Wisconsin at Michigan wrap-up

Overview:
Many are calling this a tale of two halves, and while UM definitely played better in the second half, Wisconsin lost this game in the first half. The Badgers had opportunities to put this game away in the first half but did not. You cannot let a team on the ropes hang around, or you will be sorry.

Offense:
There were two huge differences in the second half. #1 was offensive line play. UM did a much better job protecting Threet and opening holes to run through. But in our opinion the biggest difference was the play of Threet. In the first half UM was not getting anything out of him. For this offense to be successful QB has to be a threat. Coach Rod and staff get props here for making nice adjustments and using the tight ends more. This not only provided some additional blocking, it also made Wisconsin play differently in the secondary.

Defense:
The defense gave up some yards, but never the big play. Making Wisconsin snap it again paid big dividends for UM. It would have been easy for the defense to get down, but UM held the Badgers to only 19 points in the 1st half, but it could have been much worse. Shutting them out in the second half until the score with one minute remaining was outstanding work.

Special teams:
Michigan’s special teams got off to a terrible start. Poor return game and punting hurt Michigan’s field position. The only thing that kept this from becoming a complete disaster was equally poor play by Wisconsin at times.

Bottom line:
Michigan never quit and the team, players, and coaching staff get major kudos for this. This is the type of win that is so important to young teams. They will have this for the remainder of the season. Confidence and believing can be just as important as talent.

written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine