Opponent Watch: Week 2

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Previously: Week 1

Wondering what did Michigan's future opponents did in week 2? Well wonder no more. Plus...a handy W/L record chart at the bottom of this post for added convenience.

UNLV (0-2)
Week 2: L 3-37 vs #10 UCLA
Next: @ Michigan
Four different QB's threw passes for UNLV against the Bruins last week, and their combined stats were 6 for 23, 56 yards and one INT. Woof! Starting QB Blake Decker was injured in the 1Q when he tweaked his hamstring. He's questionable for Michigan. And that's a huge blow because after Decker, its a massive falloff at that position...as you can see with 3 other guys getting snaps in a 34-point blowout.

#19 BYU (2-0)
Week 2: W 35-24 vs Boise State
Next: @ #10 UCLA
The Cougars will eventually miss starting QB Taysum Hill, but last week wasn't it. Backup Tanner Mangum went wild against the 20th ranked Boise State Broncos, throwing for 309 yards including a last-minute 35-yard heave to the endzone for the go ahead score. BYU scored 3 touchdowns in the final quarter, and would hang on with a pick-6 in the waning seconds to ice it in yet another dramatic come from behind victory.

Maryland (1-1, 0-0)
Week 2: L 27-48 vs Bowling Green
Next: vs Southern Florida
In what is considered an ugly loss for the B1G...and just another huge win for the MAC, Maryland's loss to BGSU wasn't so much Maryland blowing it (even though they did giving up 4 turnovers) but about how great Bowling Green looked. BG's Matt Johnson stole the show, throwing for 491 yards and 6 touchdowns while RB Fred Coppet added 109 on the ground as BGSU gouged the Terrapin defense for a total of 692 yards and 35 first downs on Saturday.

#23 Northwestern (2-0, 0-0)
Week 2: W 41-0 vs EIU
Next: @ Duke
Well look who's ranked. NW easily took care of business on Saturday against pretty awful FCS Eastern Illinois. Tough to really gauge anything from this win other than they did what they were supposed to do and that is move the ball effectively, score lotsa points, stop your opponent and stay relatively healthy.

#4 Michigan State (2-0, 0-0)
Week 2: W 31-28 vs Oregon
Next: vs Air Force
Bullet dodged. Michigan State actually looked pretty good in this game, but they were one wide-open overthrow away from losing this one in the final moments when Vernon Adams Jr's pass sailed right over the arms of Byron Marshall who'd beat his coverage for the go-ahead score. But MSU stood tall against the former national runner-ups and its basically clear sailing for the Sparty until their showdown in the Big House on October 17th.

Minnesota (1-1, 0-0)
Week 2: W 23-20 @ Colorado State
Next: vs Kent State
It could've been disaster for the Gophers but Colorado State's turnover to start overtime all but sealed it for Minnesota who added a field goal in their overtime period to snag the win. This was a good test for the Gophers, CSU won 10-games a year ago. QB Mitch Leidner connected on only 23 of his 45 throws for 233 yards and a pair of scored while RB Rodney Smith added another 108 yards on the ground. But it was ugly at time for the Gophers, but they grinded out the win and that's all they need right now.

Rutgers (1-1, 0-0)
Week 2: L 34-37 vs Washington State
Next: @ Penn State
I actually picked Rutgers in this one, and I thought they could pull it out. But a -3 turnover ratio, giving up 478 yards passing and 11 penalties for 100 yards is just not going to get it done. Its actually amazing the game was as close as it was. Rutgers actually managed to move the ball well, it was just little mistakes here and there that cost them down the stretch. WSU's late 10-play drive for 90 yards ending with a 8-yard TD strike from Luke Falk to River Cracraft with :13 left was the final death blow.

Indiana (2-0, 0-0)
Week 2: W 36-22 vs FIU
Next: vs WKU
Two weeks ago, IU surrendered 659 yards and 47 points to SIU. So only giving up 409 and 22 points to FIU is a pretty nice step in the proper direction. After trailing at halftime 14-13, Indiana forced 3 turnovers, including a 4Q pick-6 to seal the game. QB Nate Sudfeld had an up and down day going 19 of 33 for 234 yards with 1 pick and 1 TD, he also added two scores on the ground while managing to run for -17 yards on 7 "carries". RB Jordan Howard had a nice day in the flashy IU offense adding 159 yards on 29 carries.

Penn State (1-1, 0-0)
Week 2: W 24-17 vs Buffalo
Next: vs Rutgers
Enjoy the win Beaver fans...such as it was. Two years ago, this game would've been 45-0. But now, with a broken Hackenberg and the rest of the offense sort of lost, Penn State's ugly win against lowly Buffalo might be one of the very few times Penn State puts in a W in the win-loss column. Sure, it was raining, and Hackenberg wasn't sacked after getting sacked 10 times last week...so that's a plus. Penn State has 4 more home games before travelling west to take on #1 Ohio State.

#1 Ohio State (2-0, 0-0)
Week 2: 38-0 vs Hawaii
Next: vs Northern Illinois
Okay, I thought OSU had a legit shot at throwing 100 on the scoreboard against Hawaii. What happened? It was only 17-0 going into the 4th quarter! Call it a classic let down game, whatever it was, it wasn't good enough to keep the natives from getting restless. Its one thing look impressive on the road against VT, but Ohio State now has to keep everyone satisfied while they take on cupcake after cupcake until they finally play a ranked team sometime in November.

Handy chart...

Michigan's Opponent Records

	WK1	WK2	WK3	WK4	WK5	WK6	WK7	WK8	WK9	WK10	WK11	WK12	WK13	TOTAL
UTAH	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
ORST	W	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1-1
UNLV	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0-2
BYU	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
UMD	W	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1-1
NW	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
MSU	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
MINN	L	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1-1
RUT	W	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1-1
IND	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
PSU	L	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1-1
OSU	W	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2-0
TOT	9-3	8-4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	17-7