It was ugly for a while Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium
It was ugly for a while Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium.
Muffed punts. Lost fumbles. Missed receivers. Missed assignments.
This shouldn’ t be surprising for a football team so young. But then youth is no longer an excuse in college football.
At least not at Michigan. At least not with this coach.
So, yes, the Wolverines won their home opener, 36-14, against the Cincinnati Bearcats. But winning isn’ t the point. That was a given.
How they won is the issue.
Fair or not, from here on out, every U-M game will be judged this way, against the expectation of something grand. Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s persona and tactics demand it. And his fan base demands it, too.
Thus, the booing. Not just directed at quarterback Wilton Speight, who took a couple of sacks Saturday afternoon and overthrew a handful of receivers again. But directed at the play calling as well.
More: Observations: Wilton Speight, Michigan’s offense need work
As if: why can’ t you score every time you get the ball?
Even the punter, Will Hart, heard boos; he shanked a couple and short-legged a couple more. Of course, the fact that he was on the field so often was a signal of distress in itself.
The Wolverines shouldn’ t have to punt against a team that barely beat Austin-Peay a week ago. That’s the theory, anyway. That’s also the expectation, as ridiculous as it is.
What happened in Texas a week ago was a bit of a mirage. U-M’s defense was fast, certainly. And swarmed like few teams in Ann Arbor ever have.
Florida was also bad. While Michigan was young, and still is. Which is easy to forget.
So it happens that the Wolverines came out sluggish, out of rhythm, unable to get a consistent push up front on defense, in search of a passing game on offense.
Harbaugh almost seemed stubborn in his early-game approach, spreading his offense wide, leaving Speight alone in the backfield. Later in the year, if Speight starts to settle in with his new receivers, the strategy could be effective.
But now?
It backfired. It also felt forced, because U-M didn’ t have much trouble running the ball.
All of it painted a grisly portrait of a team that came back to Ann Arbor after a dominating performance last week against Florida. Maybe Florida is that bad.
Still, they’ ve got a lot more talent and athleticism than Cincinnati. So does U-M. It just took a while to show it.
Even Rashan Gary, everybody’s All-America defensive lineman, needed the threat of ejection before he started truly playing. After a personal foul call for a late hit on Cincinnati’s quarterback, Hayden Moore, officials reviewed the play for targeting.
It wasn’ t. The refs concurred. Gary took it personally. And began to burst around the corner and blow up the pocket.
That sort of ferocity wasn’ t there consistently against the Bearcats in the first half. Again, that shouldn’ t be so surprising.
U-M knew it was better. Speight found a rhythm. Running back Ty Isaac found some open field. Receiver Kekoa Crawford found the end zone and a lot of room to run.
The offensive line held grew stronger. The defense made two interceptions and returned them for touchdowns. Skill and talent eventually took over.
It’s a process, remember. And will be for a while.
If nothing else, the home opener told us that.
Kareem Walker, Oliver Martin do not dress for Michigan-Cincinnati
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.
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