Michigan Football: Report Card Grades of the Wolverines' Win at Northwestern

The Michigan football team completed the first half of the 2011 season undefeated, untied and, to some, unappreciated.

When Brady Hoke took over as head coach, the battle cry was winning the Big Ten Championship.

Perhaps Wolverine fans took Hoke too literally. Do they really expect the Wolverines to accomplish that task in Hoke's first season?

Considering the type of football played in Ann Arbor the last few years, maybe the bar should be lowered just a bit.

I mean, here they are 6-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten, and the naysayers can only say, "Wait 'til they beat a real Big Ten team."

Well folks, Hoke's Wolverines finally get their chance Saturday when they travel up US-23 to Spartan Stadium. Michigan State, which has beaten Michigan the last three times, is one of the prototypical Big Ten teams Hoke plans to eventually resemble.

There are some some fans who haven't been quite that tough on the Wolverines.

They even figure Michigan earned some respect by coming from behind to beat Northwestern.

Let's see how the Wolverines graded out in their 42-24 victory. 

Quarterbacks

Throughout spring practice and into the fall, the coaching staff talked about limiting Denard Robinson's carries. The idea was to build a power running attack to complement Denard's running and passing.

It was definitely apparent against Northwestern that Michigan is still depending on Robinson to produce the majority of the offense. Without a good day from either of the backs, Robinson carried the ball 25 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw 26 passes with 17 receptions, two touchdowns and three interceptions.  

The three first-half picks helped Northwestern leave the field at halftime with a 24-14 lead. Robinson led the Wolverines on three second-half scoring drives, while backup Devin Gardner scored on the fourth. Gardner, who's finally getting some playing time, rambled into the end zone on a clever three-yard bootleg.

There was never any panic concerning the halftime deficit. Like the Notre Dame game, Michigan's players were confident Robinson would bring them back.

"We told Denard just stay calm," receiver Roy Roundtree told the press. "The next play is your best play, and we came out there and made some big plays." 

Grade: A-

Running Backs

Not only did Robinson throw a few errant passes in the first half, the running backs weren't getting any production. The combination of Fitzgerald Toussaint and Vincent Smith combined for only 28 yards on eight carries.

The second half wan't much better as Robinson again carried the load. For the entire game, Toussaint gained only 25 yards on 14 carries, Michael Shaw had six carries for 25 yards and Vincent Smith finished with eight yards on three carries.

An offense which features inconsistent passing and a quarterback who runs most of the time is quite familiar to Michigan State. We all remember the Paul Bunyan Trophy leaving town last season with the Spartans hardly breaking a sweat.

Grade: C 

Receivers

In 2010 Roy Roundtree was Michigan's leading receiver with 72 catches.

This season he has eight. 

To say this is a disappointment is definitely an understatement. But Roundtree caught three passes Saturday, one being a huge 57-yard grab to jumpstart Michigan's comeback in the third quarter.  

"Once I got up off the defender I rolled to the outside,' Roundtree said, "and as coach says, 'Make big plays,' and I went up there for the ball like Junior (Hemingway) did earlier."

Michigan's first touchdown, a nine-yard toss from Robinson to fifth-year senior Steve Watson, was Watson's first career reception.

Hemingway and Jeremy Gallon each had five receptions.

Grade: B  

Offensive Line

Some people judge an offensive line by the amount of sacks they give up. Sure Michigan's offensive line is fairly good a pass protection, but the elusiveness of Denard Robinson holds Michigan's sacks to a minimum.

The other grading method is how the line performs in the running game. That too is skewed, since Robinson can run a few blocks untouched during a Manhattan rush hour.

Another test for this offensive line is how it opens hole for its ball carriers.

Saturday, among running backs, Fitzgerald Toussaint was Michigan's leading rusher with 25 yards on 14 carries, Michael Shaw had six carries for 25 yards and Vincent Smith finished with eight yards on three carries.

Granted, Northwestern has a talented defensive front, but take a look what's ahead. Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska...

Grade: C

Defensive Line

There's no question the defensive front has been struggling this season. But maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel. Michigan's line was actually credited with a pair of sacks, a quarterback hurry and a tipped pass. 

