Michigan Football: 5 Big Questions Facing the Wolverines After Last Week's Game

The Michigan Wolverines football game on Saturday was a game of firsts.

Obviously it was Brady Hoke's first game as head coach, it was the first time in Michigan history that a game has been called due to weather, and it was also the first time in the modern era of Michigan football that a defensive player has scored twice.

Although these first time events were the more prominent "first times" of last Saturday's contest, there were plenty more "first times" to go around.

Doing something that has never been done before (or something that has not been done in a long time), often leads to mistakes and uncertainty among the team and fan base.

Going into this season, many fans were unsure of what to expect from the team after changing offensive and defensive systems in the offseason.

Michigan got out to a slow start against Western, but ultimately dominated the Broncos.

But because of a pair of Brandon Herron defensive touchdowns, Michigan only had five more total yards than Western Michigan put up.

In addition to the meager yardage difference, new questions arise following last week's game.

These questions should be answered before the season continues next weekend against Notre Dame—who also had some weather issues of their own.

In this article I will list the new questions that must be answered, and then try to answer them as well

How Does Michigan Clamp Down Defensively in Terms of Yards Given Up?

In the past few seasons, Michigan dominated the early games in the season and then proceeded to get run over by the better Big Ten teams later in the year.

A large reason for getting run over so many times was their (lack of) defense.

The offense would go out, score on three or four plays, or go three and out.

This gave the defense little or no time to catch their breath, and with the smaller fronts that Rich Rodriguez liked to throw out, it seemed that as the games and season wore on, the defense wore down more often.

Last Saturday, the defense still got torched in total yards, giving up almost 300 yards in just under three full quarters of play.

Michigan's ability to run the clock with the running game didn't come into play as much as I thought it would against Western Michigan.

This was largely because their defense scored twice, leaving Michigan's offense on the bench for most of the game.

The cancellation of the fourth quarter did nothing to help Michigan's running game either.

Bottom line: Michigan will best limit opponents yardage by maximizing their own time with the ball.

They have to control the ball, and run the clock, limiting the number of opponent's possessions and number of plays they run each drive.

2. How Can Michigan's Passing Defense Clamp Down?

Forcing turnovers on defense can usually alleviate any pressure you might feel by opposing teams moving the ball successfully on your defense.

Michigan forced three turnovers against Western Michigan, but the bottom line was very clear:

They still gave up too many passing yards.

183 yards to be exact.

Additionally, Michigan gave up too many big passing plays in the secondary.

They gave up nine plays of over 10 yards.

That is far too many times to give up that many yards at once.

Given, there weren't any complete lapses where the other team scored from 30+ yards out like last season, but the secondary was far from air tight.

Bottom line: Look for Troy Woolfork (ankle) and Cam Gordon (back) to return from their respective injuries this weekend and help the secondary shut things down against Notre Dame.

3. Can Toussaint and Shaw Carry the Load for the Wolverines in the Backfield?

Fitzgerald Toussaint and Michael Shaw showed potential as a backfield tandem.

Toussaint, whose game is more predicated upon power, carried the ball 11 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

He shows an excellent nose for the goal line when he is down inside that 5 yard line, it just seems like he cannot be stopped.

Shaw had 4 carries, but the one carry went for 44 yards and a touchdown, when he broke away from everyone and scored easily.

If this running game can open even half of the holes it opened up today on a consistent basis this season, Michigan looks to be set on offense.

Michigan ran for 190 yards against Western, and they will have to do more of the same come Saturday against Notre Dame.

Bottom line: "if it ain't broken don't fix it."

Michigan has a special thing going here out of the backfield, it would be pointless to adjust the depth chart at the running back position now.

4. Does Denard Need to Average 150 Yards Per Game to Be Successful?

Denard Robinson only had 39 offensive plays to work with on Saturday with the shortened game and the two defensive scores that Michigan had.

Out of those 39 plays, 26 were running plays.

Meaning Denard completed 9-13 of his passes for a mere 98 yards and no touchdowns.

Shocking?

Yeah a little bit, but it was his first game in the new pro style offense, cut the guy some slack.

But now that the opening day jitters are out for "Shoelace" Robinson, he must average somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 yards passing per contest to keep the pressure off of Michigan's running game.

Will he be able to do it?

Absolutely.

He put up 502 total yards last year against Notre Dame, 150 yards passing should be no skin off of his back.

Bottom line: Denard's ability to adapt to the pro-style offense overall will dictate how successful he is for the rest of the season.

His limited passing plays definitely took a toll on his stats this week, but look for him to bounce back this upcoming week against Notre Dame.

5. Do the Special Teams Have to Be Special for Michigan to Win This Season?

A missed extra point and kick return coverage that gives up over 30 yards per return can individually be detrimental to your team's success.

By playing Western Michigan, Michigan was able to get away with some of these issues without any major consequences.

But other Big Ten teams don't need any help moving the ball.

If Michigan does not fix their special teams, they are doomed to another miserable situation.

Brady Hoke knows that it's a third of the game, and that's why he keeps his best players out there for it.

Bottom line: take it from the coach, Michigan needs their special teams to be stellar to give them any shot in some of their games.

Special teams will have to be better than special for this Michigan squad to make any noise this season.

The Breakdown

Facts are facts.

Michigan isn't pre-season top 25 for multiple reasons:

A new coach, a new offensive system, a new defensive system, a transitional year as some would call it.

But Athletic Director Dave Brandon (pictured above) brought in Brady Hoke for that exact reason: Hoke doesn't like to face those kinds of facts.

His one-year plan basically sets out his goals for the season.

Anything less than a Big Ten championship and they have failed.

Well coach, it's a good thing the season is 12 games long, you have lots to work on before you can call yourselves true contenders.

More offensive firepower, tighter coverage defensively, and get more pressure on that quarterback please!

Oh, and the special teams can't just be special, they have to be stellar.

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