Michigan football dropped the hammer on Florida in a defensive showdown at AT&T Stadium. Here are three things we learned in Michigan’s week one victory.
Michigan’s week one game against the University of Florida was an absolute slug-fest. Entering the game in color rush-style monotone uniforms, the two defenses exchanged blows for much of the first half, before Michigan firmly took hold of the game in the second quarter. The Wolverines never gave the lead back.
Jim Harbaugh‘s squad picked up where the 2016 squad left off, even after losing an unprecedented number of starters to the NFL last season. While the offense left something to be desired, the defense was out for blood from the very first snap of the game.
Florida’s offense looked lost against the Michigan’s defense for much of the game. That was true regardless of who was in the game at quarterback. After loosing starting running back Jordan Scarlett for the season opener to suspension, the Gator’s offense was non-existent, registering only 11 rushing yards in the entire game.
Here are three things we learned Michigan’s week one victory over Florida.
1. Jim Harbaugh keeping the Wolverines in contention
This was Michigan’s game to lose. Florida had quarterback issues heading into the game and that translated to problems on the field. Even though Harbaugh kept Michigan’s quarterback battle silent until the start of the day, he still went with his starter from last year in Wilton Speight.
Harbaugh had to work with mostly players from the Brady Hoke-era during his first two seasons with Michigan. However, this was the first year that most of his starters were recruits of his own. Players like Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashan Gary, and Eddie McDoom showed by Harbaugh is such a masterful recruiter.
The amount of inexperience on this Wolverine roster kept some skeptical as to how they would perform early in the 2017 season. However, this team seemed to mesh together rather quickly. The level that Harbaugh recruits at makes Michigan one of those programs like Alabama and Ohio State that reloads more than they rebuild.
2. Florida needs their suspended players
Florida missed their best offensive weapons direly. Wide receiver Antonio Callaway and running back Jordan Scarlett are two of the most integral parts of the Gator offense. Without them, Florida struggled to move the ball at all.
As a result, too much pressure was put on a quarterback rotation that struggled to get comfortable. Freshman Feleipe Franks relied too heavily on players like Josh Hammond and Tyrie Cleveland. Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire rotated in last and played well at times.
Receiver Brandon Powell did not play as large of a role as expected. This could be another season where the Gators cannot consistently find a way to move the ball on offense. The defense did look solid, though.
Most of the players suspended by Jim McElwain were younger players that might have slid into the rotation, but would not be in a big role. They can get back on track over the next two weeks as they face Northern Colorado, then conference rival Tennessee.
3. Wilton Speight does not need to be great
Speight did just enough to win the game. Michigan did not need much from him in the second half. However, he did throw more touchdowns to the Florida defense than he did to the Michigan offense. Only three of Florida’s 17 points were scored on offense. The other 14 were scored on interceptions returned for a touchdown.
Michigan’s rushing attack totaled 215 yards and one touchdown. The combination of Ty Isaac and Chris Evans could be a feared duo in the backfield. With Michigan’s defense looking so good, the offense just needs to keep pace.
The concerning trend for Speight is that he did not finish the 2016 campaign off well. This continues a four game streak of Speight not being able to throw more touchdowns than interceptions. It puts pressure on Harbaugh to try and figure out a solution to a problem that should not exist.
We figured out tonight that Speight fits into more of a game manager role than an all-around leader on offense. Minimizing the turnovers is the biggest goal for Speight moving forward. Florida does have a great secondary, though.
4. Feleipe Franks struggled in his first start for the Gators
Florida needs to find some offensive consistency. On Wednesday, August 29th, Florida head coach Jim McElwain shocked the college football world by naming redshirt freshman Felipe Franks the team’s starting quarterback ahead of the week one bout against Michigan.
While most fans and pundits assumed that Notre Dame transfer quarterback Malik Zaire was a shoo-in to lead the Gator’s offense, coach McElwain instead chose to build his franchise around a young, strong armed pro-style quarterback with four years of eligibility remaining. However, Felipe Frank’s first game at Florida left much to be desired.
The Gators offense couldn’t find consistency in the first half of the team’s week one game, only recording 16 yards on the ground, 75 yards passing and four first downs in the first half. If it wasn’t for the Gators defense hauling in two crucial pick-sixes, Florida wouldn’t have even been in the game at halftime.
After struggling through a rough first half, Franks improve in the second. While scrambling with roughly 10 minutes left in the third quarter, Franks fumbled the ball at his own 37-yard line, and effectively set the Wolverines offense up for a score.
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On the Gator’s next offensive drive, McElwain finally made a change, and inserted graduate transfer Malik Zaire into the game with nine minutes to go in the third quarter. Though Zaire didn’t end up fairing much better against Michigan’s top ranked defense, he was at least able to move the ball.
If McElwain’s squad is going to rebound from their week one loss, they will need to find a spark to jump-start their stagnant offense.
1. Michigan’s defense is still one of the nation’s best
When Michigan lost 10 of its 11 starters from last years number one ranked defense, few observers though the Wolverine’s defense could return to its 2016 form. In week one of 2017 the college football season, coach Harbaugh’s squad did just that.
Lead by sophomore middle linebacker Devin Bush and lone returning starter Mike McCray, the Wolverines defense held the Gator’s offense, a unit that many believed would be improved after a mediocre 2016 season, to only 192 total yards of offense.
The Wolverines defense never let the Gators get into a rhythm. In roughly 25 minutes of possession, Florida was only able to get seven first downs, and only got into the red-zone once, which resulted in an early field goal.
While the final score of the game was 33-17, the actual game wasn’t nearly as close as the score may seem. If it wasn’t for Florida’s two pick-sixes in the first half, the score would have been even more lopsided towards the Wolverines
The defensive line, largely consisting of rotational players from last season’s squad, shined in their first performance as a unit. Florida simply couldn’t get anything going on the ground, and when attempting to pass, the Gator’s quarterbacks were seemingly always under pressure from Michigan’s relentless pass rush.
This was a major statement by a team that is still looking for its identity on offense, especially during Florida’s second to last driver, where standout defensive end Chase Winovich sacked second string quarterback Malik Zaire in the end-zone, and forced a fumble that ultimately resulted in a Michigan touchdown.
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Michigan Wolverine’s defense has the makings of something special, and should be able to hold their own against the high-powered offenses of the Big Ten in 2017.