It was not pretty. All those people in red, the governor, and you can just imagine the full week of angst. Whether they are good or bad, Michigan brings primetime coverage and a living, breathing example of the hurdle to climb in order to be recognized. For those with a sense of entitlement rooted in the past and a different college football world, it is the game of the season.
For Nebraska, Michigan, and even Rutgers, you belong. You have a good football team. You are back, if you have to put it that way.
The taunting penalty and a few lucky breaks for Michigan are all part of it. They go both ways and are always a whinny excuse. Michigan won.
Areas of strength: running back, kicking, safety.
Weaknesses: receivers, cornerback, possibly linebacker.
Middle of the Road with Upside: defensive line, offensive line, quarterback.
That is the status at the mid-season mark. Undefeated but some real holes that will not change a lot this year. It is tempting to revel in the success, but it is possible Michigan will end the season losing three of its last five. Different this year? Bowls have generally gone poorly.
MVP: Hassan Haskins. I just looked again, what is his draft status? Wins over Aiden Hutchinson only because there is depth on the d-line. Also, he is picked only to stress everything he does and how important he is. Admittedly, the defensive line would not be the saime without Hutchinson.
Best Kicking Combo: Jake Moody and Brad Robbins.
Rookie of the Half-Year: David Ojabo.
Worst Injury/Lost Player: Ronnie Bell.
The biggest disappointment so far this year has been the receiving corps. It is no surprise in that it did not look good on paper going in and things are worse-off now. Bell has had shining moments in his career but he has not had a lot of catches and he is not really a go-to guy. But that is Michigan's offense--runs and boring stuff until the time and formations are right. If I see this everyone else does too, and this year Bell played as if he is a go-to receiver and punt returner. (Recently Cornelius Johnson has acted like a #1 receiver but that has not been the case on the field.) Anyway, this was Bell's year and it did not work out that way.
Roman Wilson had a breakout game against Wisconsin, and again, the door is open for stars to shine. Daylen Baldwin is getting a quick education but he still has drops and misreads. Mike Sainristil: one great catch, but he is more of a cheerleader. AJ Henning cannot seem to run a route and Cristian Dixon appears to fall into that category too. Recruiting (some help is coming; 24/7 is unfriendly to adblockers) at wide receiver is not a strength given Michigan's awful use of the position. That is it, there is nothing else there. The tight ends are modest threats too.
Michigan is desperate and smart to try Donovan Edwards at receiver. Same goes for a need to pass to Blake Corum.
Folks have said it is great that Michigan is a top-10 team again and that is wrong because, just like all the other teams and schools, Michigan is not entitled to it. What is surprising and a treat too is that Jim Harbaugh has finally woken-up, no pun intended. Something changed or someone got to him. He is the beneficiary of two excellent running backs, but still.
In marketing they call it positioning, and Michigan has that. We can finally see Harbaugh's vision, and everyone is onboard with it, of the RPO (run pas option). It is an improvement over, but still it is completely complementary to, traditional smash-mouth football. And the big plays come from that.
The defense too is better--not an improvement over the best of the best, but steadier and just fine so far. More players are doing more and a few in particular are, well, having a season worth coming back for.
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