Well, the 2010 non-conference schedule is in the books. For a 2nd consecutive year, Michigan goes 4-0 outside of the Big Ten. For the 2nd consecutive year, Michigan starts the year 4-0...first time since 1996-1997.
A lot of questions still remain. Like how good is Michigan, really? Is this 4-0 different from last year's 4-0? Is Michigan prepared for the Big Ten schedule?
We don't know any of these answers. All we can do is judge how well Michigan has played so far, and how strong our opponents were when we played them.
Week 1: Connecticut
UConn Now:
2-2 Overall
0-0 Conference
FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 181.3 (92nd)
Rushing Yards: 212.8 (26th)
Point For: 33.3 (40th)
Points Against: 21 (53rd)
The Game:
Connecticut - 10
Michigan - 30
| Connecticut | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 16 | 28 |
3rd down efficiency | 4-15 | 14-19 |
4th down efficiency | 3-6 | 1-2 |
| Total Yards | 343 | 473 |
| Passing | 205 | 186 |
Comp-Att | 18-38 | 19-22 |
Yards per pass | 5.4 | 8.5 |
| Rushing | 138 | 287 |
Rushing Attempts | 30 | 61 |
Yards per rush | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Penalties | 2-10 | 1-13 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 23:08 | 36:52 |
UConn after Michigan:
9/11 WIN vs Texas Southern, 62-3
9/18 LOSS at Temple, 30-16
9/25 WIN vs Buffalo, 45-21
Season stats:
| Connecticut | Opponents | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring: Points/Game | 33.3 | 21.0 |
| Scoring: Games - Points | 4 - 133 | 4 - 84 |
| First Downs: Total | 66 | 67 |
| First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty | 35 - 31 - 0 | 35 - 30 - 2 |
| Rushing: Yards / Attempt | 5.71 | 3.70 |
| Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD | 149 - 851 - 10 | 173 - 640 - 5 |
| Passing: Rating | 116.31 | 107.98 |
| Passing: Yards | 725 | 726 |
| Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD | 111 - 57 - 1 - 4 | 119 - 65 - 7 - 5 |
| Total Offense: Yards / Play | 6.1 | 4.7 |
| Total Offense: Plays - Yards | 260 - 1576 | 292 - 1366 |
| Punt Returns: Yards / Return | 10.33 | 10.57 |
| Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 12 - 124 - 0 | 7 - 74 - 0 |
| Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return | 19.81 | 19.89 |
| Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 16 - 317 - 0 | 19 - 378 - 0 |
| Punting: Yards / Punt | 38.53 | 37.92 |
| Punting: Punts - Yards | 19 - 732 | 26 - 986 |
| Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD | 7 - 103 - 2 | 1 - 10 - 0 |
| Fumbles: Number - Lost | 9 - 5 | 5 - 2 |
| Penalties: Number - Yards | 22 - 150 | 23 - 170 |
| Time of Possession / Game | 26:53.25 | 33:06.75 |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % | 31.48% | 42.25% |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 54 - 17 | 71 - 30 |
| 4th Down Conversions: Conversion % | 50% | 16.67% |
| 4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 8 - 4 | 6 - 1 |
| Red Zone: Success % | 89.47% | 90.91% |
| Red Zone: Attempts - Scores | 19 - 17 | 11 - 10 |
| Field Goals: Success % | 63.6% | 75% |
| Field Goals: Attempts - Made | 11 - 7 | 4 - 3 |
| PAT Kicking: Success % | 100% | 90% |
| PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made | 16 - 16 | 10 - 9 |
| 2-Point Conversions: Success % | - | 0% |
| 2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made | 0 - 0 | 1 - 0 |
Week 2: Notre Dame
Notre Dame Now:
1-3 Overall
FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 315.5 (7th)
Rushing Yards: 110.8 (99th)
Point For: 23 (78th)
Points Against: 27.8 (85th)
The Game:
(1-0) Michigan - 28
