Michigan's Non-Conference Report Card


Well, the 2010 non-conference schedule is in the books. For a 2nd consecutive year, Michigan goes 4-0 outside of the Big Ten. For the 2nd consecutive year, Michigan starts the year 4-0...first time since 1996-1997.

A lot of questions still remain. Like how good is Michigan, really? Is this 4-0 different from last year's 4-0? Is Michigan prepared for the Big Ten schedule?

We don't know any of these answers. All we can do is judge how well Michigan has played so far, and how strong our opponents were when we played them.


Week 1: Connecticut
UConn Now:
2-2 Overall
0-0 Conference

FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 181.3 (92nd)
Rushing Yards: 212.8 (26th)
Point For: 33.3 (40th)
Points Against: 21 (53rd)

The Game: 
Connecticut - 10
Michigan - 30



ConnecticutMichigan
1st Downs1628
3rd down efficiency
4-1514-19
4th down efficiency
3-61-2
Total Yards343473
Passing205186
Comp-Att
18-3819-22
Yards per pass
5.48.5
Rushing138287
Rushing Attempts
3061
Yards per rush
4.64.7
Penalties2-101-13
Turnovers10
Fumbles lost
10
Interceptions thrown
00
Possession23:0836:52

UConn after Michigan:
9/11 WIN vs Texas Southern, 62-3
9/18 LOSS at Temple, 30-16
9/25 WIN vs Buffalo, 45-21

Season stats:

Connecticut        Opponents     
Scoring: Points/Game 33.3 21.0
Scoring: Games - Points 4 - 133 4 - 84
First Downs: Total 66 67
First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty 35 - 31 - 0 35 - 30 - 2
Rushing: Yards / Attempt 5.71 3.70
Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD 149 - 851 - 10 173 - 640 - 5
Passing: Rating 116.31 107.98
Passing: Yards 725 726
Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD 111 - 57 - 1 - 4 119 - 65 - 7 - 5
Total Offense: Yards / Play 6.1 4.7
Total Offense: Plays - Yards 260 - 1576 292 - 1366
Punt Returns: Yards / Return 10.33 10.57
Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 12 - 124 - 0 7 - 74 - 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return 19.81 19.89
Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 16 - 317 - 0 19 - 378 - 0
Punting: Yards / Punt 38.53 37.92
Punting: Punts - Yards 19 - 732 26 - 986
Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD 7 - 103 - 2 1 - 10 - 0
Fumbles: Number - Lost 9 - 5 5 - 2
Penalties: Number - Yards 22 - 150 23 - 170
Time of Possession / Game 26:53.25 33:06.75
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % 31.48% 42.25%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 54 - 17 71 - 30
4th Down Conversions: Conversion % 50% 16.67%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 8 - 4 6 - 1
Red Zone: Success % 89.47% 90.91%
Red Zone: Attempts - Scores 19 - 17 11 - 10
Field Goals: Success % 63.6% 75%
Field Goals: Attempts - Made 11 - 7 4 - 3
PAT Kicking: Success % 100% 90%
PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made 16 - 16 10 - 9
2-Point Conversions: Success % - 0%
2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made 0 - 0 1 - 0


Week 2: Notre Dame
Notre Dame Now:
1-3 Overall

FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 315.5 (7th)
Rushing Yards: 110.8 (99th)
Point For: 23 (78th)
Points Against: 27.8 (85th)


The Game:
(1-0) Michigan - 28
(1-0) Notre Dame - 24


MichiganNotre Dame
1st Downs2223
3rd down efficiency
3-164-14
4th down efficiency
1-10-0
Total Yards532535
Passing244381
Comp-Att
24-4021-44
Yards per pass
6.18.7
Rushing288154
Rushing Attempts
4132
Yards per rush
7.04.8
Penalties8-994-29
Turnovers03
Fumbles lost
00
Interceptions thrown
03
Possession34:0925:51

Notre Dame before Michigan:
9/4: WIN vs Purdue, 23-12

Notre Dame after Michigan:
9/18: LOSS at Michigan State, 34-31 OT
9/25: LOSS vs Stanford, 37-14

Season Stats:


Notre Dame       Opponents      
Scoring: Points/Game 23.0 27.8
Scoring: Games - Points 4 - 92 4 - 111
First Downs: Total 90 93
First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty 27 - 57 - 6 38 - 51 - 4
Rushing: Yards / Attempt 3.79 4.74
Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD 117 - 443 - 2 160 - 759 - 7
Passing: Rating 129.66 126.01
Passing: Yards 1262 976
Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD 170 - 98 - 5 - 8 148 - 98 - 5 - 5
Total Offense: Yards / Play 5.9 5.6
Total Offense: Plays - Yards 287 - 1705 308 - 1735
Punt Returns: Yards / Return 12.00 2.00
Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 6 - 72 - 0 2 - 4 - 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return 19.56 18.59
Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 16 - 313 - 0 17 - 316 - 0
Punting: Yards / Punt 35.52 41.08
Punting: Punts - Yards 21 - 746 25 - 1027
Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD 5 - 27 - 0 5 - 39 - 1
Fumbles: Number - Lost 7 - 4 3 - 1
Penalties: Number - Yards 19 - 176 29 - 241
Time of Possession / Game 24:59.25 35:00.75
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % 37.25% 37.88%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 51 - 19 66 - 25
4th Down Conversions: Conversion % 0% 71.43%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 2 - 0 7 - 5
Red Zone: Success % 78.57% 86.67%
Red Zone: Attempts - Scores 14 - 11 15 - 13
Field Goals: Success % 100% 75%
Field Goals: Attempts - Made 7 - 7 8 - 6
PAT Kicking: Success % 100% 100%
PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made 9 - 9 11 - 11
2-Point Conversions: Success % 100% 100%
2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made 1 - 1 1 - 1


