September 5, 2009 - 5:37pm
Season Opener Live Blog: Michigan vs. Western Michigan
BY MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Welcome to The Michigan Daily's live blog of Michigan's season opener against Western Michigan.
Kickoff is about 20 minutes away and we already have a first-ever in Michigan Stadium history. ACDC's "Hell's Bells" was just blasted over the stadium loudspeakers as the team performed its pregame ritual and gathered around its game captains. Take that for what you will.
Also, the student section is very filled up and very riled up considering how far away kickoff is. Freshman starting quarterback Tate Forcier and senior defensive end Brandon Graham received the loudest cheers as the starters were shown on the video screens, which we will have for you shortly, along with the game captains.
In the meantime, here's a breakdown of today's match ups.
Today's game captains: punter Zoltan Mesko, defensive end Brandon Graham, running back Carlos Brown and offensive lineman Mark Ortmann.
(As a side note, Mesko tripped and fell after touching the M Go Blue banner and nearly got trampled.)
Michigan is receiving the first-half kickoff.
FIRST QUARTER:
15:00 remaining: Bronco Brandon West fielded the kickoff a yard deep in the end zone and took it out to the 17-yard line to start the drive.
13:34: After a quick three-and-out, the Wolverines took over possession on their own 48-yard line after a Greg Mathews fair catch.
Forcier starts the game off with a five-yard completion to Junior Hemingway on first down. Carlos Brown carries it three yards on second, and Michigan goes no huddle on third, with Forcier scrambling to just get the first down.
Michigan was penalized five yards for illegal motion on first down, but Forcier scrambled to regain the yards. Keeping up the no huddle, Forcier hit Brown for the first down through the air.
On the next play, Brown scrambled for a yard. But on second down, Forcier made it look easy starting as a true freshman. With everyone covered, Forcier scrambled up the middle, stopping right before the line of scrimmage before softly lofting a ball above the Bronco defense to Hemingway who ran it down the left sideline from 10 yards out.
It'd be surprising not to see Forcier after the rhythm he established with the offense.
Michigan 7, Western 0
10:30: Western takes over at their own 33-yard line after the kickoff.
Hiller went through the air on first for six yards to wide receiver Robert Arnheim, then ran for the first on second down.
The Broncos rush for a couple yards on first down. On second, Hiller was unable to connect, and on third, Hiller was hit hard by Graham as he threw, leaving a floater that free safety Mike Williams just missed catching.
8:28: Michigan takes over after a fair catch on its own 11-yard line.
Forcier is back at quarterback, in shotgun. On first, Forcier faked the hand off to Brown, and ran unprotected to the right for a few yards. On second, quarterback Denard Robinson made his debut at slot receiver, coming around to take the handoff from Forcier for a small gain. Forcier kept it on third, but was unable to reach the first down marker, forcing Michigan to punt.
6:33: Western takes over at its own 40.
Hiller went after Warren on first down on a deep pass, but the ball was a bit overthrown. Western had a mini-trick play on second with Hiller lined up at wide receiver, but running back Brandon West ended up running for five yards. On third, Hiller threw an incomplete pass. That was the closest Western has come to crossing the 50-yard line.
Michigan takes over on its own 16-yard line.
Forcier kept the ball on first down for eight yards, getting around to the outside on the near sideline thanks to a nice block. Michigan is pushed back on second with a holding penalty, but Forcier throws a short incompletion, leaving the Wolverines with a third-and-12. Forcier went deep on the play, but overthrew Martell Webb by a couple yards.
4:55: Mesko's punt went out of bounds at the Bronco 42-yard line, where they start their drive.
Hiller checked down to West for five yards on first. On second, Hiller looked to have completed a pass to Arnheim, but a strong hit by Warren forced him to drop it. On third-and-five, the Broncos were penalized five yards for delay of game, making it third-and-10. And on third, Michigan got the turnover it was looking for. Cissoko snagged a tipped ball on the near sideline, retuning it for a few yards.
Michigan takes over on the 33 after the interception, with Robinson taking over at quarterback. On first down, the offense was penalized for a false start. And on second, things looked to get worse when Robinson dropped the snap, but he recovered, and had a ridiculous scramble for a 38-yard touchdown. Everyone is pretty speechless after seeing that heckuva scramble with quite a few Broncos left behind stunned. And as my fellow writer Andy Reid put it, that's why there is a quarterback competition.