(1-0) Notre Dame - 24
| Michigan | Notre Dame | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 22 | 23 |
3rd down efficiency | 3-16 | 4-14 |
4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Total Yards | 532 | 535 |
| Passing | 244 | 381 |
Comp-Att | 24-40 | 21-44 |
Yards per pass | 6.1 | 8.7 |
| Rushing | 288 | 154 |
Rushing Attempts | 41 | 32 |
Yards per rush | 7.0 | 4.8 |
| Penalties | 8-99 | 4-29 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown | 0 | 3 |
| Possession | 34:09 | 25:51 |
Notre Dame before Michigan:
9/4: WIN vs Purdue, 23-12
Notre Dame after Michigan:
9/18: LOSS at Michigan State, 34-31 OT
9/25: LOSS vs Stanford, 37-14
Season Stats:
| Notre Dame | Opponents | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring: Points/Game | 23.0 | 27.8 |
| Scoring: Games - Points | 4 - 92 | 4 - 111 |
| First Downs: Total | 90 | 93 |
| First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty | 27 - 57 - 6 | 38 - 51 - 4 |
| Rushing: Yards / Attempt | 3.79 | 4.74 |
| Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD | 117 - 443 - 2 | 160 - 759 - 7 |
| Passing: Rating | 129.66 | 126.01 |
| Passing: Yards | 1262 | 976 |
| Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD | 170 - 98 - 5 - 8 | 148 - 98 - 5 - 5 |
| Total Offense: Yards / Play | 5.9 | 5.6 |
| Total Offense: Plays - Yards | 287 - 1705 | 308 - 1735 |
| Punt Returns: Yards / Return | 12.00 | 2.00 |
| Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 6 - 72 - 0 | 2 - 4 - 0 |
| Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return | 19.56 | 18.59 |
| Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 16 - 313 - 0 | 17 - 316 - 0 |
| Punting: Yards / Punt | 35.52 | 41.08 |
| Punting: Punts - Yards | 21 - 746 | 25 - 1027 |
| Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD | 5 - 27 - 0 | 5 - 39 - 1 |
| Fumbles: Number - Lost | 7 - 4 | 3 - 1 |
| Penalties: Number - Yards | 19 - 176 | 29 - 241 |
| Time of Possession / Game | 24:59.25 | 35:00.75 |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % | 37.25% | 37.88% |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 51 - 19 | 66 - 25 |
| 4th Down Conversions: Conversion % | 0% | 71.43% |
| 4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 2 - 0 | 7 - 5 |
| Red Zone: Success % | 78.57% | 86.67% |
| Red Zone: Attempts - Scores | 14 - 11 | 15 - 13 |
| Field Goals: Success % | 100% | 75% |
| Field Goals: Attempts - Made | 7 - 7 | 8 - 6 |
| PAT Kicking: Success % | 100% | 100% |
| PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made | 9 - 9 | 11 - 11 |
| 2-Point Conversions: Success % | 100% | 100% |
| 2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made | 1 - 1 | 1 - 1 |
Week 3: Massachusetts
UMass Now:
3-1 Overall
1-0 Conference
The Game:
(2-0) UMass - 37
(2-0) #20 Michigan - 42
| Massachusetts | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 26 | 22 |
3rd down efficiency | 6-12 | 4-7 |
4th down efficiency | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| Total Yards | 439 | 525 |
| Passing | 222 | 241 |
Comp-Att | 22-29 | 10-14 |
Yards per pass | 7.7 | 17.2 |
| Rushing | 217 | 284 |
Rushing Attempts | 49 | 42 |
Yards per rush | 4.4 | 6.8 |
| Penalties | 6-46 | 3-16 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Possession | 37:38 | 22:22 |
UMass before Michigan:
9/4: WIN vs William & Mary, 27-23
9/11: WIN vs Holy Cross, 31-7
UMass after Michigan:
9/25: WIN at Stony Brook, 26-21
Season Stats:
Season stats that match the stats I've found for FBS schools are tough to find. Suffice it to say that UMass is holding their own in most important statistical categories.
