I think it is pretty telling how far the bar has been raised for the D when giving up 10 points in a half is considered bad. Not disagreeing, they weren't playing well, but they got it corrected and were dominant in the 2nd half.
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Michigan @ Purdue, Saturday, 9/23, 4p Eastern, FOX/Stream FSGo
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Wow, what a performance by O'korn. That's the guy I think we all sort of expected to see when he transferred. I recently said O'korn is not the answer, but he probably has to be given the OL. So much more mobile and comfortable throwing on the move than Speight. I don't know if against better teams he gets away with a couple of the plays/throws he made today but I think you need to give him a chance.
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Dear Jim Harbaugh: YOU know what to do
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Ugly game for Wilton Speight on all fronts. Hate it that he went down but M wasn't going to win with him at QB based on his performance and that of the OL before he went out.
Not sure what's wrong with the OL. I thought Kugler got handled and Onwenu had another rough outing. But, it is entirely possible that the way M is being defended and it's inability to make defenses pay for doing what they do contributed to make the OL look bad.
O'Korn and the play calling, once he was in at QB, changed that ..... most notably in the second half. It's already been said but O'Korn is a much better fit at QB given M's inexperienced OL and their play to date. I'm wondering if Speight looks better in practice because he's not facing the kind of pressure that is getting dialed up by opponents. Coaches can't not have seen how much better O'Korn handled Purdue's substantial pressures ...... he's the one extending plays, keeping his eyes down field and moving the chains. We thought that was Speight's claim to fame. It's not anymore.
Observant fans have been saying since Cincy and AF, where the run game was not particularly effective except in big play spurts, that screens and crossing routes where the way to go to make defenses loading the box, bringing LBs up close to the LOS and playing 1-Hi Ss pay for that. Whoever was calling the plays in the 2nd half made Purdue pay. A first.
Also noteworthy, once O'Korn appeared to have a hot hand, the coaches did not give him any deep balls - a Harbaughffense specialty - which were routinely blown by both Speight and O'Korn, as well as the receivers contributing. This game was the first time in the last two season I saw that long ball play limited in favor of a more tailored passing game to what the opponent D was doing.
Coaches seemed more interested in driving the field minus that approach. It worked. The offense got in a rhythm on two time consuming, TD scoring drives in the 3rd/4th and that was the ball game.
Clearly, M's defense is probably the best seen at Michigan in decades and that was a different era. It's much harder to demonstrate the kind of over-powering control of a game in the current era than it was then. Different skill sets. The combination of speed, athleticism and power this D possesses is scary good against any team that wants to run power from under center, spread to run from the pistol, pass or do anything tricky.
Nothing to write home about with regard to STs. They didn't make any costly mistakes and on the road, that's a big deal.
Speaking of road games. IMO, this is the best M has played on the road, certainly under JH and arguably the last two coaches before that. I can't remember a more dominating road win against a decent team in Purdue that played winning football at home - for a half.:-PLast edited by Jeff Buchanan; September 23, 2017, 09:27 PM.Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.
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Nothing seen or heard on the Crawford injury (torn Achilles mentioned here). There were plenty of camera angles of that play and the aftereffects. I couldn't see any kind of hyper flexion type mechanism of injury that would support the rumor.
Lots of guys cramping due to dehydration. Hoping that's what it was and he's fine.Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.
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After Crawford went down they were flexing his ankle like one would do with a cramp ... would seem odd that that would be done if an Achilles tear was suspected.
I am guessing someone thought that because he kind of dragged his leg as he was walking off the field as if he had a foot drop. I presume we will get some type of update in the next day or two.
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I loved how O'Korn found those TEs. With all of the emphsis on them the last few years, the production/usage through the first three games had not been there. Gentry is a monster target and McKeon was surprising with his athleticism. With the injuries mounting at WR, they'll need those guys to keep producing.
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