Michigan Football: Parting Shots From Florida Beating

To ask for a better result from Michigan football in Week 1 would have been overstepping. The Wolverines delivered an emphatic win over Florida.

Next Saturday, Michigan football fans turn their attention to the home opener against the Cincinnati Bearcats, who utterly demolished—well, not really, but they should have—the Austin Peay Governors by the not-so-impressive score of 26-14.

But first, let’s take one more look at the satisfying win last Saturday against the Florida Gators at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

I want to give a shout-out to the coaches, especially to the defensive and offensive coordinators, who may be two of the unsung heroes of this opening weekend win.

Let’s look first at defensive coordinator Don Brown, who had a tough act to follow after leading the Michigan defense last year to the No. 1-ranked defense in the country. After losing almost all of his starters to graduation or the NFL, he came right back and showed us a defense that just might be better than last year’s. That’s no small feat.

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Yes, of course he had a great deal to work with. Yes, these guys, especially the guys up front, are quick and lethal. And yes, we would have been disappointed—and quick to say so—if the defense had failed to impress, but even with all of that I must say that this was a well-coached bunch on the defensive side of the ball.

The defensive line and linebackers created so much confusion that Florida’s offense never really got it going. Both Florida quarterbacks were hassled and hurried and never did look comfortable. The fourth quarter sack in the end zone, resulting in a defensive touchdown, was just the culmination of an afternoon’s worth of pressure and intimidation.

Florida’s only offensive points in the game—think about this—came from a 42-yard field goal on the first drive of the game. Florida gained only 11 yards on the ground for the entire game, a stat that still makes me smile. Take away the two picks (and resulting touchdowns), and it’s clear that Michigan shut down and, in the end, completely demoralized the Gators’ offense. They may never recover.

Here’s what I saw and why I want to give a truckload of credit not just to some amazing players but to a skilled and savvy coach. Brown threw a bunch of different looks at Florida, beginning with the first series. I counted five different looks during that first series alone, starting with a traditional 4-2-5, with Khaleke Hudson at viper and Bryan Mone at nose tackle.

But then Mone came off the field, Brown sent in an extra cornerback, and the Wolverines were essentially playing a 3-3-5, as Hudson dropped back to deep safety and Josh Metellus came up to linebacker.

Florida faced so many defensive looks in that first series that they never really made the necessary adjustments. Brown coached circles around Florida head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. I never saw anything resembling a comfortable pocket in passing situations. And all of this confusion and pressure upfront took pressure off Michigan’s secondary, which everyone was at least mildly concerned about going into this game.

A good coach will move guys around to exploit strengths and compensate for weaknesses. That, among other things, is what we saw on Saturday. Right now, I have to say, I’m feeling a lot better about Penn State and Ohio State.

And then, to give credit where credit is due, the coach on the other side of the ball wasn’t bad either. Offensive coordinator Tim Drevno had a few strengths to exploit, but also a few weaknesses to compensate for.

Let’s start with the offensive line. The guys can’t be happy about giving up five sacks, but mostly the line protected Speight, and mostly he had time to throw. His accuracy wasn’t always great, but I don’t think we can pin that on the big guys blocking up front.

As for the running game, I questioned the wisdom of sending Chris Evans into the middle of the line so many times—and that more than anything may account for his measly 78 total yards—but my questions were more than answered by the way Ty Isaac was used. Isaac amassed 114 yards, often finding a route to the outside and showing us good speed and athleticism when he was out there. No one else did very much on the ground, but 215 total yards was better than expected, as were the 218 yards through the air.

Everyone was expecting Grant Perry and Tarik Black to show up, but Drevno surprised us by getting Nick Eubanks and Sean McKeon into the mix as well (61 and 25 yards, respectively). And the truth is, we haven’t even begun to find the potential of this receivers unit.

Which brings me to Wilton Speight. And for this I’ll turn to head coach Jim Harbaugh who once again demonstrated his credentials as a quarterback whisperer. I don’t think Speight is going to go down as one of the greats in Michigan history. It’s still possible, but at this point it hardly seems to matter. As long as Harbaugh can keep the young man productive and focused, this team is going to have a successful season, maybe contending for the national title. For his part, Speight is surprisingly mature and resilient, two traits which will continue to serve him well.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

Speight has an arm, he’s getting time in the pocket (not a lot, but enough) to throw, and over the course of the next few weeks he should be finding his rhythm. Michigan should move up to the top 10 this week.

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