Week 4: Bowling Green
BGSU Now:
1-3 Overall
0-0 Conference
FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 256.5 (34th)
Rushing Yards: 70.5 (115th)
Point For: 28 (60th)
Points Against: 39 (112th)
The Game:
(1-2) BGSU - 21
(3-0) #21 Michigan - 65
| Bowling Green | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 12 | 31 |
3rd down efficiency | 6-14 | 10-12 |
4th down efficiency | 2-3 | 1-2 |
| Total Yards | 283 | 721 |
| Passing | 251 | 255 |
Comp-Att | 19-31 | 23-26 |
Yards per pass | 8.1 | 9.8 |
| Rushing | 32 | 466 |
Rushing Attempts | 27 | 56 |
Yards per rush | 1.2 | 8.3 |
| Penalties | 5-55 | 7-58 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
Fumbles lost | 0 | 2 |
Interceptions thrown | 2 | 0 |
| Possession | 26:54 | 33:06 |
BGSU before Michigan:
9/4: LOSS at Troy, 30-27
9/11: LOSS at Tulsa, 33-20
9/18: WIN vs Marshall, 44-28
Season Stats:
| Bowling Green | Opponents | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring: Points/Game | 28.0 | 39.0 |
| Scoring: Games - Points | 4 - 112 | 4 - 156 |
| First Downs: Total | 71 | 110 |
| First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty | 23 - 43 - 5 | 50 - 53 - 7 |
| Rushing: Yards / Attempt | 2.33 | 6.34 |
| Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD | 121 - 282 - 8 | 166 - 1052 - 13 |
| Passing: Rating | 122.04 | 119.47 |
| Passing: Yards | 1026 | 1066 |
| Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD | 147 - 94 - 7 - 4 | 161 - 97 - 7 - 6 |
| Total Offense: Yards / Play | 4.9 | 6.5 |
| Total Offense: Plays - Yards | 268 - 1308 | 327 - 2118 |
| Punt Returns: Yards / Return | 15.14 | 11.90 |
| Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 7 - 106 - 1 | 10 - 119 - 0 |
| Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return | 19.15 | 19.88 |
| Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD | 26 - 498 - 0 | 16 - 318 - 0 |
| Punting: Yards / Punt | 43.95 | 40.77 |
| Punting: Punts - Yards | 20 - 879 | 13 - 530 |
| Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD | 7 - 191 - 2 | 7 - 50 - 0 |
| Fumbles: Number - Lost | 3 - 2 | 5 - 4 |
| Penalties: Number - Yards | 33 - 285 | 27 - 260 |
| Time of Possession / Game | 30:40.00 | 29:18.00 |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % | 43.33% | 50.88% |
| 3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 60 - 26 | 57 - 29 |
| 4th Down Conversions: Conversion % | 66.67% | 50% |
| 4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions | 6 - 4 | 4 - 2 |
| Red Zone: Success % | 75% | 90.48% |
| Red Zone: Attempts - Scores | 16 - 12 | 21 - 19 |
| Field Goals: Success % | 50% | 77.8% |
| Field Goals: Attempts - Made | 6 - 3 | 9 - 7 |
| PAT Kicking: Success % | 92.9% | 100% |
| PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made | 14 - 13 | 19 - 19 |
| 2-Point Conversions: Success % | 0% | - |
| 2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made | 1 - 0 | 0 - 0 |
Conclusions:
Conclusions? HA!
Firstly, after looking at these stats and records, we should be 4-0. Obviously the most glaring thing that stands out to me is how relatively unimpressive Notre Dame is. That win felt better at the time. But after watching little brother embarrass them, and then watching Stanford dominate them...it's as if Notre Dame is right back where they were with Charlie Weis. I do believe that, at the time we played them, they were a better team...and they probably got pretty hyped up to play Michigan.
And that leads me to my next point. Any time anyone plays Michigan, they're pumped up. For every team we've played so far, their biggest game of the year is us. No one looks past us. Teams play better football when they're pumped up. That's not an excuse, it's just the fact of being a major football program. Players and coaches know that when they come here, and it's likely one of the reasons they do so.
I could go on and on about this, but I honestly feel that we're a better 4-0 team then we were last season. Why? Depth. We have 3 QBs that can run this offense, one of which is the leading Heisman candidate and maybe the most prolific players in the country. We have a stable of good RBs and WRs. Our O-line is deeper and more experienced. Our defense is still subject to big plays and giving up tons of yards, but we're also deeper there too. Greg Robinson is in his 2nd year as DC. He was our 3rd DC in 3 years, so there's something to be said for that. All-in-all, we're a better team, and I think we're more prepared for Big Ten play. We won't go undefeated, but our offense is good enough to keep us in the game against every Big Ten opponent we play.
Of course we won't know anything definitive until 3:30 PM in Bloomington this Saturday. Hopefully they'll prove me right.
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