There is far too much negativity after a pretty complete game by UM. Yes CMU was over matched but we should have the ability to objectively analyze and comment on what we saw despite the talent difference.
OFFENSE
Mensah was arguably better than ever. The touch on the TD pass to Upshaw was outrageous. Everything Mensah throws seems to land in the perfect spot. His accuracy is as good as I have ever seen seen at the college level.
Toney was great and the non-catch may have been his best catch to date.
Upshaw and Barkate looked smooth. Jacobs had a good game despite not giving his best effort on the early pass down the sideline. The more he plays with Mensah the better he will be.
The TE’s weren’t used much but Lofton is catching the ball really well.
Mallory is comfortable as a starting RB 4 games into his career. He is a pure RB. The broken tackle against 2 defenders was incredible, regardless of the competition.
All the RB’s did some good things. Pringle gets through the hole faster than any RB on the team. Lyle was running hard, which makes sense. And CWH made a lot of people smile with how well he ran. Considering the accumulation of injuries over a long season I am sure all of them will be needed to pay meaningful snaps.
The Oline was better, but the competition was worse than Wake so it’s hard to judge. I liked Meriweather at RG.
The pre-snap penalties, especially in short yardage situations, were very disappointing, but maybe CMU was trying to simulate as the call proved. We can’t have these types of mental mistake penalties against better opponents. But the run blocking was improved. How much of that was Congdon and Meriweather?
DEFENSE
The entire Dline was fantastic. Justin Scott showed out. Lightfoot hunts people. His ability against the run is very rare, especially considering his body frame. He will play for along time in the NFL. Wilson has come alive, but needs to stop with the late hit penalties. He should have a TD under his belt. No one was going to catch Wilson in the open field. He will test really, really well at the combine.
The LB’s weren’t really tested in the passing game, but they were good against the run as expected. Chase stood up an RB in the hole and Toure is a bruiser. Yes he misses on some plays but its nice to have an enforcer in the middle. Bonner has been a nice surprise and Pruitt was very active.
The DB’s were good but not special. Bryce missed a tackle. I don’t remember hearing O’Connor’s name but that is a good thing at CB. I don’t remember Poyser doing much. He also missed a tackle. Without a lot of long passes the safeties get neutralized a bit.
Thornton was very good on the blitz. He is what he is and is good at this, if not so much at covering.
JJ Dunnigan is that guy. If we get healthy at CB and can move Bryce or JJ to the slot, this defense could be as good as last season.
One defensive play I loved early in the game was an option by CMU wherein UM took away all 3 options. It was textbook and I don’t think CMU ever went back to it.
The CMU coach literally admitted after the game that running their starting QB a lot would have opened him up to injury. Which takes me back to the Stanford game when seemingly most of their Oline was “injured”. I think Stanford held out some guys against us knowing they would lose anyways and wanting to have those guys healthy for games in which they actually had a chance.
Clemson will be a good test if only because they have athletes. Just like FSU. We should win both games handily because neither team has enough offense to deal with the 30+ UM will score.
. I would trust Dunnigan as that extra LB in the run fits
