Wolverines get comfortable, much-needed win over Miami (OH) Saturday
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- No one in the Michigan football program is fooling themselves about Saturday's 34-10 victory over Miami of Ohio.
They knew they were playing one of the worst teams in the country -- the RedHawks haven't won a game since 2012 -- and they heard the halftime boos from the smallest Michigan Stadium crowd in 19 years.
At the end of the day, though, it was a comfortable victory that they desperately needed after being humiliated a week ago in South Bend.
"Our focus this week has been to not let Notre Dame beat us twice," Devin Gardner said. "We knew we were going to get Miami's best shot, because when you play for Michigan, you always get the other team's best. We got off to a slow start and we gave them some confidence, but we got things turned around in the second half."
It hadn't looked good after 30 minutes, though. Michigan turned the ball over three times, twice in their own territory, and only led Miami 17-10.
When Brady Hoke and Doug Nussmeier didn't go for the end zone after taking over the ball on their own 47 with 3:29 left, what had been a supportive crowd got ugly. Michigan did get to the Redhawks' 32 with a minute left in the half, and were lined up to go for it on 4th-and-1, but were called for a delay of game penalty out of a Miami time out. They ended up punting, and were booed off the field.
"We have great fans," Hoke said. "Just like everyone involved in our program, they have high expectations for us. They were great at the beginning of the game, in a situation where we just needed to get onto our home field and put last week behind us.
"Would we have rather played better in the first half? Obviously, but we came back and did some really good things in the second half."
The defense was strong throughout the game, only allowing Miami to pick up eight first downs, but it was the running game that came to life as the RedHawks began to run out of gas. Michigan carried the ball 23 times for 181 yards in the second half, an average of 7.9 yards per carry.
"The offensive line and the perimeter guys gave me some great holes, and all I had to do was hit them," said Derrick Green, who finished with 22 carries for 137 yards. "As a running back, you just want to keep getting fed the ball, so it felt great to get all of those touches today. I didn't know coming into the game if I was going to be the main guy or if it would be De'Veon (Smith), so when I got the shot, I was going to take advantage."
With Devin Funchess missing the game due to an undisclosed injury -- he appeared to hurt his leg against Notre Dame, but Hoke is no longer discussing injured players -- Amara Darboh stepped up to catch six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Darboh's fumble was one of Michigan's first-half turnovers, but Gardner made sure it didn't haunt him.
"I told him that he's a football player, and football players have to be able to put negative plays behind him," Gardner said. "He didn't hang his head. He stepped up and kept making plays."
Michigan will be back at the Big House next Saturday to take on 2-0 Utah. The Utes will test Michigan's defense, having scored 115 points in their first two games, and will have an extra week to prepare after not playing this weekend.
"That's a very good football team, and we're going to have to be better than we were today," Hoke said. "Our schedule is only going to get tougher from here, and we've got work to do."