Michigan 14, Westeron 0
Western goes three-and-out again after Hiller was hit as he threw on third. Mathews fair catches, yet again, this time at Michigan's 32-yard line. I bet Rich Rod is just happy they're not fumbling those punts.
Robinson is back at quarterback, scrambling for five yards on first down. On second, we finally see Robinson throw, and he completes it for seven yards to newcomer Grady.
But on the next play, Robinson had a miscommunication with Hemingway, throwing it at his feet way before Hemingway turned. On second, Robinson carried it again, this time for seven yards. And while he has looked unstoppable on the ground, Western contained him to a one-yard gain on third. Because Michigan is at the Bronco 47, the Wolverines are going for it, but with Forcier under center. But before they get the play off, the quarter ends.
SECOND QUARTER:
Forcier is under center with the team in I-formation. Forcier hands it off to Brown, who easily gains the needed yardage and then some. Forcier is staying in.
On first, Forcier tries to show off his legs with a five-yard gain. Forcier completes a five-yarder to Koger with five wide.
Forcier hands it off to Brown again, and he goes for 11 yards, his biggest gain so far. Michigan also ran its second fake reverse on the play.
Grady carries it on the next play, coming around from the slot to take it to the nine-yard line. And we have another first down.
Brown gains a few yards on first, but on second, Forcier finds Koger open in the back of the left end zone, his second touchdown pass of the day, to complete a four-minute-plus drive.
We have yet to have our first "Sheridan" cheers from the student section.
Michigan 21, Western 0
12:29: Western takes over after the kickoff on its own 29-yard line.
After an illegal-motion penalty, the Broncos were pushed back even further after Hiller fumbled while trying to throw. On 2nd-and-29, Cissoko makes a solid open field tackle to contain a six-yard pass. And on third down, the Wolverines stop Western again, sniffing out a wide-receiver screen for a loss.
9:53:Mathews gets to return his first punt, which he takes 16 yards to Westerns 42-yard line, where Michigan will take over.
Forcier is still at quarterback for the Wolverines.
Forcier and Mathews did not communicate well on first, with Forcier throwing a ball towards the endzone while Mathews stayed about 15-yards deep. Robinson came in on second down, and looked like he ran an option but threw a short pass to Savoy on the far sideline to pick up a first.
After a few yard gain on the ground, and a holding penalty on second, Forcier came back in for Robinson. His second-down pass to Shaw is ruled incomplete, but is now under review. The ruling stands, so it's third-and-15. Forcier scambles up the middle for 10 yards, to put Michigan into field-goal range, for a 44-yard attempt, which is converted by Jason Olesnavage.
Michigan 24, Western 0
A quick stat update:
Michigan rushing: 129 yards
passing: 77 yards
total: 206 yards
WMU rushing: 1 yard
passing: 19 yards
total: 20 yards
7:34: Western will start its drive at its own 26-yard line.
On first, Hiller threw incomplete, with Cissoko breaking up the play. On second, he found Arnheim for five yards, but Warren had a solid open-field tackle to once again limit the yards after catch. And even more evidence that this defense is much more aggressive, Woolfolk just missed an interception on third down.
6:27 remaining:Michigan takes over at its own 15-yard line after a block-in-the-back penalty.
Forcier hands it off on first down to Brown, who picked up 12 yards. Forcier hits Mathews on the right sideline for yet another first down. Michigan is now at the 37.
Brown carries the ball another six yards on first. But on second, Forcier was sacked for a four-yard loss, Michigan's first negative-yardage play from scrimmage. But the Wolverines quickly recover with a 14-yard screen to Hemingway. Michigan calls a timeout after a minor injury. The ball is at the Bronco 47 with 4:13 remaining in the half.
Forcier throws incomplete on first, and runs for a few yards on second to bring up third-and-seven. And Forcier just showed greatt touch and accuracy on a 44-yard right-sideline bomb to Hemingway, who had a few steps on the corner.
Forcier has three touchdown passes, and Hemingway has two touchdown catches. In the first half. This was widely expected by exactly no one.
