Real Kato Blog: College Football Recap: Week 6

Michigan rallies to beat Northwestern; N.C. State holds off Central Michigan.

Michigan 42, Northwestern 24. Michigan started slowly in this game, thanks in large part to Denard throwing a three interceptions and the defense failing to properly defend the bubble screen. Michigan was down 24-14 at the half. But in the second half, when Denard settled down and Greg Mattison finally put someone over the slot receiver, Northwestern failed to score again and Michigan ended up running away with it.

It was a solid win, but there are still worrying signs. While I like that Al Borges is borrowing heavily from Rich Rodriguez's spread offense, I don't like that he doesn't seem to have installed the full suite of plays that are designed to complement each other: the H-back pulling to the backside to take out a scraping linebacker, the bubble screen to punish a cheating safety, and so on. He seems to be learning as he goes. The good thing is that he is willing to experiment, and he has brought a few wrinkles like counter pitches and speed option plays. Those are things that I was begging for RichRod to try last year. I'm hopeful that we're getting to the point where we have a coherent offense that has a counter-punch to every defensive adjustment.

On defense, we are still vulnerable on the edge. The center of the defensive front is solid, but we need more consistent play from the outside linebackers. It's a good thing that Jordan Kovacs has been spectacular this year because he's covering a lot of linebacker mistakes.

Michigan has another big rivalry game this Saturday, against Michigan State and their top-ranked defense. However, Michigan State has not faced an offense anywhere close to Michigan's caliber... and on the other side of the ball, I'm still not a believer in State's offensive line. I'll talk more about this game when I post my usual Friday preview.

Grades: Offense B+, Defense B. The first-half turnovers were almost inexcusable, but it's hard to fault 500+ yards and 42 points. On defense, the line didn't play well in the first half and we had trouble defending sweeps and bubble screens, but we got it corrected in the second half.

N.C. State 38, Central Michigan 24. Well, both teams managed to move the ball pretty well, but N.C. State was able to take advantage of five Chippewa turnovers. If not for that, I think State might have lost this game. The defense was shaky against the pass, as has been the pattern for much of the year. The offense looked better than it has most of the season, though 3.6 YPC rushing is still not getting the job done. Glennon is settling in to be a decent game manager, if not much of a playmaker. But who knows. With the defense getting healthier and Glennon finding some rhythm, maybe State scores a few upsets and finds a way to a bowl game.

Other Notable Games

#1 LSU blew out #17 Florida, 41-11. As of this week there are no Florida teams in the top 25. Aww.

#3 Oklahoma stomped #11 Texas, 55-17.

#8 Clemson beat Boston College 36-14. I only mention this game because while I think Clemson is the team to beat in the ACC, Clemson quarterback Tajih Boyd sustained a hip injury in the game and is questionable for this Saturday’s game against Maryland. Without Boyd, the future is cloudy for the Tigers.

#10 Arkansas beat #15 Auburn 38-14. Auburn is not the dominant team it was with Cam Newton, but its two losses have come against good teams; I think they should be favored to beat Florida this week.

#13 Georgia Tech held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat Maryland 21-16. GT is undefeated but has yet to face an elite team.

#14 Nebraska rallied to beat Ohio State 34-27. Ohio State fell apart after quarterback Braxton Miller sprained an ankle; Joe Bauserman came in and went 1-for-10 passing. Buckeye fans are not pleased… at this point, a 5-7 season is looking like a real possibility, even if their suspended players return late in the year. Meanwhile Nebraska’s once-vaunted defense still looks vulnerable.

#21 Virginia Tech beat Miami (FL) 38-35 in a wild game. Miami is now 0-2 in the ACC and 2-3 overall, and remember this is a team that beat Ohio State 24-6 early in the season.

Wake Forest beat #23 Florida State 35-30. Wake Forest is for real; their passing offense is pretty formidable (17th in the country at 303.8 yards per game). They’ve got a test this week as they face Virginia Tech, though.

#24 Texas A&M hung on to beat Texas Tech in a 45-40 shootout.

Purdue beat Minnesota 45-17. Minnesota is really, really bad.

Penn State beat Iowa in a 13-3 snoozer. I do think Penn State has a pretty decent defense, but the offense is a wreck. The upcoming game against Purdue is no gimme.

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