Here are some things I took away from the game at Michigan. Some football related others fan/tradition related.
Game related.
1) Defense never looked overmatched. Physically they were able to contain Michigan's run game pretty well. They gave up 100 yards on 2 plays. The first was a beautiful reverse that Michigan set up the prior two plays.Sometimes teams execure a play so well there is nothing you can do and this was one of those times. The other was the 80 yard run. Jim H. said after the game it was poorly blocked and it was a great induvidual effort. Watching the replay the Rebels defended it well and had it strung out, but two guys over ran the play and another missed a tackle and the guy was gone. Outside of those two runs I felt defense played very well. Mike Hughes is starting to become a force on the defensive line. Last year this game would have been 49-7 with Michigan rushing for 350+ yards gouging UNLV for 7-8-9 yards a clip and beating them down just like Arizona.
2) Secondary was fantastic. Fred Wilson and local Hough really stood out. Michigan didn't throw the ball a lot but struggled when they did. In the past teams that were run heavy (Air Force, New Mexico , Colorado State) would always seem to kill the Rebs on one big play action pass during the game. That never happened vs Michigan. There were no guys running free in the secondary. The coverage was outstanding all game.
3) Offense on the other hand did seem a little overmatched physically. Offensive line had trouble opening any holes for the backs. Also pass protection struggled a bit. That said this should change heading into MWC play. I think physically the offense should be on more even terms. The run game and pass protection should improve.
2) Boyd struggled to get open until late in the game. We really need to see one of the other WRs start to step up and take some coverage away from Boyd.
3) The YPC wont show it but I thought Campbell and Thomas played their best games. Thomas ran hard and seemed to be more decisive putting his foot in the ground and settling for 1-2 yards rather than trying to bounce everything outside. Campbell had a beautiful run to the outside that showed power and a little speed. I think both of these guys will start seeing more snaps in conference play.
Football/Tradition
1) Our student body should be absolutely ashamed. I never had the chance to live the college experience so when I see the type of school spirit Michigan students showed I always come away impressed. Every year my brother and a group of friends do a road trip for a UNLV football game. Without question UNLV student body/section is the absolute worst I have seen. I know it's hard to support a losing program but they barely make an effort.
2) Enough crying about how far Sam Boyd is from campus. Out of the 108,000 fans at the Big House I would guess at least 50k travel more that 30 minutes to get to Ann Arbor. Detroit is 30 minutes away all the surrounding towns are a minimum 20 to 45 minutes away. Getting out of Ann Arbor probably takes at least an hour with how bad the traffic becomes.
3) The Big House was awesome. That said it is a stadium, made of concrete with metal bleachers. Just like Sam Boyd. It wasn't the stadium that made the atmosphere it was the fans and traditions that made it a fun experience. In no way am I am saying Sam Boyd compares to the Big House it doesn't. But why do we need a big new fancy stadium when we are barely able to get 15k fans to a game now? Subtract some seats and a video board you essentially have concrete and metal bleachers. The Big House was not some state of the art facility. But it did have state of the art fans, traditions and student section.
I left Michigan feeling jealous of their traditions and atmosphere.
Game related.
1) Defense never looked overmatched. Physically they were able to contain Michigan's run game pretty well. They gave up 100 yards on 2 plays. The first was a beautiful reverse that Michigan set up the prior two plays.Sometimes teams execure a play so well there is nothing you can do and this was one of those times. The other was the 80 yard run. Jim H. said after the game it was poorly blocked and it was a great induvidual effort. Watching the replay the Rebels defended it well and had it strung out, but two guys over ran the play and another missed a tackle and the guy was gone. Outside of those two runs I felt defense played very well. Mike Hughes is starting to become a force on the defensive line. Last year this game would have been 49-7 with Michigan rushing for 350+ yards gouging UNLV for 7-8-9 yards a clip and beating them down just like Arizona.
2) Secondary was fantastic. Fred Wilson and local Hough really stood out. Michigan didn't throw the ball a lot but struggled when they did. In the past teams that were run heavy (Air Force, New Mexico , Colorado State) would always seem to kill the Rebs on one big play action pass during the game. That never happened vs Michigan. There were no guys running free in the secondary. The coverage was outstanding all game.
3) Offense on the other hand did seem a little overmatched physically. Offensive line had trouble opening any holes for the backs. Also pass protection struggled a bit. That said this should change heading into MWC play. I think physically the offense should be on more even terms. The run game and pass protection should improve.
2) Boyd struggled to get open until late in the game. We really need to see one of the other WRs start to step up and take some coverage away from Boyd.
3) The YPC wont show it but I thought Campbell and Thomas played their best games. Thomas ran hard and seemed to be more decisive putting his foot in the ground and settling for 1-2 yards rather than trying to bounce everything outside. Campbell had a beautiful run to the outside that showed power and a little speed. I think both of these guys will start seeing more snaps in conference play.
Football/Tradition
1) Our student body should be absolutely ashamed. I never had the chance to live the college experience so when I see the type of school spirit Michigan students showed I always come away impressed. Every year my brother and a group of friends do a road trip for a UNLV football game. Without question UNLV student body/section is the absolute worst I have seen. I know it's hard to support a losing program but they barely make an effort.
2) Enough crying about how far Sam Boyd is from campus. Out of the 108,000 fans at the Big House I would guess at least 50k travel more that 30 minutes to get to Ann Arbor. Detroit is 30 minutes away all the surrounding towns are a minimum 20 to 45 minutes away. Getting out of Ann Arbor probably takes at least an hour with how bad the traffic becomes.
3) The Big House was awesome. That said it is a stadium, made of concrete with metal bleachers. Just like Sam Boyd. It wasn't the stadium that made the atmosphere it was the fans and traditions that made it a fun experience. In no way am I am saying Sam Boyd compares to the Big House it doesn't. But why do we need a big new fancy stadium when we are barely able to get 15k fans to a game now? Subtract some seats and a video board you essentially have concrete and metal bleachers. The Big House was not some state of the art facility. But it did have state of the art fans, traditions and student section.
I left Michigan feeling jealous of their traditions and atmosphere.