Your comprehensive guide to our coverage of Michigan's 31-3 win against Eastern Michigan
Kevin Koger tosses the ball to the official while he and Kelvin Grady celebrate his touchdown reception, which gave Michigan a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter of a 31-3 win over Eastern Michigan.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
For one quarter, at least, the Battle of Washtenaw County had a little drama.
Visiting Eastern Michigan made things interesting early, moving the ball effectively for a quarter and forcing Michigan into three 3-and-out possessions. But the Wolverines eventually stiffened up on defense and got offense from the least surprising source in a 31-3 win on Saturday in Michigan Stadium.
"I've said it all along, Denard Robinson is special in my opinion," Eastern Michigan coach Ron English said. "Any team is going to have trouble tackling him one-on-one."
Indeed. Robinson rushed 26 times for 198 yards and a touchdown and added TD throws to Kevin Koger and Drew Dileo.
AnnArbor.com had the game covered from pre-game tailgating to post-game press conferences. Here's a roundup of what you can find on our site:
Post-Game Coverage
• Our main game story: After another slow start, Denard Robinson takes over and pushes Michigan to 31-3 win.
• Kyle Meinke's column: Robinson showing to be less of a pro-style quarterback than expected.
• Our Michigan notebook opens with a note about the rise of safety Thomas Gordon, who had an interception and fumble recovery on Saturday. Plus lots more juicy stuff.
• Our EMU notebook leads with coach Ron English being irked about missed opportunities early in the game. And more.
• Junior Vincent Smith entered the lead running back debate after gaining 118 yards for the Wolverines.
• Our top game balls went to Denard Robinson, Vincent Smith and Jeremy Gallon.
• Photo gallery: Our photo staff kicked out dozens of cool images from the game.
• Boxscore
• The weekly police blotter: 4 arrests and 25 ejections from Michigan Stadium.
In-Game Coverage
• Jim Knight strung together live updates throughout the game. Read them here.
• Check out the transcript from our live chat.
• Michigan honored Meryl Davis and Charlie White during the game. The U-M students are the first Americans to win world gold medals in ice dance.
Pre-Game Coverage
• Photographer Joseph Tobianski hit the pre-game tailgate scene and captured some fun images for a photo gallery.
• We asked you to predict the game, and a majority (53%) nailed it by selecting "Michigan wins by 21 to 29 points."
More Scores
Comments
fjord
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 12:46 p.m.
Can we stop having "mega guides" to things? I cringe every time I see that phrase. Don't take the feature away, just please call it something, ANYTHING else. Thanks.
whatsupwithMI
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 10:13 p.m.
"Megagame 2.0" "How good ARE we, anyway? MegaDebate 2.0... log in now" other ideas?
Jim Nazium
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 3:57 a.m.
An Open Letter to Coach Hoke: Tell Al that if he runs Denard 3 times in a row, and he gets popped hard enough for me to see my water shake in my glass 2 out of those three times, he is fired. The guy is not a video game and he will get hurt, so take it easy on him.. geesh! Maybe it's too early to tell what Denard's bread and butter pass plays are that we can resort to when he struggles with his medium to deep passes, but dang, you've got to have a few by now. Maybe mix in some more motion to open things up a bit more and look for the quick slant routes. We cannot afford to start out cold any more this season or we may be in trouble. - end of rant.. P.S Overall, great job and keep up the good work! Go Blue!!!
Dude
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 2:55 a.m.
I could have sworn Hoke and Borges have been saying they don't want to run Denard as much as he ran last year because they don't want him to get beat up. 26 carries today. Through 3 games, he's actually carrying the ball MORE this year as a percentage of the offensive snaps than he was last year through 3 games. I don't get it.
maizenbluedoc
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 3:45 p.m.
I think it is rather simplistic; Denard is the best running attack they have. Where is Thomas Rawls? If Michigan expects to win in the Big Ten, they MUST establish a running game sans DR almost every play.
Dude
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 1:04 p.m.
Am I imagining things, or did Vincent Smith not have 118 yards on 9 carries? What exactly are you expecting when you say "nobody steps up"?
DennisP
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 11:18 a.m.
It's a good plan...for next year. They don't have the running backs to maintain a sustained ground attack. Hoke said before the season his goal every year, in fairness to the players each season, is to win. If he's going to do that this year and not resort to making it a "teaching and learning" year, he and Borges need to game plan Denard as their principal offensive weapon. That's what's happening anyway. At least by planning for it, they stand a better chance of protecting him with proper blocking formations until he busts loose. Also, Denard is a better passer when he's under the gun. He's the kind of QB that can't dwell on his play but does better improvising. If Denard were a musician, he'd have to be a jazz player and never a classical performer.
DonAZ
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 3:56 a.m.
They start each game with the intent of balancing the attack. Nobody steps up; the offense doesn't move. They fall back and rely on Denard. That's in contrast to last year when it was Denard from the start with no intent to balance away as long as Denard was producing. An offense based on just Denard can't succeed. So Hoke's plan is correct. Just have to get the right people to excel.
azwolverine
Sun, Sep 18, 2011 : 2:48 a.m.
SDSU blew out an improving Washington St. team tonight and gained 500 yards of total offense with great balance. Michigan can't overlook them or afford a slow start like they've been having...or it could be a very tough game.