Michigan Football, week 1

I wanted to post my thoughts on the Utah game, but like I said, I have spent more time putting together resumes and reading about Business Organizations and Wills, Estates and Trusts.

First impressions of the spread: Kinda gimmicky at first. Two things popped out right away: you can, in fact, line up under center from time to time; and it was WAY too much right out of the gate for these two QB's. It is a very difficult offense to nail down, and with zero experience for either QB, they needed it watered down. Or at least a running game, which was non existent. When they did line up under center, and got the traditional running game going, Utah couldn't stop it. But they only ran one or two in the first half, and by then, Utah realized that neither quarterback can run this offense, and had eight or nine guys around the line of scrimmage, putting only one safety back for the rest of the game. The receivers were getting open. There was at least one guy open on almost every play, but the QB's had a lot of trouble picking them up in time.

The defense: Started horribly. Made adjustments. Stopped Utah dead. Pretty much it.

As losses go, this is one that we can live with. Dick Rod will make some adjustments, simplify the offense a bit, and we'll see where they are this week against Miami. They should win, but don't expect the traditional 68-0 beat down. Offensively I would be happy with 24, because this defense isn't giving up more than 6. I asked the question after the game- who was the last Michigan head coach to start his tenor with a loss? Actually it happens more than I thought, with three of the last five doing it. The last was a Gary Moeller loss at Notre Dame.

Other than pouring $4 bottles of water on your head to keep cool, it was still a very good day. This is a team that will get better as the season goes on and they get more experience under fire.