Scouting the Skunkbears | by Jay

Here's a pretty good report of the Michigan-NIU game from an Ohio State observer. A couple of bullet points.

When Michigan had the ball

It was a clinic, plain and simple. The Wolverines showed they could sustain long, punishing touchdown drives—14 plays for 74 yards and 13 plays for 70 yards. They showed they could score quickly—6 plays for 78 yards and a touchdown.

They also showed they could take advantage of the opposition shooting itself in the foot. NIU turned the ball over five times (more on that later), and Michigan capitalized. Up by 10 late in the first half, the Wolverines picked up a fumbled punt deep in the NIU end and scored a touchdown three plays later...

When Michigan’s defense was on the field

This needs to be prefaced by the fact that Michigan fans spent all off-season worrying about the fact that their team A) gave up some grueling, pounding drives by opponents last year and B) gave up a ton of big plays last year.

Northern Illinois’ first drive of the game went 86 yards in 16 plays, chewing up 6:48 of the clock, and ended with a field goal. Northern Illinois’ second drive of the game went 80 yards in 2 plays, including a 76-yard touchdown run. Yikes...

Good stuff. The whole thing's worth a read for the "outsider's" perspective on Meatchicken.