The No. 19 Michigan Wolverines (1-1) showed lots of improvement in a 49-3 blowout of Western Michigan on Saturday. The team looked a lot better offensively, especially Shea Patterson, who threw for three touchdowns and 121 yards. They'll conclude their non-conference slate with a home game against the SMU Mustangs.
Opponent Overview The Mustangs are still looking fir that elusive first win of the season after losing their first two games against North Texas and No. 16 TCU. Junior Ben Hicks leads the SMU offense. The third-year starter has completed 48.4 percent of his passes for 363 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to start his season. The running game is led by Braden West. The senior has carried the ball 19 times for 104 yard and two touchdowns. He also has five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, second best on the team. Xavier Jones and Ke'Mon Freeman have also taken some snaps and will probably continue to do so. They each had over 125 carries in 2017. Freeman led the team with 11 touchdowns while Jones led the team with 1,075 yards. James Proche leads SMU receivers with eight receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Roberson Jr. and Myron Gailliard will also be involved throughout the contest. Players to Watch Josh Metellus-After being kicked out of the season opener against Notre Dame, Metellus led all Wolverines defensemen with seven total tackles to go along with four solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. It's a good sign for a guy who always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time last season. His progress against SMU will be worth keeping an eye on. Donovan Peoples-Jones-The sophomore wide receiver posted one of the better stat lines of his Michigan career against Western Michigan catching four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Peoples-Jones currently leads receivers with 10 receptions and his 69 receiving yards are second best on the team behind Nico Collins' 100 yards. Hopefully this is a sign that he's finally reaching his potential. Chris Evans-The junior out of Indianapolis had just two carries for a yard against Notre Dame. However, he took a huge step forward against Western Michigan, taking 10 carries 86 yards for two touchdowns. The more productive he is, both as a running back and a pass catcher, will be huge for an offense still in need of playmakers. The maize and blue take on the Mustangs this Saturday, Sep. 15 at 3:30 eastern on the Big Ten Network.
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It was more of the same from Michigan in their season opening loss to Notre Dame.
The offense was mediocre, the play calling showed no urgency, they missed out on chances to get momentum back and the defense let up just enough so that the team as a whole couldn't recover. And to top it all of, they still haven't beat a ranked opponent on the road since 2006. However, Michigan still has at least 11 more games to play this season, and their next game, a home matchup against Western Michigan, could be an opportunity to right the ship. Opponent Overview The Broncos find themselves looking for their first win of the year after dropping their home opener to Syracuse 55-42. Junior quarterback Jon Wassink threw for 379 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in that game. LeVante Bellamy had himself a day as Western Michigan's feature back. The junior had 11 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of 12 games last year, he had 49 carries for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Junior D'Wayne Eskridge and Freshman Jayden Reed appear to be the team's top wide receivers. Eskridge had eight receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse while Reed had seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Players to Watch Nico Collins-Even with Shea Patterson making good throws, no one in the wide receiving core seemed to really stand out as a go-to playmaker. However, redshirt freshman Nico Collins made some nice grabs for the maize and blue, including a 52-yard catch on the first drive of the second half. Jon Runyan-The offensive line as a whole was the most concerning group in Saturday's contest. However, it was Runyan who looked the most overwhelmed. He allowed all three sacks on Shea Patterson to go along with eight QB hurries. The senior will have to improve fast or Patterson will have defensive linemen breathing down his neck all season. Josh Metellus-The safety was ejected in the first quarter against Notre Dame for targeting. His replacement, Brad Hawkins, would go on to let up the second touchdown of the game. Not only will Metellus need to keep his act together against Western Michigan, but he'll also need to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Wolverines take on the Broncos Saturday, Sep. 8 at Noon EST on ESPN. James Murphy Wolverines Take On Western Michigan In First Home Game 9/3/18 |
AuthorBeat writer for Michigan Wolverines football and basketball, Ithaca College '20 Archives
November 2018
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