tinselwolverine]

We were Iowa today. We thought we were Jesus.

It’s a completely new offensive line replacing - literally - an NFL offensive line.

So we’ll see how they jell.

Not that many fan bases have this problem - how is our team going to be able to defend its national championship?

When I was younger, I heard M fans saying “I’ll never see a Michigan national championship,”

Hell, literally on this very board, less than a year ago, or so, I would read posts of the same sort.

This is the second season of my life that the Wolverines are setting out to defend a national championship. It took a while, but it has happened.

I don’t believe 2023 is the last Natty season I’ll see - in fact, just like every year, I go into this optimistically expecting to see a Michigan football national championship.

And like always, I won’t believe they’re out of it until they’re out of it.

 

[bphillips4gg]

A few observations now that I'm not dog tired.

1. Josiah Stewart is him. That dude was unstoppable last night.
2. Jaishawn Barham is FAST. I can see where the hype is coming from.
3. OL stunk last night but certainly started playing better in the 4th. I'm not sure if it's communication issues or if they're just that bad but given the last TD drive I'd guess the ability is there to be extremely good. Not expecting Joe Moore but I have faith in Sherrone and Newsome to get them where they need to be.
4. We have a kicker and I think he's likely better than Turner. 53 and 55 both no-doubters. Hell of a portal pickup!
5. As much as I love Donovan Edwards I just don't see him being every down back material. He definitely needs to get 10-15 touches a game but running him in their base run game isn't the way to do it. Sure, he can break off a long TD at any time but when the rest of the carries are 1-2 yard that's not going to help move the chains.
6. Defense is going to be great again but the offense has got to help them out by staying on the field.
7. WR production is going to be an issue. Fresno State was not worried at all about Michigan's receivers and for good reason. The receivers accounted for 6 catches and 34 yards combined. Can't expect Loveland to be the only viable option there all season.
7. QB picture isn't any clearer than it was before due to the OL issues. Warren was...fine. Didn't seem to be looking past his first read but for his first start and having so many issues with protection and drops I wouldn't write the kid off yet. Orji is definitely a weapon but the insistence to insert him over and over seemed to really kill any momentum and I'd rather see them start a drive out with him for 3-5 plays rather than inserting him in the middle of a drive where Warren is moving the ball.

All things considered I still think we've got a solid team. If I had to put money on it I'd probably pick Texas next week but fortunately with the expanded playoff there's a little room for error this year.

 

[rumseyhouse77]

Seemed like FS had 2 or 3 dbs covering the long passes, meaning that someone(s) must have been open underneath. Warren didn't look for those underneath options on the long pass plays. Gotta take what the defense is giving and put drives together rather than going for the long spectacular shot down field. If it is there, okay, but if it is double or triple covered look for the open man.

 

[Michchamp]

Yeah, I watched some of the replays, and even during the game it was obvious Warren stared down his receiver and didn't check 2nd and 3rd options. But he's young and its his first start, and we hope he develops, right?

And As much as I wanted Edwards to come out and Be Him as the kids say, it's probably better to run Mullings most of the time, and use Edwards as a change of pace and slot receiver. Don't use him on reverses and end arounds though. that was dumb.

Edwards is probably more of a home run hitter than Mullings, but he needs the OL to open holes for him, and they're just not there yet.

All in all, it was a good first test, and put us in a better spot than a lot of teams that had easy blowout wins in Week 1. We probably played the 4th best opponent of any Big Ten team, and that's assuming UNC is good and Minnesota isn't just that bad.

 

[bphillips4gg]

Gotta imagine the downside of the QB competition going on so long is that the starter was still splitting reps in practice this week. Hopefully giving Warren starter reps going forward will speed up his development.

 

[biggunsbob]

Beating Fresno St by 20 is ok. Breaking in a bunch of new players. OL was a work in progress. Hopefully they will improve. The last drive for a td on offense was pretty good.
Wish we had a better qb and wr room but maybe I’m wrong on this. Loveland is a beast. Need to find that 3rd running back. Use Mullins mostly and Edward’s hopefully can be your home run hitter type back. Defense played ok and still there is a lot they can improve on. Johnson after the game even said that and heck he had a pick 6 . That kicker wow ! First game and he kicks and 45,53, and 55 yard fg. Those two kicks over 50 I think would been good from 60 !
What a find !

 

[rumseyhouse77]

I agree that both the QBs need some time to develop. Warren reminded me of JJ in his first season. Talent is there, but needs to be developed. FS was selling out on the run, so it was tough for both Edwards and Mullings. Mullings runs later in the game were more physical. I like both of these RBs and the team is fortunate to have them. Edwards will have his break away runs. I think we have gotten spoiled expecting him to bust out every time he touches the ball. His talents are beyond just running the ball as we all know. He can catch the ball, and even throw the ball. He's not going to do that every game, but he will have his games. I watched the Minn - NC game, neither of them are very good at this point. I also watched some of the CS-TX game. TX is good, but CS is really bad on defense. CS was able to move the ball on the TX defense, especially on the ground. If Michigan can use the ground game to open up the passing game on Saturday, they will win. I just hope the OL takes a big step forward this week.

 

[wlvrnstlr4life]

Remember, the line got significantly better when Crippen finally came in for Guidice at center. How this even happened is beyond me, but sometimes coaches are blinded by practice players. Also, apparently Tuttle has a hurt elbow and that is the reason he wasn't in the talk of being QB during camp. Definite blow for someone who was granted the extra year. The offense has to keep the defense off the field. If they don't, this game will go the route of Clemson-Georgia. Clemson's defense could only keep them in it for so long until they tired. Their offense was a travesty and I'm praying to god our offense has more come Saturday. Warren doesnt need to complete huge passes. He just needs to get to 2nd and short/3rd and short. Let the defense deal with Ewers on rest. He'll get his blows in, just keep them minimal. Gotta score at least 28 points is what I'm figuring. I really hope the Offense has it in them and maybe a gift of a Defensive td.

 

[wlvrnstlr4life]

I dont know if anyone watched the USC-LSU game last night, but my god, that #4 USC RB ran an awful lot like Corum did. He bailed USC out in some crucial moments and had a fantastic td to end that game. It's going to be a helluva game in Ann Arbor in 3 weeks.