Michigan 31, Western 0
3:17: Western starts at the 20 after a touchback. And the "Rich Rodriguez" chants are starting nice and loudly, with the players on the field — all of them — amping the crowd up more with their arms.
After a one-yard gain on first, Arnheim pulled in a tipped ball to set up a third-and-two. Hiller completed another pass for 11 yards, to get the first down. Western is driving a little now, and just converted another third down, to enter Michigan territory for the first time. Ball is at the 46.
West carries it for six yards on first. And Hiller completes yet another pass with Cissoko out of the game and Floyd taking over. First and ten from the 30.
Hiller picks up 13 yards, and Western is in the red zone for the first time. After a two-yard tackle for a loss, Michigan takes a time out. On second, Hiller scrambled for two, with Mouton chasing him out of bounds. And the time out seems to really have helped — Roh and Van Bergen just sacked Hiller all the way back to the 26-yard line. Western officially has negative rushing yards.
And the 44-yard field goal attempt went left. The Broncos are still not on the board.
Forcier kneels the ball to end the half.
Michigan 31, Western 0
Due to some technical difficulties, I just lost everything I wrote so far for the half. As a quick recap: Forcier led Michigan a good ways down the field, then subbed himself out because of what looked like a shoe that fell off, and Sheridan took over. After converting on a fourth down, Sheridan threw a pick at the goal line a few plays later.
Western Michigan now has the ball at its own three yard line with 9:11 left in the quarter.
The Broncos gain a couple yards, bringing the ball out to the five yard line on first. Western gained another few yards on second to bring up third and four, which Hiller converts on with a 13-yard pass.
And Western is continuing to drive, with its offense looking decent again as it did at the end of the first half. After a few Hiller passes, the Broncos are now out to their own 41. Meanwhile, the student section is trying to get the wave going.
Hiller completed a big 23-yard second-down pass after Warren was tripped up when the ball was thrown. Once again, the Broncos are in Michigan territory. The wave has everyone's attention though — I don't think we saw it at all last season.
After strong pressure from Michigan, Hiller gets off a nice pass to bring the Broncos into the red zone for the second time this game and second drive in a row. On third and two, the Wolverines stopped the QB sneak, but Western is going for it. The pass falls short. Michigan ball on its own 17.
1:48: Forcier is back at quarterback, and completes a seven-yard pass across the line of scrimmage to Grady. Forcier ran for a yard on second, but his pass on third fell incomplete. A very short series. Mesko on to punt.
:41Western Michigan takes over at its own 37 yard line after a fair catch.
Hiller kept the ball on first down to pick up another fresh set of downs. On the next play, there were off-setting penalties, and they replayed the down. Warren was called for a personal foul on the play, giving Western a first down on Michigan's 34 as the fourth quarter begins.
FOURTH QUARTER:
Hiller's first pass came out of his hand very weirdly, sort of looked like it was tipped high in the air, and Mouton came up with the pick.
Denard Robinson is in at quarterback for this series. After a long scramble on second down for a first, Michigan was pushed back again when Robinson was caught in the backfield, bringing up 2nd and 16. Robinson gained a yard back on second, then went deep down the right sideline to Mathews, but the ball was nearly picked.
12:24: Western takes over on the 15-yard line.
On what looked like would be a three and out, Warren was called for pass interference, giving the Broncos a fresh set of downs from the 24.
A couple of plays later, Hiller was finally able to beat the Michigan defense with a 73-yard bomb to Nunez, who split the two deep backs. The first major mistake by the defense just spoiled Michigan's first chance at a shutout in the Rodriguez era.
Michigan 31, Western 7
Michigan starts with the ball on its own 29. Robinson is back in the game, this time with running back Vincent Smith in alongside him. Robinson goes three and out with a few rushes that didn't go anywhere.
Western will take over at the 20-yard line after a touchback.
On first down, Hiller hits Nunez again, this time for 29 yards, to get all the way to the Bronco 49. And Hiller has another solid gain, this time with an 11-yard pass. But on the next play, Ezeh forced West to fumble, giving MIchigan possession on their own 34.
We're headed down to the field now, but be sure to check back after the game for our coverage.
