Michigan Shines in 31-7 Win Over Western Michigan

Michigan quarterbacks Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson

They all laughed when Rich Rodriguez said he was going to play three quarterbacks, two of them true freshmen, against Western Michigan.

Many wrote off the Wolverines when the allegations of practice time violations broke earlier this week. No way, no how, could an inexperienced team that went 3-9 last season overcome all the distractions and the Wheel of Quarterbacks. Some even thought it really wouldn't have been an upset if Western Michigan won. The Wolverines had lost their past two home openers, after all.

Who's laughing now?

True to form, in Rodriguez's second season in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines looked like a completely different team in beating Western Michigan 31-7 on Saturday. Who led the way for Michigan? The two true freshman quarterbacks, Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson (both pictured).

Both found the end zone in the first quarter. Forcier threaded a pass to Junior Hemingway for a 30-yard touchdown, then Robinson got under center, turning a botched snap into a stunning 43-yard touchdown run which stirred echoes of Seneca Wallace's famous broken-field run against Texas Tech in 2002. Robinson, however, appears to have a gear that Wallace didn't.

The Michigan defense stymied the Broncos for most of the afternoon, holding them to a mere 39 yards rushing and keeping them off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter. Western Michigan's lone score was a thing of beauty, however, as quarterback Tim Hiller hit Juan Nunez for 73 yards, suggesting that there might still be some leaks in the Wolverine defense.

Small matter. Rich Rodriguez needed a convincing win to get everybody's minds back on the field, and he got it. It's only the first game, of course, but it sure looks like Michigan might be back. With much of the rest of the Big Ten looking squishy and tentative today, the Wolverines could make some noise this season.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-05-2009 @ 11:30PM

Jim said...

Looks like all that mandatory voluntary practice time is paying off.

9-06-2009 @ 10:06AM

rlbrooks726 said...

In the past, Michigan won and lost with class. With the arrival of Rich Rodriguez, Michigan simply has no class. According to current and former players, Rich Rodriguez cheats. According to West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez is not a man of his word and didn't fulfill a contract which he signed. If some allegations are true, Rich also really likes cheerleaders...as in really, really, likes cheerleaders. Did Michigan even check this guy's background prior to hiring him?

9-06-2009 @ 1:07PM

Dumbass said...

Who doent like cheerleaders?

9-07-2009 @ 8:29AM

hafttwo said...

i like cheerleaders, go blue

9-07-2009 @ 10:04AM

Darin said...

For all you haters like Jim and Rlbrooks726....go to your favorite teams posts and leave ours alone....I have a couple of diapers for you two Whaa Whaa's....you two are complete idiotic morons....( report that you two A$$wipes)

9-07-2009 @ 2:23PM

Mark May said...

I think Rich Rod is on the hot seat if he can't beat lowly ND this Saturday.

9-08-2009 @ 9:00AM

MB said...

Michigan fans think that this was a coming out party and if they beat ND next week they will be in the top 25. Since when do you get ranked for beating a lousy MAC team and then a team ranked #23. Would they really jump over MSU and a handfull of teams that actually went to bowl games last year and weren't ranked? Navy should be ranked ahead of them.

9-08-2009 @ 3:24PM

mayznblu said...

Rich Rod is getting a raise and contract extension if he beats the Irish Saturday.

9-08-2009 @ 11:14PM

what has navy done

9-09-2009 @ 9:27AM

John McCain said...

Navy goes to a bowl game every year. They nearly beat tOSU in the horseshoe last Saturday, which is more any UM team has done in the recent past. Oh yea, they also keep America safe so we can watch college football every Saturday.

9-09-2009 @ 7:44PM

Steve said...

I'm a big Michigan fan and still must say it's only one game but they sure looked better to me the timing of the offense seemed much better than last year. We'll see what happens with ND this weekend R.R. has been a winner where ever he's coached as for West Virginia crying about his leaving didn't they hire him away from somewhere else. We'll see how the season plays out.

9-11-2009 @ 5:48AM

John said...

Yes, RR was hired from somewhere else. However, he did not break a contract at that point.
As a WV fan, I've turned the corner on RR. I hope he does well, if only to beat that arrogant bastards from Columbus.