Real Kato Blog: College Football Recap: Week 3

Michigan squeaks by UMass; NC State gets a good (if somewhat sloppy) win against a quality opponent.

Michigan 42, UMass 37. If you didn't watch this game, you'd just see that Michigan barely outscored an FCS (I-AA) opponent. That would bring to mind two things: one, the 2007 loss to Appalachian State; and two, the defensive meltdown from last year.

To some degree, that's a fair assessment. But it's worth noting that Michigan was up by 18 points with twelve minutes to play, and the last two UMass touchdowns were helped by a Michigan fumble and a blocked punt. And yes, Michigan was trailing early in the game, but that's largely due to an interception and a missed field goal. So I think the closeness can be blamed more on miscues and special teams than on defensive issues. That's not to say there aren't defensive issues, but the problems seem more correctable than last year.

On Michigan's ten drives (not counting the run-out-the-clock drive at the end of the game), six resulted in touchdowns. There was an interception, a missed field goal, and two punts. And this was even with a fairly conservative game plan: Michigan was determined to run the ball, even against UMass' all-out plan to stop the run (they spent much of the day with no deep safeties).

So while future Michigan opponents may be licking their chops in anticipation of plowing through the Michigan defense, they should also be wondering: how on earth are we going to outscore them? Teams with young offenses like Penn State, Purdue, and Illinois should be concerned about their ability to put together touchdown drives with consistency. There'll be some entertaining games ahead.

Grades: Offense B, Defense D. There were no huge gaffes on defense this time, but they just couldn't make stops; loss of containment on running plays was a major problem. I still think that's a correctable problem. On offense, it's hard to complain about 525 yards of offense, and Michael Shaw rushed for 126 yards (taking some of the burden off Denard Robinson). But the interception was a poorly thrown ball, and the offense should have checked to more passing plays against cover-zero defenses.

NCSU 30, Cincinnati 19. Russell Wilson put on a strong performance in this game, passing for 333 yards and three touchdowns. But holy cow, NC State needs a running back. Mustafa Greene managed 84 yards, but 31 came on one play, and a bunch more came in garbage time at the end of the game. Dean Haynes and Curtis Underwood were fumble-prone. If State could manage to find a decent running back to complement Wilson's passing game, the offense will take a huge leap forward.

On defense, it was evident that Cincinnati couldn't match State's defensive speed. State's upcoming opponents may match up better.

There was a lot of ugliness in this game, with fumbles and penalties for both teams. State will need to clean that up going into this week's game against Georgia Tech.

But still... at 3-0, the Wolfpack is suddenly looking like the class of the ACC. Every game seems winnable. It's a down year for the ACC, with all the traditional front-runners struggling. A 10-win season seems very possible; 12-0 isn't entirely out of the question. (Dream big, Wolfpack.)

Other Notable Games

Iowa lost to Arizona 34-27 in a game with national championship implications. Iowa hurt themselves with a blocked punt and an interception in the first quarter; both resulted in Arizona touchdowns.

Michigan State beat Notre Dame 34-31 on a gutsy fake field goal in overtime. Notre Dame is now 1-2 and gets Stanford next; Stanford has been steamrolling its opponents so far.

Speaking of Stanford, they beat Wake Forest 68-24. 68 points! Then again, even Duke scored 48 points against Wake.

Minnesota put up a pretty good fight against USC, but ultimately lost 32-21.

Nevada beat Cal 52-13. Nevada might be a sleeper to steal a BCS bid this year.

UCLA beat Houston 31-13, bouncing back from its early losses. Houston did lose its star quarterback in the game, but UCLA might have won this even if he'd avoided the injury.

Arkansas beat Georgia 31-24. Georgia fans are grumbling almost as loudly as Notre Dame fans.

UConn lost to Temple 30-16. That hurts Michigan's resume somewhat; Michigan's three opponents are now have a combined 4-5 record. (Of the three, only UMass has a winning record!)

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