The Michigan Wolverines picked up their second blowout victory to start the season, cruising past UCF for the easy 51-14 win. While the game was basically just that of a glorified practice, there are are a few major takeaways we can use moving forward. Here are three things we learned about Michigan in this game:
1) Wilton Speight might actually be pretty good
It'd be foolish to take a good performance against an inferior team like UCF and expect a player to keep that up for the rest of the season, but Speight showed a lot of improvement in his second start. He drove the ball down the field on several occasions - an indication that he's much more confident in his decision making and in his offensive line - but he also never put the ball in harms way. The end result was a 312-yard, four-touchdown performance. If anything, this showed Speight can, and will, be more than a game manager this year.
2) Michigan doesn't have to run the ball!
Michigan's usual dominant rushing attack was anything but in this one. They had less than 120 yards as a team, and no single rusher had more than 38 yards - yet the Wolverines didn't struggle to move the ball. Along with Speight's performance, three receivers (Amara Darboh, Jake Butt and Jehu Chesson) each had over 80 yards receiving (Darboh had 111), showing the Michigan has dynamic weapons on the outside. That will help spread opposing defenses out, giving Michigan's talented running backs more room to run.
3) Defense needs to stay focused at all times
It's only nitpicking to try to find a real flaw from the game for Michigan, but if there's one to be had, it's that their defense needs to stay focused and solid at all times. The two touchdowns they gave up came on runs of 87 and 34 yards, which were allowed because of absolutely breakdowns by the defense. It's easy to chalk that up to his being a blowout, but similar lapses in future games could be the difference between a win and a loss.
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