Week 3: Massachusetts
UMass Now:
3-1 Overall
1-0 Conference

The Game:
(2-0) UMass - 37
(2-0) #20 Michigan - 42


MassachusettsMichigan
1st Downs2622
3rd down efficiency
6-124-7
4th down efficiency
2-20-0
Total Yards439525
Passing222241
Comp-Att
22-2910-14
Yards per pass
7.717.2
Rushing217284
Rushing Attempts
4942
Yards per rush
4.46.8
Penalties6-463-16
Turnovers22
Fumbles lost
11
Interceptions thrown
11
Possession37:3822:22

UMass before Michigan:
9/4: WIN vs William & Mary, 27-23
9/11: WIN vs Holy Cross, 31-7

UMass after Michigan:
9/25: WIN at Stony Brook, 26-21

Season Stats:
Season stats that match the stats I've found for FBS schools are tough to find. Suffice it to say that UMass is holding their own in most important statistical categories.


Week 4: Bowling Green
BGSU Now:
1-3 Overall
0-0 Conference

FBS Rankings:
Passing Yards: 256.5 (34th)
Rushing Yards: 70.5 (115th)
Point For: 28 (60th)
Points Against: 39 (112th)

The Game:
(1-2) BGSU - 21
(3-0) #21 Michigan - 65


Bowling GreenMichigan
1st Downs1231
3rd down efficiency
6-1410-12
4th down efficiency
2-31-2
Total Yards283721
Passing251255
Comp-Att
19-3123-26
Yards per pass
8.19.8
Rushing32466
Rushing Attempts
2756
Yards per rush
1.28.3
Penalties5-557-58
Turnovers22
Fumbles lost
02
Interceptions thrown
20
Possession26:5433:06

BGSU before Michigan:
9/4: LOSS at Troy, 30-27
9/11: LOSS at Tulsa, 33-20
9/18: WIN vs Marshall, 44-28

Season Stats:

Bowling Green    Opponents       
Scoring: Points/Game 28.0 39.0
Scoring: Games - Points 4 - 112 4 - 156
First Downs: Total 71 110
First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty 23 - 43 - 5 50 - 53 - 7
Rushing: Yards / Attempt 2.33 6.34
Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD 121 - 282 - 8 166 - 1052 - 13
Passing: Rating 122.04 119.47
Passing: Yards 1026 1066
Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD 147 - 94 - 7 - 4 161 - 97 - 7 - 6
Total Offense: Yards / Play 4.9 6.5
Total Offense: Plays - Yards 268 - 1308 327 - 2118
Punt Returns: Yards / Return 15.14 11.90
Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 7 - 106 - 1 10 - 119 - 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return 19.15 19.88
Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 26 - 498 - 0 16 - 318 - 0
Punting: Yards / Punt 43.95 40.77
Punting: Punts - Yards 20 - 879 13 - 530
Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD 7 - 191 - 2 7 - 50 - 0
Fumbles: Number - Lost 3 - 2 5 - 4
Penalties: Number - Yards 33 - 285 27 - 260
Time of Possession / Game 30:40.00 29:18.00
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % 43.33% 50.88%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 60 - 26 57 - 29
4th Down Conversions: Conversion % 66.67% 50%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 6 - 4 4 - 2
Red Zone: Success % 75% 90.48%
Red Zone: Attempts - Scores 16 - 12 21 - 19
Field Goals: Success % 50% 77.8%
Field Goals: Attempts - Made 6 - 3 9 - 7
PAT Kicking: Success % 92.9% 100%
PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made 14 - 13 19 - 19
2-Point Conversions: Success % 0% -
2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made 1 - 0 0 - 0

Conclusions:
Conclusions? HA!

Firstly, after looking at these stats and records, we should be 4-0. Obviously the most glaring thing that stands out to me is how relatively unimpressive Notre Dame is. That win felt better at the time. But after watching little brother embarrass them, and then watching Stanford dominate them...it's as if Notre Dame is right back where they were with Charlie Weis. I do believe that, at the time we played them, they were a better team...and they probably got pretty hyped up to play Michigan.

And that leads me to my next point. Any time anyone plays Michigan, they're pumped up. For every team we've played so far, their biggest game of the year is us. No one looks past us. Teams play better football when they're pumped up. That's not an excuse, it's just the fact of being a major football program. Players and coaches know that when they come here, and it's likely one of the reasons they do so.

I could go on and on about this, but I honestly feel that we're a better 4-0 team then we were last season. Why? Depth. We have 3 QBs that can run this offense, one of which is the leading Heisman candidate and maybe the most prolific players in the country. We have a stable of good RBs and WRs. Our O-line is deeper and more experienced. Our defense is still subject to big plays and giving up tons of yards, but we're also deeper there too. Greg Robinson is in his 2nd year as DC. He was our 3rd DC in 3 years, so there's something to be said for that. All-in-all, we're a better team, and I think we're more prepared for Big Ten play. We won't go undefeated, but our offense is good enough to keep us in the game against every Big Ten opponent we play.

Of course we won't know anything definitive until 3:30 PM in Bloomington this Saturday. Hopefully they'll prove me right.

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