Brady Hoke continues to encourage his defensive linemen. "I think our guys defensively all knew we could play better, we all knew we needed to get more bodies to the ball," Hoke said in his press conference. "I thought they did a nice job of coming off the football—Mike (Martin), Ryan (Van Bergen) and (Craig) Roh in there were fighting like heck—and Will Campbell, we're running some guys in there, he's good and keeps us fresh."

Grade: B-

Linebackers

Other than a few stretch option plays by backup quarterback Kain Colter, Michigan's linebacking crew did an excellent job containing Northwestern's running game. 

The Wildcats' longest run from scrimmage was 23 yards, and the total rushing output was 107.

Kenny Demens and Brandin Hawthorne played their usual fine games at linebacker. Add a pair of freshmen—Desmond Morgan and Jake Ryan—and you're beginning to see strength at the position, despite missing the contribution of Cam Gordon and Brandon Herron.

Grade: A-  

Secondary

The bad news is Dan Persa completed 32 passes. The good news is there was only one relatively long 39-yard play and no touchdowns. Thanks to some good coverage, Michigan was able to sack Persa four times.

One of the sacks came at a pivotal point in the game by safety Jordan Kovacs. With Michigan leading 35-24 midway through the final quarter, and Northwestern facing a 4th-and-5 at Michigan's 37, Kovacs was able to get to Persa, knocking his helmet off. The Wildcats screamed for a face mask penalty, but were only "rewarded" with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

At cornerback freshman Blake Countess again provided the Wolverines with solid minutes.

Countess, who played his high school football near Baltimore, was down to a few schools in his recruitment, when he learned Greg Mattison of the Baltimore Ravens was to be Michigan's new defensive coordinator. The connection was immediately made, and Michigan had a cornerback who would contribute immediately.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Horrors of 2010 began to seep through the woodwork as Branden Gibbons watched his only field goal attempt get blocked. Gibbons has actually been a pleasant surprise, considering his disappointing 2010.

This season Gibbons has connected on 4-of-6 field goal attempts, the longest from 38 yards.    

Matt Wile continues to show some improvement on kickoffs. With seven tries, he had three touchbacks, but one of his kicks went out of bounds.

Martavious Odoms ran a kickoff back 25 yards.

The Wolverines did a better job covering kickoffs, but Northwestern's lone punt return netted 20 yards.

Grade: B-

Coaching

Talk about halftime adjustments. Michigan this season has outscored its six opponents 114-21 in the second half. Coaches Hoke,  Borges and Mattison continue to produce the necessary potions during intermission.

Saturday's game at Northwestern was no exception. Robinson threw three interceptions in a listless first half which saw Michigan enter the locker room trailing by 10.

The second half was like a totally different game. Robinson was nearly flawless, completing seven of eight passes for 149 yards, as Michigan shutout Northwestern 28-0 after the break.

Roy Roundtree couldn't have said it better. 

"Guys always stay together," Roundtree spoke about the halftime experience. "Coach always says, 'Stay together as a team,' and we just went out there with energy. We never let down; we just went out there and played football."

Grade: A-

Intangibles

Had things evolved just a bit differently, the Michigan-Northwestern game could have been a battle between serious Heisman Trophy candidates.

Northwestern University actually started a Heisman campaign for Dan Persa back in August. Billboards began popping up in Chicago and near ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

But the Northwestern quarterback wasn't ready to answer the bell when the Wildcats opened the 2011 season. Persa, who suffered a season ending Achilles injury last year against Iowa, missed the team's last three games in 2010 and the first three in 2011.

Now that the Wildcats are 2-3, talk of the Heisman are gone, and the billboards have actually come down. "I was more disappointed that I couldn't play than that I couldn't go for the Heisman or whatever," Persa told ESPN. "Anything that gets people talking about Northwestern is good."

Michigan's Denard Robinson remains a legitimate Heisman contender thanks to the Wolverines' 6-0 start and despite not recording Heisman-like numbers this season. He still brought Michigan from behind to win both the Notre Dame and Northwestern games. Currently, oddsmakers place his Heisman chances at 5-1, behind Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson.

Grade: Incomplete 

• All Quotes attributed to Michigan coaches or players are from the Michigan Sports Network postgame show