Michigan lost a home game to a MWC team, so you can expect that I'm disappointed/angry/horrified, etc.

However, I have to say I'm actually encouraged by today's game.

• After the defensive players realized that the season had started, and they should probably, you know, play football, that unit completely dominated.
• The offense was pretty bad. The line was decent for the players that are left one it, but they'll need to improve over the course of the season if Michigan is going to be successful. The QB was pretty bad, but some of it was first-game jitteriness, and some was being rattled by the QB pressure. There should be an improvement by the QBs next week against a much worse defense.
• The special teams were very good. Nice to see Lopata nail a career-long FG, and see multiple kicks (an extra point and a punt) blocked. What's scary is that I only see this unit getting better during the year.

Of course, it's always a disappointment to lose, but I saw it coming, so it doesn't sting as much as maybe it should. Lowered expectations lead to a happier postgame feeling. If the defense can play all year like it did in the second half, I expect this team to be top-25 quality (even if the record won't reflect that until much later in the year). If the offense can come around, this could be a decent year in Ann Arbor.

Labels: football, postview

This entry was posted by Tim, on Saturday, August 30, 2008. You can leave your response.

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