Podcast- 2015 Michigan Football- Post Big Ten Championship, etc. with Phil Callihan and Andy Andersen
M FOOTBALL 2015- SOME SEASON ENDING COMMENTARY AND THE 2015 ANNUAL FOOTBALL BUST.
The 95th edition of the Wolverine’s football bust was again sponsored by the University of Michigan Club of Detroit, and was held on the evening of December 7, 2015 at Livonia’s Laurel Manor.
I was not able to attend the Bust this year, but it remains an opportunity that Michigan Fans should take annually for a number of reasons. It enables fans to put a face on the football machines you see on the field on Saturdays, and some that you don’t often get to observe that are in the background of the program, but contribute much to the success.
Obviously, we all still remember that the Wolverine’s 2015 football regular season ended in disappointment with a pounding by the Buckeyes. Nevertheless, this season overall was a resounding success, despite the ten second reprieve that saved Michigan State’s bacon in this year’s tilt against the Wolverines, and the last disappointment against Ohio State.
Like many others in the preseason, I held the opinion that the season could not be a success without victories against the Spartans and the Buckeyes, but it was a success in spite of that. The Wolverines were competitive in all their games, home and away, except for OSU. They endured, fought, and often overcame, fighting to success nine times.
The coaching team was, for the most part, also outstanding, and remains intact, with the exception of departing Defensive Coordinator D. J. Durkin. Durkin is the Head Coach at Maryland now and will be replaced by Greg Mattison as DC for the bowl game. Interim Athletic Director Hackett will be replaced at his own wish. A search committee to replace him has been formed, and is operating.
The entire record of this season is not written, as Florida will once again cross paths with the Wolverines in a New Year’s Day Citrus Bowl competition, in what should be an evenly matched game.
While it is obvious improvements are necessary, a 9 and 3 win loss record, and appearance in the Citrus Bowl are drastic improvements over last year’s dismal 5 wins, 7 losses, with no bowl appearance.
At the end of this season the Wolverines were seconds away from a real run at the East Division Championship game. They won away from home. They fielded a remarkable defense, and an improving offense. They were exciting and innovative.
For example, Jabril Peppers, was learning, and improving defensively (in several categories), offensively (in several categories including running back), and on special teams as he became an integral part of the Wolverine’s success. He will only improve his own, and his team’s fortunes.
The staff recruited Jake Ruddock, a graduate 5th year QB from Iowa, taught him a new system, nurtured and supported him through the rough patches, and he had quite a year. They made him into more than just the caretaker all expected. He became a playmaker.
There was a learning curve, as there were timing problems on early long throws, and much fan wringing of hands. It seemed for a while he would never hit WR’s like the streaking Jehu Chesson with the deep ball, but he did as they switched from a running to an effective passing offensive.
Ruddock and his teammate, Chesson, became only the second pair of teammates in conference history to share the Big Ten Player of the Week Award, after they connected for four TDs in the Wolverine’s double overtime at Indiana.
The speedy Chesson also prospered on special teams, recovered a fumble, blocked a punt, and was honored as the MVP of this year’s team by his teammates.
The nomenclature of the MVP Award has changed to the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player Award, and was earned for this year by Chesson.
The Dr. Arthur Robinson Scholarship Award was awarded to Tight End Michael Jocz.
The Hugh J. Rader Award for the Best Lineman was bestowed on Offensive Center Graham Glasgow. A fifth year Senior, he started 36 games in a 41 game career.
The Robert P. Ufer Award for enthusiasm and love for Michigan was bestowed on Line Backer Joe Bolden.
The Roger Zatkoff Award for most outstanding linebacker was given to Desmond Morgan. He was second on the team this year with 67 total tackles.
There is just one game left this season, but the fifteen practices preceding it will continue to benefit the Wolverines into next season, no matter the outcome..
Bring on the Gators, and Go Blue!
Note: As stated above, I did not attend this year’s Football Bust. The commentary is mine, but the facts pertaining to the Bust were gleaned from the official M football web site.
Nothing But ‘Net – Week #06 – 12/07/2015 – Back On Track
The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won them both. On Tuesday (12/01/2015), UM won at N.C. State 66-59, then on Saturday (12/05/2015), UM beat Houston Baptist 82-57 in Crisler Arena. The win over NCSU was part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Big Ten won again. The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 6-2.
The win over NCSU was actually pretty impressive. It was Michigan’s first true road game, after 3 neutral-site games in the Bahamas, and it came after UM had travel problems on the way home from the Bahamas and only had 48 hours in Ann Arbor to regroup. NCSU led for the first 10:00 of the game, although UM stayed close, and Michigan finally opened up a decent lead (28-18) with 3:21 left in the 1st half. They led by 8 (34-26) at halftime, and pushed the lead up to 15 (45-30) in the first 5:00 of the 2nd half. The next 5:00 were a little scary, as NCSU went on at 12-1 run, and got within 4 (46-42) with 10:00 to go. Michigan pushed the lead back up to 10 (56-46) with 6:23 left, and never let NCSU get closer than 7 points the rest of the way. The Wolverines played with poise down the stretch in a hostile environment, which is good practice for the rest of the season.
