Half Way Home

After a very business like thumping of Michigan State, the Wolverines find themselves unblemished at the midway point of the season. The score did not do justice to just how bad Michigan man handled the Spartans, who were over matched and bullied all over the field. A MSU offense, which boasted a Nationally Top 10 rushing attack averaging 220 yds/game going in Saturday's match-up, mustered a measly 60 yards. I guess Caulcrick will need to rethink his view on the 'unimpressive' Michigan defensive line that he called out leading up to the game. Undoubtedly, his words fired up the 'D', which contained him to a miniscule 29 yards on 14 attempts.

Brandon Minor of Michigan out gained the boisterous Caulcrick on only 3 carries!

Michigan State had its share of, well, Michigan State moments, which included offsides, missed FG, offsides, late hit, offsides, running into the kicker, and oh, did I mention offsides?

Even if Michigan wasn't prepared to win this one, MSU undoubtedly was planning to hand the Wolverines a victory, regardless, with their sloppy play.

Henne was his usual efficient self, only passing the ball 17 times and completing 11 for 140 yards and 3 TD's. Manningham showed up for his weekly, almost automatic, two deep TD's to go along with Arrington's acrobatic, yet controversial, TD. Mike Hart motored for 122 yards and even left the game early (ankle) to allow Kevin Grady and Brandon Minor to make their presence felt. And did they ever by amassing a combined 92 yards on 15 carries, including an impressive 40 yard scamper by the true freshman (Minor).

The defense held the high powered Spartan attack to a respectable 312 yards of total offense. Although, the sacks have dangerously declined over the last two weeks (a combined 1), the defense once again made running the ball an insurmountable chore for the Spartans who were virtually forced to a strictly pass offense to move the ball with any type of consistency. The defense also came through with two interceptions, although the 1st one would've been wiser to hit the turf as the Spartans faced 4th down.

You could sense early on in this game that Sparty simply had no answer on how to shove the ball down Michigan's throat. Due to this, Michigan jumped on them early, all the way to a 24-0 lead before MSU displayed some life in producing 2 late scores (one set-up by the poor interception decision of Adams).

Needless to say, the defense will be relied heavily in the next two week's, as we conclude this 6 game gauntlet, to pull the Wolverins through unscathed.

Key defensive statistics:

1. 9 plays of negative or no gain out of 61 - 14.8% (61 out of 367 for the year - 16.6%)
2. 1 sack (18 for the year)
3. 2 turnovers to make it 13 for the year

Red Zone Efficiency

Offense

1. 2 trips into Red Zone vs. MSU, resulting in 1 TD & 1 FG (71.4% scoring efficiency)
2. For the year, 23 trips for 12 TD's, 7 FG's, and 2 turnovers (64.6% scoring efficiency)

Defense

1. 3 MSU trips into the Red Zone resulting in 2 TD's (61.9% scoring efficiency)
2. For the year, only 10 opposing trips into Red Zone for 5 TD's, 2 FG's, and 2 turnovers (57.1% scoring efficiency)

This week, against Penn State, will prove the Wolvies biggest test, yet. Beaver Stadium will be rocking and the Nittany Lions are looking to avenge their unimaginable 7 game losing streak against Michigan. As if the hype machine isn't enough for this game, it is to be played under the Pennsylvania lights. The Wolverines will have to do it without their most feared weapon, Mario Manningham, due to a knee injury.

The weight of this game will fall on the shoulders of Ron English and his defense to lead the way for Big Blue. The offensive attack will look to be methodical and control the clock with hopes of leaving Happy Valley, well happy.

A true test of this team's character will be unveiled on Saturday night. The Wolverine faithful are hoping 6 turns to 7 and 7 turns to 8 in a match-up that will bring the Wolverines one step closer to the eagerly anticipated slugfest.

But for now, one game and streak at a time.

Quick Slants

Well, the Auburn defense, which looked exposed against South Carolina confirmed our suspicion on Saturday afternoon against Arkansas as the Razorbacks ran all over them. This week is a showdown with Florida, which Michigan fans now find themselves rooting for the Tigers for BCS positioning.

USC continued its shaky play, bareley getting by an average Washington squad, yet, the computers still love the Trojans in the polls with 4 of them used for BCS rankings having them ranked #1.

Here is my Top 10:

1. Ohio State - Here until they slip
2. Michigan - No team in the Nation has been more consistent week in and week out
3. Florida - Will jump to #2 if they get by Auburn on the road
4. USC - Don't see this team getting through the season undefeated
5. Tennessee - If they would've held on vs. Florida they would be sitting pretty at #2
6. Cal - Look for the Bears to give USC everything they can handle
7. West Virginia - Still question the legitimacy of this team
8. Texas - Jury still out on the Longhorns, but looked solid vs. Oklahoma
9. Auburn - Will maintain its Top 10 status with a big win vs. the Gators this week
10. Notre Dame - They don't play anybody until the season finally - a Top 10 default, for now

DP