Real Kato Blog: College Football Recap

Michigan 31, Michigan State 13.

Michigan 31, Michigan State 13. It's another solid workmanlike victory for Michigan. Michigan dominated the line of scrimmage, got a big lead early by exploiting MSU's soft cornerbacks... and then just settled in to watch the inevitable MSU self-destruction.

There's no doubt that MSU has some athletes on both sides of the ball. But, much like N.C. State at times, MSU lacks discipline. How many defensive offsides penalties were there in the first half? Dropped balls? Personal foul penalties? It was enough to make coach John L. Smith cringe... and well he should, because his job is likely gone at the end of this season.

For Michigan's part, Chad Henne looked very sharp, especially throwing the long ball. Opposing defenses will be afraid to commit a safety to run support, as long as Michigan keeps throwing down the field.

The running game was a little sluggish at times, but still managed to rack up 211 yards on 42 carries. 40 of those yards were on a touchdown run from freshman Brandon Minor, who may well be the tailback of the future at Michigan.

On defense, Michigan was able to contain a potent MSU attack. But the game could have been much closer if MSU hadn't kept shooting itself in the foot. I didn't like that Michigan seemed vulnerable to the middle screen pass, and a couple of times, receivers got behind the Michigan secondary. Both things are partly an artifact of having an aggressive defense. Against a weaker team, Michigan will get away with that, because the quarterback will be under enough pressure that he'll make a bad throw. Against Ohio State? Hmm.

On the injury front: Mike Hart went out with a minor ankle sprain late in the game, though he said afterwards that he was "fine". And Mario Manningham tweaked a knee. He seemed to be hopping along on the sideline okay, but we'll have to wait to see what his condition is.

Grades: Offense A-, Defense A-.

Other News

Iowa cruised over Purdue 47-17. Iowa will be a stern test for Michigan in two weeks.

Arkansas knocked off No. 2 Auburn 27-10 in an SEC surprise. Arkansas now has a commanding position in the SEC West; they would have to lose twice to give up the lead.

Florida defeated LSU 23-10 in another SEC showdown, putting Florida in the driver's seat for the SEC East. If Florida can make it through the remaining games in this three-game gauntlet (LSU, Auburn, and Georgia), it seems likely that they can go undefeated for the season.

Tennessee crushed Georgia 51-33, after being down 24-14 at the half, in yet another big SEC matchup.

USC squeaked by Washington 26-20, when Washington ran out of time on its last-minute drive. USC might not be the indomitable force it was in years past.

Cal beat Oregon 45-24, bringing back some hope that Cal can contend for the Pac-10 title.

Texas cruised by Oklahoma 28-10 in an important Big 12 game.

Clemson beat Wake Forest 27-17 in the ACC, handing Wake Forest its first loss.

Georgia Tech beat Maryland 27-23, keeping them atop the ACC Coastal division. (At the top of the ACC Atlantic division? N.C. State. Huh.)

Permalink 2 Comment

Posted by Ken in: sports

Comments

Comment #1 from JohnC (Guest)
2006 Oct 9 - 10:26 pm : #

Manningham has an undisclosed injury. Could be serious. Word on the street is a partially torn ACL, but they are looking for a second opinion

Comment #2 from Ken (realkato)
2006 Oct 10 - 8:29 am : #

ESPN says partially torn meniscus, and partially torn MCL. Either way, that means arthroscopic surgery, and he's probably done for the season. Drat.

Comments are closed for this post.

Search This Site