The win over HBU was not nearly as impressive. Sure, UM won by 25 points, but they had a hard time shaking HBU in the first half. They started out great, leading 11-0 after just 3:15, but HBU hung around, and got within 2 (26-24) with 4:34 left in the 1st half. UM finished the half with an 11-4 run, to lead by 9 (37-28) at halftime. Michigan came out a little more focused in the 2nd half, and pushed the lead up to an insurmountable 24 points (58-34) with 11:24 left in the game. HBU never got any closer than 17 points the rest of the game, and UM won by 25. Still, it was a lethargic performance against an overmatched opponent. Let’s blame it on a post-ACC/Big Ten game hangover, and finals.
So, what did we learn about this season’s UM team this week? We learned that they can bounce back from a couple bad games (Xavier and UConn) to beat some decent teams (Texas and NCSU). We learned that they can win on the road, in a hostile environment. And, we learned that they can still win convincingly against an inferior opponent, even when they don’t play that well. These are all encouraging things.
Stats
The stats for the NCSU game are pretty solid. UM shot well overall (24-for-48 = 50.0%), the shot decently from 3-point range (7-for-20 = 35.0%), and they shot well from the free-throw line (11-for-13 = 84.6%). They lost the rebounding battle (36-32), but got close, and they lost the turnover battle (11-7). It was their overall shooting that won the game.
The stats for the HBU game are a little better. Once again, UM shot pretty well overall (38-for-58 = 48.3%), they shot very well from 3-point range (11-for-23 = 47.8%), and they shot free throws pretty well (10-for-15 = 75.0%). As expected, they won the rebounding battle (33-29) and the turnover battle (6-16). Those 14 extra possessions really helped.
Individually, there was some bad news this week: Derrick Walton Jr. injured his ankle 13 minutes into the 1st half of the NCSU game, and missed the rest of that game, and the HBU game. It isn’t clear when he’ll be back, but it could be as early as this week.
Due to the injury, Coach Beilein had to change the starting lineup again. For the NCSU game, he started Aubrey Dawkins, Ricky Doyle, Zak Irvin, Caris LeVert, and Walton. For the HBU game, he started Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (MAAR) in place of Walton.
LeVert was the only starter to hit double figures in both games, with 18 vs. NCSU and 25 vs. HBU. Dawkins was the only other starter to hit double figures in either game, with 16 vs. HBU and 2 points in the NCSU game. The other starters didn’t do much: MAAR had 6 points in his only start, Doyle had 6 and 2 points, Irvin had 7 and 7, and Walton had 4 points, in 13 minutes.
The bench chipped in some points this week. Duncan Robinson hit double figures in both games, with 17 vs. NCSU and 19 vs. HBU. MAAR had 4 points in the NCSU game, Mark Donnal didn’t play in the NCSU game and had 2 points in the HBU game, Moritz Wagner had 8 and 1, and DJ Wilson had 0 and 4. Spike Albrecht and Kameron Chatman both played in both games, but didn’t score.
There was some question before the season about whether Robinson would be able to get his shots off vs. quality Division I opponents, and it is becoming apparent that he can, and that he’ll hit more than 50% of them. This is good news.
This Week
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Tuesday (12/08/2015, 9:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play at Southern Methodist (SMU), then on Saturday (12/12/2015, 12:00 p.m., ESPNU), they play Delaware State in Crisler Arena. The game vs. SMU will be UM’s toughest test so far, equivalent to the Xavier and UConn games. Michigan got manhandled in both of those games, so this will be a good yardstick to see if UM has fixed any of the problems that were exposed earlier. Delaware State is a cupcake, and will be no challenge.
Tune by to see how Michigan does vs. SMU, and come by Crisler for the Delaware State game. In any case, check back next week to see what happened, and why.
Go Blue!
Podcast- 2015 Michigan Football Ohio State 42 Michigan 13 Game Commentary with Phil Callihan and Andy Andersen
Nothing But ‘Net – Week #05 – 11/30/2015 – Lost And Found In The Bahamas
The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played three games last week, and they lost one and won the next two. On Wednesday (11/25/2015), UM lost to (#18) Connecticut 74-60, then on Thursday (11/26/2015), UM beat Charlotte 102-47, and finally on Friday (11/27/2015), UM beat Texas 78-72. All three games were played in Nassau (Bahamas), in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Michigan came in 5th. Whoopee! The loss and wins leave Michigan with a record of 4-2.
The UConn game looked at lot like the disastrous Xavier game from last week: UConn exploited UM’s weak interior defense, and just overpowered UM. It started out OK, with UM playing pretty well, and opening up a nice 7-point lead (12-5) with 14:31 left in the 1st half, when the roof fell in. UConn went on a 19-4 run to go up by 8 (24-16) with 5:27 left, and pushed the lead up to 14 (36-22) at halftime. Yes, UM only scored 10 points in the last 14:31 of the 1st half. They shot 24%. It was ugly. The 2nd half was a little better, since UM played UConn even, but that meant a 14-point loss. The UConn lead got as high as 19 points (52-33) with 10:00 left in the game, but Michigan fought back, got as close as 8 points a few times, but never got any closer.
