Michigan Racks Up More Than 700 Yards in 63-6 Win Over Delaware State

Games against FCS teams typically serve as a time for injured players to rest, younger players to gain experience, and fans to have a relaxing day at the stadium.  Unlike Michigan’s first ever game against an FCS opponent, Saturday was a typical matchup with an FCS team.

Michigan pounded Delaware State for all four quarters on Saturday, winning 63-6.  Michigan led 49-3 at halftime, which was the second-highest score after two quarters in U-M history.  The Wolverines scored a touchdown on all but three drives, and even then all three of those ended in Delaware State territory.  If Zoltan Mesko wasn’t a holder for extra points, he would have been pretty bored during yesterday’s game, because his punting services weren’t needed.

Tate Forcier’s services weren’t needed after the first drive of the game.  Forcier led Michigan down the field for a touchdown, and four different quarterbacks got playing time after that.  Denard Robinson was the most successful of the four, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and scoring another on the ground.  To the delight of the student section, David Cone also played quite well when he came into the game in the fourth quarter and was out there for a couple scoring drives that included 2 Mike Cox touchdowns.  Those touchdowns kept adding to Michigan’s enormous rushing total, which ended up being at 461 yards when all was said and done.  Between that number and Michigan’s 266 passing yards, the Wolverines finished with a program record of 727 total yards.

1st Quarter

• Things were bad for Delaware State from the game’s opening kickoff.  Bryan Wright didn’t hit the ball all that well, but it somehow bounced by or off of a couple players and rolled to the goal line.  It would have kept going to the end zone for a touchback, but a DSU player picked it up at the goal line and returned it to the 5-yard line.  After the Hornets went three and out, Michigan had great field position, starting its first drive in DSU territory.
• Michael Shaw got the ball to start the game for Michigan, hinting that we wouldn’t see Brandon Minor or Carlos Brown at all during the game.  Both were and still are recovering from injuries, so Rich Rodriguez decided to give them a week off to rest up for Penn State and to give some of the younger players a chance to play.  Following a 14-yard completion to Greg Mathews, Shaw ran for 2 more.  Tate Forcier then found Martavious Odoms, who ran down the field and out of bounds at the 2-yard line for a gain of 25.  Shaw punched it in on the next play for a touchdown, putting Michigan on top 7-0.
• Delaware State again went three and out, and beginning now, I’m not going to even bother mentioning what it did unless something noteworthy happened on the drive.  Most drives in the first half resulted in three and outs, so there’s no point in repeating it over and over.
• Denard Robinson came in on Michigan’s next drive, and the Wolverines moved the ball strictly on the ground, picking up big chunks of yardage on basically every play.  Robinson got things started by running for 7 yards, and then Shaw got the ball and went for 8.  Robinson took off to the left side for 20, and Shaw went for 16 more on the next play.  Vincent Smith got his first carry of the game on the following play and picked up 11 yards.  After a 4-yard run by Robinson, Smith scored on a 6-yard run to double Michigan’s lead to 14 points.
• Delaware State seemed to be having some problems snapping the ball on punts, and you could just sense that a block was going to happen at some point.  Well, it happened after DSU again went three and out.  Brandon Smith probably could have tackled the punter if he really wanted to, but he simply blocked the ball and then flung it forward after he was on the ground.  The ball went right to Brandon Graham, who took control of it and ran 2 yards for a touchdown.
• Michigan started its next drive at the DSU 39, and it looked like they were on their way to scoring yet another touchdown.  On the second play of the drive, however, Robinson ran the ball for 9 yards and fumbled, and a Delaware State player recovered it for his team’s first stop of the game.
• Michigan started on the DSU 38 the next time it got the ball, and Robinson quickly made up for his turnover by finding a wide open Kelvin Grady down the middle of the field for a touchdown.  The pass was a little overthrown, but not enough to prevent Grady from making the catch and scoring another Michigan touchdown.
• Delaware State’s next drive technically wasn’t a three and out because of a face mask penalty on Donovan Warren, but that was the only time the chains were moved on this possession.
• Vincent Smith got things going at the end of the first quarter with runs of 13 and 11 yards, and that was only a sign of things to come.

2nd Quarter

• Smith got the ball again on the first two plays of the second quarter and ran for 9 and 37 yards.  On the latter carry he made a move right after he got the ball and had a huge hole to run through.  After Denard Robinson completed a 19-yard pass to Darryl Stonum, Smith was dropped for a loss of 1 and Robinson’s next pass was incomplete, making it 3rd and goal from the 4.  Robinson took the snap and simply ran to the right side and into the end zone for the touchdown, putting Michigan ahead of DSU by a score of 35-0.
• Another face mask penalty, this time by Mike Williams, gave Delaware State a first down, but like the last drive, that was the only time the chains moved on this possession.
• Kevin Grady came in as Michigan’s running back and ran for 4, 9, and 9 yards again.  Robinson ran for 10 yards after Grady’s first carry, and after his last carry Shoelace found a wide open Martell Webb for a 28-yard touchdown.  It was similar to Robinson’s first touchdown pass because he had a wide open receiver in the middle of the field both times.  This time he rolled out to the right, stopped and cut back a little, and got the ball off before any real pressure arrived.  The pass was again underthrown, but not enough for it to matter.
• Kevin Grady stayed in the game as Michigan’s running back and started the Wolverines’ next drive with runs that went for 26, 7, and 4 yards.  Nick Sheridan was now in at quarterback and found Je’Ron Stokes for 9 yards and Kelvin Grady for 10.  Vincent Smith came back in and ran for a yard, and then Sheridan found LaTerryal Savoy for 19 more yards.  Grady broke a tackle in the backfield on the next play and ran into the end zone on the left side for the second touchdown by a Grady in this game.  Michigan now led 49-0.
• Michigan’s shutout came to an end at this point in the game thanks to terrible kickoff coverage.  The kick itself wasn’t very good, and the coverage was even worse.  Bryan Wright, the kicker, is the one who stopped the return at the 23-yard line, putting the Hornets in position to finally get on the board.  A 19-yard pass on first down put them in position to score a touchdown, but the defense stepped it up and held DSU to a field goal.
• Michael Shaw ran the ball three times before halftime, going for 2, 19, and 11 yards.

