Michigan defeated Fresno State under the lights of Michigan Stadium on Saturday night 30-10 in their season opener. It marked the beginning of the Sherrone Moore era as head coach. Here are takeaways from Michigan’s victory.
Quarterback play must improve
It was Davis Warren’s first career start and it featured some ups and to be expected downs. Warren was 15-of-25 for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Warren’s interception was on a deep ball that was underthrown and into double coverage. Warren also had a habit of locking onto his first read for too long overall. However, Warren did some nice things as well and operated within the confines of Michigan’s scheme. Warren connected with Colston Loveland often, including an 18-yard touchdown. In all, Loveland had eight receptions for 87 yards, accounting for 72 percent of Warren’s passing yards. While it was great to see Warren connect often with the best tight end in the nation, that type of percentage isn’t sustainable.
Coming into the game Warren had attempted just 14 career passes, thus some patience is required when evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Warren’s game. In short, Warren needs more time, and while facing the Longhorns next week isn’t ideal, the only way he’s going to grow is by facing these challenges head-on.
Alex Orji’s career trajectory remains the same
Alex Orji had a goal-line pass for a touchdown to put Michigan up 7-0, the score was the second passing attempt of his career. Orji would throw another pass on the run in the second half to the flat but it was quite inaccurate and hit the dirt. Most of Orji’s snaps on the field came as a ball carrier, rushing five times for 32 yards.
It appears that Warren is Michigan’s unquestioned (at the moment) QB1. Orji will play a role, but it’ll be predominantly as a running threat.
Is Kalel Mullings Michigan’s RB1?
This one is interesting. Kalel Mullings far surpassed Donovan Edwards’ production and carry total. Mullings rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries while Edwards rushed for 27 yards in 11 carries. Edwards is a household name and the player who’s had epic touchdown runs against Ohio State as well as Washington in the national championship. Edwards will undoubtedly have better games than this one, especially factoring in this is a completely revamped offensive line blocking for him in the opener. It’s imperative Michigan has more than one solid option at running back, and Mullings could be a difference-maker in Michigan’s offense this season.
Michigan’s defense looks elite once again
Besides a late red-zone score by Fresno State to make it 16-10 when Michigan was playing cover zero (no safeties back, heavy blitz), Michigan’s defense looked like it could carry the team if necessary. Fresno State was just 2-of-11 on third down, the defense had six tackles for loss, Josaiah Stewart had two sacks, and Will Johnson had an 86-yard interception return to seal the game late and put Michigan up 30-10.
While Michigan has a new defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale, the defense didn’t really skip a beat. As long as Martindale doesn’t dial up too many blitzes where they become predictable and leave the back end vulnerable, the sky is the limit yet again for the defense.
Michigan has an elite kicker... again
Michigan’s been blessed in recent years with good to great kickers. Jake Moody was legendary for Michigan, James Turner was pretty darn good too last season. Now it’s Arkansas State transfer Dominic Zvada who’s wowing the Michigan faithful. Zvada was 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts. Zvada’s attempts were from 43, 53, and 55 yards out and is someone Michigan can lean on in close games. Zvada may be the difference in Michigan winning or losing at least a couple times this year.
A sense of urgency over the next seven days is necessary
No. 4 Texas comes to Ann Arbor next week and the Longhorns are coming off a 52-0 whooping of Colorado State. The Texas offense is elite, as is quarterback Quinn Ewers. Michigan cannot start slow on offense and expect to win or catch up if they’re behind. Michigan has to get better quickly — in the passing game and at offensive line in particular. Mcihgian’s a gritty team that can still play smashmouth football and if they’re going to beat the Longhorns they must make it ugly. Ugly can win in football. They must win not just by executing, they must win with force and precision. There will be little margin for error and if they don’t come out fire on all cylinders offensively, it may be too late before they gain their footing. Texas is at a much higher level of talent than Fresno State and Michigan must be ready to be hit in the mouth and respond with a good counterpunch.
