Hey Jude was long, but lasted only about seven minutes.  Dances With Wolves was longer, but lasted only about three hours.  Finally, after more than eight months, opening kick-off is almost upon us.  What a relief it will be to put the debacle in San Antonio (and Ann Arbor, and Madison, and Ann Arbor again, and…) behind us as we gear up for another year with a clean slate and boundless optimism.

BlueFan's got good news and better news.  The good news is Michigan draws perennial SEC-doormat Vanderbilt in its season opener at the Big House.  The better news is that the best offensive player in Vandy's history has moved on to the NFL.  Even more good news is that while the Commodores were second in the SEC in total offense, they still managed to post a 5-6 record in 2005.  With a high-powered offense and six losses, it's safe to assume the 'Dores defense was the reason the team didn't earn a bowl birth last December. 

Let's start with the Vandy defense, since they will be on the field most of the afternoon.  Four of the front seven return.  This may be a double-edged sword, however, since this unit was 82nd in the country against the run in 2005, and had trouble pressuring the quarterback.   Talk about playing into Michigan's hands.  There is no reason for the Wolverines to get fancy on the offensive side of the ball this Saturday.  New (and former) offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is known as a run-first guy.  Couple that with the fact that this is a tune-up game, and we should see plenty of our great backfield--Mike Hart, Kevin Grady, Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown.  The opener will be a great way to get all four backs some confidence. 

While Mike Hart is not short of confidence, he needs to take a couple in-game licks to be sure he can bounce right back up, after nagging injuries throughout 2005.  Okay, so perhaps Vandy isn't truly a test of whether Hart will play through tough tackles, but it will be great to see him on the field dragging would-be tacklers across the goal line.  Hopefully, he'll do that in the first half because we probably won't see much of him in the second half. 

Kevin Grady had a respectable freshman season, but a big game would be the perfect beginning to the sophomore year for the future of Michigan's backfield. 

Carlos Brown could get plenty of carries in the second half to give future UM opponents--are you listening Domers?--some different things to consider.  Things like break-away speed. 

Chad Henne will need to manage the game and avoid mistakes, but he will be afforded the opportunity to run some plays with Mario Manningham, Steve Breaston, Adrian Arrington, Doug Dutch and Tyler Ecker, if DeBord and Scott Loeffler are so inclined.  I wouldn’t bet on any flea flickers or other trickeration, but I would bet on some wide receiver screens for big yardage.

The offensive line also has plenty to prove after a season of injury and inconsistency.  Lots of rushing yardage and little pressure on Chad Henne means increasing confidence for a unit that needs to carry the torch of dominant offensive lines at Michigan. 

On to the Vanderbilt offense...or what's left of it.  Head Coach Bobby Johnson has said the Commodores offense will have the same look in 2006.  BlueFan takes that to mean pass first, as Vandy averaged over 280 yards per game through the air in 2005, while running the second fewest rushing plays in the SEC.  All indications have Chris Nickson starting at QB.  Nickson, who was also recruited as a wide receiver, has thrown exactly 3 passes in his college career to date.  The writing seems to be on the wall there.  It would be a terrible miscalculation if Johnson does not keep the ball on the ground and try to exploit the running ability of his inexperienced QB, especially since Michigan has had trouble with mobile quarterbacks since…well, it’s been a persistent problem.

The last point brings us to new Defensive Coordinator Ron English.  He no doubt is well aware of Michigan’s Achilles heel.  He will be tasked to put an end to this vulnerability a few months before the unit’s ultimate challenge versus Troy Smith.  What would also be nice to see are lots of pressure on the QB and sure tackling.  Again, probably not the greatest gauge when playing Vandy, but Bobby Johnson is a good coach that is improving his program in one of college football’s toughest conferences.  If Blue can pitch a shutout, or even keep Vandy under 10 points, the defense and its new Coordinator will have a positive beginning to the season and reason to be confident.

Tale of the Tape (2005 Statistics)                                     

   Michigan                              Vanderbilt
Offense                                                                                                  
Scoring                                      28.8/game                              27.2/game
Yards                                       384.3/game                             395.6/game
Rushing                                  161.6/game                             115.1/game
Passing                                   222.7/game                             280.6/game

Defense
Scoring                                      20.3/game                                29.2/game
Yards                                       345.2/game                              393.7/game
Rushing                                  137.3/game                             169.9/game
Passing                                   207.8/game                             223.8/game

Turnover Margin
Margin                                                 +5                                               -2
Per Game                                        +0.42                                          -0.18

GO BLUE!