4B - September 8, 2014

SportsMonday

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The Michigan Daily michigandailycom

Five things we learned: 'M' vs. Notre Dame

The Irish exposed
plenty of holes in
igan's game
Saturday
ByALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Editor
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - After a
dominant showing in week one
against Appalachian State, the
Michigan football team stalled
on the road yet again. The stage
was set in South Bend, a rivalry
game between two historic
programs for the last time, under
the lights. But the Wolverines
severely under performed and
were shut out, 31-0, for the first
time since 1984.
After an ugly performance,
it was evident that some of last
year's fundamental problems
have yet to be fixed.
1. Brady Hoke needs to go
back to the drawing board:
This isn't a huge mystery
following Michigan's disaster on
Saturday night, but it still rings
true. The Wolverines struggled
in all three phases of the game,
on their way to their first shutout
in 30 years. The offense was
unable to convert in the red zone,
the few times it got there, and the
running game transitioned back
to its 2013 woes.
Fifth-year senior quarterback
Devin Gardner turned the ball
over three times - a fourth
being called back - and spent
an extended amount of time
running for his life behind a
porous offensive line.
The defense gave up big plays
throughout the night, didn't
force a turnover and only sacked
Notre Dame quarterback Everett
Golson once. After the game,
senior middle linebacker Jake
Ryan said it's critical the defense
gets off the field on third down.
And to round out the
performance, senior kicker Matt

pressure on his right leg, but
the junior wide out shook it off
and made an appearance on the
field during the Wolverines' last
drive. However, after one play he
took himself out and following
the game Hoke "wasn't going to
talk about any of those injuries."
Funchess was seen wearing a
boot as he exited the stadium.
Early last week, Gardner
said Funchess could be the best
receiver to ever playat Michigan.
And while his words maynotring
true considering the program's
storied crop of receivers, the
praise is warranted - two weeks
in, Funchess is the best player on
this team.
5. The Wolverines will
have a chip on their shoulder
against Miami (OH):
Unfortunately for the Red
Hawks, Michigan should come
out motivated this coming
Saturday. After 30 years, and
365 games, the Wolverines were
shut out. Plus, to make matters
worse it was the last matchup
in a rivalry series. In short, it's
going to be a long day for Miami
(OH) because Michigan has a lot
to show its fans.

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The Michigan football team has the good
Wile missed two field goals
bringing him to 1-for-4 over two
games. The coverage unit also
struggled at times and missed
tackles, which led to good field
position for the Fighting Irish.
2. The offensive line is still
struggling:
Following a strong
performance against the
Mountaineers in week one,
where the running backs rushed
for more than 350 yards, spirits
were high on Michigan's biggest
area of need this season. But
after Saturday night's debacle,
the jury needs to reevaluate its
early season excitement.
Though the line only gave
up two sacks, Gardner was
flushed from the pocket multiple
times. The running game
wasn't efficient. Four backs

J fortune of playing ina mediocre Big Ten, meaning their season isn't necessarily inr
combined for 35 rushes for 100 pointed to his defensive line
yards, including sophomore and his secondary making more
Derrick Green's 13 carries for plays.
25 yards. It appears that Green Against Notre Dame, it
and sophomore running back appeared those words didn't
De'Veon resonate
Smith's as the
coming secondary
bt Some of last year's struggled
bega an OmeO R yea S ightily and
ended with fundam ental the defensive
Appalachian line was
State last problem s have yet unable to
week. ye pressure the
to be fixed. quarterback.
3. On multiple
Michigan occasions,
needs Golson had
to force time to set
turnovers: his feet and

ruins because of Saturdays s"s.
to create pressure and force
turnovers if it's to have any
success.

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4. Devin Funchess is the
best player on this football
team:
There was one bright spot in
Michigan's 31-0 whopping and it
came in the form of a dominant
6-foot-5 receiver.
Amid all that was ugly
Saturday night, Funchess came
away with nine receptions for
107 yards. And the Wolverines
can be thankful, that their best
player was able to bounce back
after an apparent leg injury.
Toward the end of the fourth
quarter, Funchess went down in
front of Michigan's bench after a
sideline catch.
Mtedicl staff attended to him
after he appeared unable to put

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It's been two weeks and the
Wolverines have yet to force a
turnover. Last week, defensive
coordinator Greg Mattison

release the ball, rarely making
a bad decision on the night.
With just two games left before
the conference slate begins,
Michigan needs to find a way

STAFF PICKS
The Daily football writers do their best
to predict, against the spread, what
happens in the 2014 football season.

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Greg
Garno

Alejandro
ZNdiga

Alexa
Dettelbach

Max
Cohen

Jeff Okala,
Drum Major

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Michigan atsNo.16 Notre Dame (-3.5) Michigan Michigan Notre Dame Michigan Michigan
Florida Atlantic at Alabama(-40.5) Alabama Florida Atlantic Alabama Alabama Alabama
No.7 Michigan State at No.3Oregon (-12.5) Oregon Michigan State Oregon Michigan State Michigan State
No.4Oklahomaat Tulsa (+24.5) Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma
San Jose State at No. 5 Auburn (-32.5) Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn
Virginia Tech at No.8Ohio State (-11) Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Virginia Tech
Memphis at No1 UCLA (-23) Memphis UCLA Memphis UCLA UCLA
No.14USC at No.13 Stanford (-2.5) Stanford USC Stanford Stanford USC
No.15Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (+20) Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss Vanderbilt Ole Miss
No.17 Arizona State at New Mexico (+25) Arizona State NewMexico New Mexico Arizona State Arizona State
No.205KansasStateatIowaStatet(+1KansasState Kansas State Kansas State Kansas State Kansas State
East Carolina at No. 21 South Carolina (-16.5) South Carolina East Carolina South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina
SanDiego State atNo.S2North Carolina(-15.5) SanDiego State North Caroina North Carolina San Diego State North Carolina
No.24Missouriat Toledo (+3.5) Missouri Missouri Missouri Missouri Missouri
ThirWeek7 7-b1 1-8267491 6-7
Oerall 19.11t18-12 1-31.56-7

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THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP-10 POLL

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1. OREGON: The Ducks would
normally get props for racking
up 46 points. But they did it
aginst a team from the Big
Ten. Does that even count?
2. FLORIDA STATE: Jameis
Winston threw for 256 yards
and two touchdowns to crush
the Citadel. He didn't steal
anything in the process.
3. ALABAMA: The Tide
used two quarterbacks in
their 41-0 win over Florida
Atlantic. Can the Daily
borrow one when we play the
State News?
4. GEORGIA: The Bulldogs
had the week off before
playing South Carolina.
Facing opponents on fresh
legs could come back to bite
the Cocks.

ATM

S. OKLAHOMA: It's hard to
gauge OU when they're playing
teams like Tulsa. The Sooner
they play a real team, the
better.
6. TEXAS A&M: The Aggies'
quarterback calls himself
Kenny Trill. Until he flips off
the, err, Washington Football
Team, we'll call him Kenny
Poser.
7. AUBURN Tigers kicker
Daniel Carlson outscored the
entire Michigan team this
weekend. He had one 27-yard
field goal.
8. BAYLOR: Despite their main
act having a back injury, Bryce
Petty's Heartbreakers beat
Northwestern State 70-6.

Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out
ballots, with first place votes receiving 10
points, second-place votes receiving nine,
and so on.
9. LSU: Leonard Fournette struck
a Heisman pose on his first career
touchdown run. Against Sam
Houston State. Stay classy, Baton
Rouge.
10. USC: Some would call
the Trojans' 13-10 win
over Stanford a big win
for the program. We call it
deforestation.
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