“Obviously, Mario Manningham is one of the better receivers in the nation. We got tested, and he won.”
Dominique Barber, Minnesota Strong Safety
“Our defense was outstanding today. The good news is that we got going offensively in the second quarter. I think our offensive line has been good all season long.“
Lloyd Carr, Michigan Head Coach
Phil’s Game Grades
Offense
A-
Defense
A
Special Teams
A-
Coaching
A
Overall
A
The Wolverines beat the Gophers with QB Chad Henne and RB Mike Hart on the sidelines.
Offense- The offense didn’t get rolling until the second half but had enough firepower to handle the hapless Gophers. Backup RBs Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor both rush for over a hundred yards and WR Mario Manningham had a career day.
Defense- The defense looked great stuffing the spread offense of the Gophers.
Special Teams- Nothing bad report- a nice change.
Coaching- Lloyd rolled the dice that the Wolverines could beat the Gophers with QB Chad Henne and RB Mike Hart resting for next week. He was right and their backups got valuable meaningful game experience.
Comments- The only question about the upcoming game versus MSU is how long it will take Chad Henne and Mike Hart to shake off the rust. If they can get rolling early the Wolverines will put a beating on the Spartans…
“The only word to describe Chad Henne is courageous.”
Lloyd Carr, Michigan Head Coach
“We’re rolling…The Big Ten Championship is out there, and we’re going for it.“
Adrian Arrington, Michigan WR
Phil’s Game Grades
Offense
A-
Defense
A
Special Teams
A-
Coaching
A
Overall
A
The stage was set in Champaign for an Illini victory but the Wolverines spoiled the party.
Offense- The offense took a little while to find itself without RB Mike Hart. Chad Henne was injured but showed grit in returning (twice!) to lead the Wolverine to victory. Nice to see Mike Debard crack open the stone tablets- err I mean playbook and run a little razzle dazzle. Ryan Mallett is getting a baptism of fire during road games this season. Great job by RB Carlos Brown filling in for injured Mike Hart.
Defense- The defense got the job done against both Illini QBs. This is unit has quietly began to gel. Their next true test will be against MSU.
Special Teams- The kick receive gave another long return which got the Illini crowd fired up to start the game. The two field goals and recovered punt to set the game clinching TD bail out the grades for this unit.
Coaching- A great job by the coaching staff to prepare the team for this one. The Wolverine had many excuses (No Mike Hart, on the road, injuries to Chad Henne) to lose this game but showed great toughness in pulling out the victory.
Comments- No amount of tacky video clips played on the scoreboard could prevent the Illini from giving the game away with stupid penalties. The Illini are an undisciplined team.
“I think it’s the first time in three weeks that we’ve played a complete game.”
Lloyd Carr, Michigan Head Coach
“We came out with enthusiasm and intensity. We came out and started fast and that’s what we needed to do.“
Chad Henne, Michigan QB
Phil’s Game Grades
Offense
A
Defense
A
Special Teams
B
Coaching
A
Overall
A-
Purdue rolls over at the Big House
Offense- The offense got in gear early and didn’t let up. Nice to see Mario out of the dog house catching the football. Henne’s fumble early was the only major miscue.
Defense- The defense stacked the line and dared Purdue to pass- and they ran. The Boilermaker offensive game plan was a joke. Tiller should be charged with coaching malpractice…
Special Teams- Once again the Wolverines lose a onsides kick. Other than that the special teams showed improvement.
Coaching- The Wolverines kept the chokehold on Purdue from beginning to end. Purdue helped by playing right into their hands.
Comments- The Wolverines go on the road to Illinois- under the lights. Should be interesting.
“Every team faces its own adversities…There are always issues that come up within a team that can be distracting.“
Lloyd Carr, Michigan Head Coach
Phil’s Game Grades
Offense
B
Defense
C
Special Teams
D
Coaching
C
Overall
C
Players were out due to injuries but…
Offense- Hats off to Mike Hart for becoming Michigan’s all time rushing leader during this game. He’s the only consistent thing in the Wolverine offense- pray that he doesn’t get injured…
Defense- For about 3 minutes during the second half the defense looked awesome. Guys were flying around and causing mayhem. If they could only show that kind of enthusiasm for 60 minutes…
Special Teams- More special teams fiascos. Michigan special teams are a bad joke…And they don’t seem to be improving.
Coaching- A win is win but this one wasn’t very impressive.
Comments- The Wolverines will need a more sustained effort to beat Purdue next week.
“I think we understood the gravity of the situation.”
Lloyd Carr, Michigan Head Coach
“We came out dead…We weren’t really focused.“
Brandon Graham, Michigan DE
Phil’s Game Grades
Offense
C
Defense
C
Special Teams
C
Coaching
C
Overall
C
The Ryan Mallett for Heisman campaign gets derailed by the Wildcats…
Offense- FR QB Ryan Mallett looked human in this one. It looked like he had first road game jitters- he’ll bounce back. Chad Henne returned to rally the team to victory. The offense sputtered for most the game but finally got in gear late in the 4th quarter.
Defense- The defense looked completely unprepared during the first quarter. They seemed to buckle down for the second half but the inconsistency remains difficult to understand.
Special Teams- They continue to give too many return yards…Gonna be a problem against better teams if things don’t get shored up.
Coaching- A lackluster performance all around. At this rate the Wolverines can’t take any opponent for granted.
Comments- The Wolverines need to hammer EMU next week…