3rd Quarter

• Michigan started the half with a healthy mix of Vincent Smith rushes and Nick Sheridan passes.  After a pair of 6-yard runs by Smith, Sheridan found Terrence Robinson for 13 yards and Brandon Moore for 19 yards.  Kevin Grady came in and ran for 7 yards, and then Smith ran for 5, 7, 7, and 1.  An illegal participation penalty backed Michigan up 5 yards, and a loss on Smith’s next run backed U-M up 2 more yards.  Sheridan found Je’Ron Stokes for 7 yards on third down, making it 4th and goal from the 5.  Michigan decided to go for it, and Sheridan was stopped at the 2-yard line.
• Delaware State finally started to move the ball by attacking Michigan’s backup defensive backs, namely the third-string cornerbacks.  J.T. Floyd was sick and missed the game, and Boubacar Cissoko was still suspended.  As uncomfortable as I am anytime Floyd or Cissoko step onto the field, they are much better than the third-stringers who let DSU move into Michigan territory before the defense finally came up with a stop.
• Michigan again moved the ball down the field with Smith doing much of the work.  He got the drive off to a great start by running for 14 and 35 yards, and after a pair of incompletions thrown in Terrence Robinson’s direction, a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive.  Sheridan then ran for 4 yards, and Michael Cox came in and was stopped for a loss of 7.  Cox got the loss back on the next play on an 11-yard pass from Sheridan, but he only was able to run for 1 yard on 4th and 2, giving the ball back to Delaware State.

4th Quarter

• Delaware State again moved the ball effectively, but the drive stalled after the Hornets got inside the 10.  They settled for a field goal to get to 6 points on the day.
• David Cone came in and received a big cheer from the student section the next time Michigan got the ball, and he completed a nice pass to LaTerryal Savoy for a gain of 21.  On the next play Michael Cox broke to the outside and ran for a 57-yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 56-6 lead.
• Cox continued to run the ball well on the next drive, going for 6 and 10 yards after picking up nothing on first down.  Cone then completed a 4-yard pass to Ricky Reyes, and Michigan faced 3rd and 6 after Cox was stopped for no gain.  Cone found Reyes again, this time in the middle of the field for a gain of 29.  That set Cox up for another touchdown three plays later, this time from 3 yards out.  Michigan now led 63-6, which is what the final score would end up being.
• Michigan did get the ball back and had time to run one more play.  Jack Kennedy came in at quarterback and ran a draw for a gain of 6, becoming Michigan’s fifth QB to get playing time.

You really can’t take too much away from a game against Delaware State.  It was nice to get a look at so many inexperienced players, but other than that there wasn’t anything new that came out of the game.  Probably the most notable thing is that Tate Forcier did play, though it was only for a series.  That means that he was cleared by doctors and had Penn State been on the schedule this past Saturday, he probably would have been expected to play as much as he normally does.  The other notable news on the injury front was the absence of Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, who both sat out to rest up for Penn State.  That was for the better not only because they need to heal, but also because it gave the other backs a chance to play.  They certainly didn’t disappoint:

Vincent Smith – 18 carries, 166 yards, 1 TD
Michael Cox – 11 carries, 82 yards, 2 TDs
Michael Shaw – 9 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD
Kevin Grady – 8 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD

I’ve never been a fan of scheduling games against FCS teams, but if it for sure going to happen once a season, you might as well schedule a team like Delaware State, which will give you a chance to play as many as five quarterbacks and rest your two best running backs.  It is not an exciting matchup by any means, but it’s nice to see people like David Cone and other inexperienced players get a chance to play.  Plus, I don’t mind having this relaxing of a day at Michigan Stadium every once in a while.

Now, with that being said, it’s time to get back to business next week when Penn State comes to the Big House.  The Nittany Lions are ranked 13th and 11th in the two major pools and have only lost once — to Iowa.  They will provide a tough matchup but are certainly beatable.  Hell, Michigan was up on them last year in Happy Valley until a collapse at the end of the first half and a blowout in the second happened.  If Michigan can play like it did at the start of the game last year for four quarters, then we may be talking about the hopeful start of a new winning streak against Penn State at this time a week from now.

Kickoff for the Penn State game is at 3:30 and the game will broadcast on ABC and ESPN.