The bad part about playing in a 3-day, 8-team tournament is that you have to play 3 games in 3 days. The good part is that you don’t have time to dwell on a loss, you have to get ready for another game. Michigan looked lost in the UConn game, but they found themselves in the 2nd game, against Charlotte. Now, Charlotte is not a very good team, but the way UM throttled them is impressive, no matter who the opponent is. The margin of victory (55 points) is the highest for Michigan in 70 years. The 102 points they scored is a tournament record. It was quite a game. It was almost over at halftime, when UM led 44-22, and it was certainly over just 2:30 into the 2nd half, when UM went on 10-2 run to make it a 30-point lead (54-24). The last 17:30 was “mop up” time.
I was worried that UM might come out flat and tired in the 3rd and final game, vs. Texas, but they played well for the whole game. Texas is a quality opponent, and UM handled them. Michigan never trailed, and jumped out to another 12-5 lead, with 14:15 left in the 1st half. This time, they built on it, instead of letting their opponent back into the game. They got the lead up to 10 (25-15) with 10:11 left, and 12 points (44-32) at halftime. The lead stayed around 12 points for most of the 2nd half, although Texas did get as close as 1 point (67-66) with 4:26 to go. Michigan outscored them 11-6 down the stretch, and won solidly.
So, did we learn anything about this season’s UM team this week? We sure did. We learned that they’re not going to just give up when the going gets tough. They lost 2 miserable games in a row (Xavier and UConn), but they bounced back very nicely against Charlotte and Texas. They’ve still got a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to figure out, but they’re headed in the right direction. Do I think they could beat Xavier or UConn yet if they had another chance? No, not yet, but they have the players to get there by the end of the season.
Stats
The stats for the UConn game are horrible, the worst in a while. UM shot terribly overall (18-for-56 = 32.1%), they shot terribly from 3-point range (8-for-29 = 27.6%), but at least they shot free throws well (16-for-20 = 80.0%). They got hammered on the boards (42-31), but they did win the turnover battle (9-12). Since UConn shot 50% overall, and 40% from 3-point range, 32%/28% just won’t make it.
The stats for the Charlotte game are very good. It’s hard to believe that this is the same team as the one that stunk up the joint against UConn. UM shot very well overall (39-for-63 = 61.9%), they shot 3-pointers very well (12-for-23 = 52.2%), and they shot free throws very well (12-for-14 = 85.7%). They crushed Charlotte on the boards (44-27), and they won the turnover battle (8-10). It was a dominating performance.
Finally, the stats for the Texas game are almost as good as the Charlotte stats. UM shot very well again overall (29-for-50 = 58.0%), they shot incredibly well from 3-point range (14-for-25 = 56.0%), but they shot free throws pretty poorly (6-for-12 = 50.0%). They won the rebounding battle (31-27), but lost the turnover battle (13-10). Keep in mind that the new Texas coach this season is Shaka Smart, who designed Virginia Commonwealth’s “Havoc” defense. Well, Michigan crushed VCU in the NCAA Tournament in 2013, and they handled the Texas version of “havoc” pretty well this season. 13 turnovers isn’t too bad.
For this tournament, Coach Beilein changed the starting lineup, starting Ricky Doyle instead of Mark Donnal. The other 4 starters were Aubrey Dawkins, Zak Irvin, Caris LeVert, and Derrick Walton Jr. Of the starters, only LeVert scored in double figures for all 3 games, with 21 vs. UConn, 13 in the Charlotte game, and 19 vs. Texas. Irvin (2, 12, and 13 points) and Walton (10, 8, and 13 points) both hit double figures in 2 of the 3 games. Dawkins hit double figures in one game (8, 10, and 6 points), and Doyle didn’t score much (5, 6, and 0 points).
A couple of the bench players hit double figures in one game. Moritz Wagner was the star of the Charlotte game, with a career-high 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He had 0 points in the UConn game, but he chipped in 7 points vs. Texas. Duncan Robinson had a great game vs. Texas, scoring 14 points, after scoring 5 vs. UConn and 9 vs. Charlotte.
The rest of the bench chipped in some points: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 4, 4, and 0, Kameron Chatman had 0, 6, and 0, Donnal didn’t play in the UConn game, and had 7 and 4 in the other 2 games, and DJ Wilson had 5, 8, and 2 points.
Spike Albrecht played in the UConn and Charlotte games, but didn’t score. He didn’t play in the Texas game. He is clearly not recovered from his double hip surgery, and isn’t playing well at all. I have no idea if or when he’ll be back to his old playing form.
This Week
This week, Michigan plays two games. On Tuesday (12/01/2015, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2), they play at North Carolina State, then on Saturday (12/05/2015, 2:00 p.m., ESPNU), they play Houston Baptist in Crisler Arena. The game vs. N.C. State is part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and should be, well, a challenge. Houston Baptist is a cupcake that Michigan has snacked on in the recent past. They will be no challenge.
Tune by to see how Michigan does vs. N.C. State, and come by Crisler for the Houston Baptist game. In any case, check back next week to see what happened, and why.
Go Blue!