Utah

Well, I had meant to write a short post on my thoughts for the beginning of the season, but after reading the preview on MGoBlog, I didn't really feel like I had all that much to add to the discussion. I'm excited for the season, even after yesterday, and it's sort of nice not to have national championship (or at least Big Ten championship) expectations coming in.

I almost wish I had been at home watching the game on TV rather than in the Big House for the sake of his post, because given my vision I have a hard time seeing the play well enough to really give any good analysis, but here it goes.

It's odd seeing Michigan running an offense like I always wished they'd run when I was a kid... shotgun, four wide-out sets, etc, etc... I want to say that it almost didn't feel like Michigan to me, but that would be a lie. Being in the Big House, seeing those winged helmets and maize and blue jerseys, it just felt like a continuation of the same to me. I enjoyed watching the spread work, despite the fact that it was ugly. But again, I expected that, didn't we all?

I was surprised by how much McGuffie played and how little Minor and Brown played in comparison. I thought he did well, at least for how little experience he has and the state of the offensive line.

The line seemed to play pretty badly, at least from what I could see. It looked like they picked things up in the second half along with the rest of the team.

I was really surprised by how bad the defense looked in the first half. They did a good job against the run, but they were just picked apart in the passing game. It seemed like Utah was just going over the middle beneath the safeties again and again. I thought they played very well in the second half, giving up only a field goal and very few yards. They really provided a needed park for the team.

Sheridan and Threet were pretty bad, but that was to be expected. I liked what I saw from Threet, hopefully he can really improve this year.

Overall, it was a disappointing game, but not one that I was crushed over. Utah is a good team, and Michigan is just insanely inexperienced right now.