UCF Knights

Michigan Football Rolls UCF Knights: Game Balls

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Sep 10, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight (3) rushes on UCF Knights offensive lineman Wyatt Miller (78) during the second half at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 51-14. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan football dropped UCF 51-14 Saturday. The Wolverines looked a little sloppy at times, but it was a lopsided win, so there were plenty positives.

It’s always satisfying—even if a bit petty and underwhelming—to partially settle a 20-year-old grudge. As I’m sure most everyone has remembered by now, first-year UCF coach Scott Frost played quarterback at Nebraska during the 1997-98 season, or the year Nebraska technically split a national title that it had no business even sniffing with Michigan.

Frost campaigned loudly and obnoxiously for the title after the Cornhuskers housed a Peyton Manning-less Tennessee team in the Orange Bowl. So, yeah, seeing Michigan football smash UCF 51-14 felt just a little more satisfying.

This contest wasn’t all roses, though. Michigan didn’t look terribly sharp or amped up for their first game against a team that hadn’t traveled all over the globe leading up to the game.

UCF was able to load the box and successfully snuff out any hints of a Michigan ground game, and the defense still has way too hard of a time keeping mobile quarterbacks and spread offenses contained (UCF ran for 275 yards)

Still, it was a 51-14 blowout that advanced the Wolverines to 2-0, so there were plenty of positives.

Here are the game balls.

Sep 10, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight (3) looks to pass during the second half against the UCF Knights at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 51-14. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Wilton Speight

Going 25 of 37 for 312 yards and four touchdowns, along with no turnovers, is a good day’s work, especially in your second career start.

I’m almost certain that neither Speight nor the coaching staff expected to throw the ball 37 times against an outmatched UCF defense, but the Knights stacked the box with eight or nine guys for the majority of the game. You would hope that the offensive line would have opened up a few holes for the running backs, but both units struggled all day.

Want your voice heard? Join the GBMWolverine team!

Tim Drevno realized that the line wasn’t getting any push pretty early and just decided to chuck the ball the rest of the game. Unsurprisingly, Amarah Darboh, Jehu Chesson, and Jake Butt all had big days. They combined for 16 catches for 281 yards and four touchdowns (Butt and Darboh had two each).

Unlike last week, Speight was able to hit Darboh and Chesson a few times downfield, and he seems increasingly comfortable using Butt as a safety valve.

The offensive line didn’t exactly do its quarterback any favors, though. Speight was encouragingly poised in the face of consistent blitzes and shoddy pick-ups by the interior and exterior linemen.

He saved a few drives with surprisingly athletic plays or pinpoint passes over the middle. Speight probably had to work a little too hard against a bad UCF defense, but it was nice to see that he can get the ball out quick and can go to a second or third option, even when under pressure.

Sep 10, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (73) and defensive end Chris Wormley (43) block a field goal attempt by UCF Knights place kicker Matthew Wright (11) in the second quarter at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Tyree Kinnel/Chris Wormley

I don’t know if Michigan has ever blocked or touched four kicks in a game, but I’m gonna go ahead and say it hasn’t. Tyree Kinnel blew past two levels of blockers on UCF’s first two punts and got a piece of both of them without getting a piece of the punter. Both set the Wolverines up in UCF territory and set the tone for the game, at least on special teams.

wolverines

GBMWolverine 3wMichigan Football 2016 Position Preview: Running Backs

More headlines around FanSided:

3w - Michigan Football Debuts At No. 7 In AP Poll3w - Michigan Football 2016 Season Preview: Cornerbacks3w - Preseason AP Top 25: 5 important takeaways3w - Michigan Football Smart to Show Jim Harbaugh the Money3w - Michigan football shows desperation by giving Jim Harbaugh raiseMore News at GBMWolverine

Side note: I had to pinch myself because I was almost disappointed that Kinell got to the punter twice because I wanted to see the ball in Jabrill Peppers’ hands. Of course, Peppers then had an opportunity to field one and promptly returned it inside the 10-yard line. He’s good.

While Kinell was terrorizing UCF punter Caleb Houston, Chris Wormley was terrorizing UCF kicker Matthew Wright. Wormley tipped both of Wright’s field goal attempts at the line, single handedly keeping six points off the board. Special teams were a problem all day for UCF and a strength for Michigan.

There won’t be four blocked punts/kicks in a game again anytime soon, but this should serve as a reminder that special teams are going to be important moving forward. The rushing game is unreliable, Speight looks good so far but is still a first-year starter, and the defense is fantastic but still prone to a blown assignment or bad angles here and there against spread offenses.

The one aspect of the game in which the Wolverines should have a clear advantage over everyone on the schedule is special teams.

Sep 10, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jabrill Peppers (5) runs the ball on a punt return in the second quarter against the UCF Knights at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Jabrill Peppers

When I did these pieces last season, I said that I could probably give Jourdan Lewis a game ball every game. I think the same will be true of Peppers this year (Lewis, too, whenever he gets back on the field). He’s already exceeded his tackles for loss total from last year (4.5) after three on Saturday.

Between his alignments, one-on-one assignments, and general freelancing, defensive coordinator Don Brown has Peppers doing things I’ve never seen before, and we’re not even to the part of the schedule where things get really strange (watch out, Wisconsin). I tend to think that Lewis is still the best overall player on the team, but no one—offense or defense—has the same ability of Peppers to completely change the momentum of the game with one play.

Peppers was instrumental in limiting the damage that UCF’s mobile quarterbacks were doing to the Michigan front seven. He had two punt returns for 46 yards. He was more effective setting the edge than any of the linemen or linebackers. He also had a few really good moments in single coverage, which is encouraging because he tended to get lost last year in those situations.

Todd McShay was part of the ESPN crew—because that’s a regular thing now I guess. In a segment looking ahead to the draft (why?), McShay gave Peppers a flat ‘B’ on run help, and a ‘C+’ on ball skills. OK, Todd.

(Though it would be nice if McShay could somehow convince Peppers to stick around just by handing out arbitrary, nebulous grades.)

Next: Game Ball Count

Sep 10, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Chris Evans (12) rushes in the second quarter against the UCF Knights at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Game Ball Count

We’ll be next week to hand out more game balls after the Colorado game.

More from GBMWolverine

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from UCF Knights Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

UCF Knights

Michigan Wolverines