WILD week 2
Going into the week, Michigan vs Texas was the consensus best game of the week. Two top ten teams going at it, 24 players drafted combined last year, playoff implications, new coaches and players, and the second time in history that these two will play each other. It had all the makings of a great game but, what we witnessed on Saturday was a total domination from the Texas Longhorns. My notes from the game were simple: “Texas is doing whatever they want”. They bullied Michigan from start to finish. We all knew Texas would have one of the best teams in the nation but no one knew they would come into Ann Arbor and dominate like they did.
How did Texas win?
The offense and defense were in sync, the play calls were great, and they just seemed more physical and talented. Texas came into Ann Arbor and beat them at their own game. Quarterback Quin Ewers was composed, quick with his reads, and hardly made any mistakes. He knew coming into the game that he would need his best and he brought it. Head coach Steve Sarkisian called a great game. His game plan was to get the ball out quickly to his speedy receivers and involve the running backs in the pass game. The Wolverines had no answer for the Longhorns offense. On defense, the Longhorns kept everything in front of them, the Wolverines biggest chunk play went for a 31 yard touchdown in “garbage time”. The transfer from Clemson, Andrew Mukuba stood out the most as he was flying around the field, making tackles, breaking up passes, and playing solid coverage. Overall, Texas looks to be the real deal and will compete for a National Championship.
Michigan Struggles
All week we heard people saying “is Michigan hiding something on offense for this game?”. Michigan struggled in week 1 against Fresno State and the struggles have continued. I get most of the starters on offense from a year ago are gone to the NFL but, you would think the defending champions would be able to reload on that side of the ball. They have a walk-on quarterback and receivers with little to no experience, a whole new offensive line, and a new offensive coordinator. It’s just a recipe for disaster and that's what happened. The Wolverines bread and butter is to wear you down with physicality and run it down the opposing teams throats. They also like to use the quarterback for play action passes and to just facilitate the ball to his receivers. None of that matters when the offensive line can't block and play physical. The run game never got going, and it forces QB, Davis Warren to throw the ball and he's just not ready for that yet as he threw two interceptions. Michigan also needs to rethink the game plan when they are down. In the 3rd quarter, the Wolverines ran the ball over and over for two yard gains. When you're down 21 points, why keep running the ball into a strong defensive line for little gains? Onto the defense, new coordinator Wink Martindale, ran cover 0 for the majority of the game. He didn't not learn throughout the game that Texas can get the ball out quick. They have the 2 most talented DEs in the country and a great secondary and they chose to blitz heavy and often. Not sure why they didn’t let Texas try and pick on the secondary and hopefully cause some turnovers in a hostile environment. Michigan needs development and they need it quickly; the schedule is not favorable enough for them to keep having games like this.
Power 4 Upsets this Week:
Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois
Iowa lost to Iowa State
Georgia Tech lost to Syracuse
Kentucky lost to South Carolina
Kansas lost to Illinois
Auburn lost to Cal
Maryland lost to Michigan State
Upset of the week: Northern Illinois vs Notre Dame (16-14)
Marcus Freeman needs to fix what he has going on in South Bend. Ever since he has got there he has had a tough early opponent. They always play a pretty good game and everyone thinks highly of them. The next week they struggle and either lose to a bad team or make it close. In 2022, they played Ohio State the first game of the season then the next week Marshall ended up beating them. In 2023, they played and beat Florida State then ended up in a three point game against Toledo the following week. In 2024, they upset Texas A&M in College Station and then lose to Northern Illinois. It becomes a pattern and Marcus Freeman is on the hot seat. They have one of the most favorable schedules to make the playoffs and may have just ruined their chances. The team didn't play well but it's all on the coach to make sure they are game ready. Reading some Notre Dame fans comments makes me suggest that Marcus Freeman has to win out and hopefully make the playoffs or his job can potentially be on line after this year.
MY TOP 10 AFTER WEEK 2
Georgia
Texas
Ohio State
Tennessee
Ole Miss
Miami
USC
Utah
Alabama
Penn State
