WMU Did It! Upset U of M! - arotwlv's Blog

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WMU Did It! Upset U of M!

Posted on September 1, 2011 at 02:13 PM.

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Ann Arbor - It looked like it was going to be Michigan s game from the get go. Michigan s new head coach Brady Hoke stressed the importance of defense all off-season. WMU was bringing in new head coach Scott Simmons after firing Bill Cubit after 6 mediocre years. Scott Simmons was the assistant quarterback coach at his alma matter and first opponent; the Michigan Wolverines.

Early on Michigan showed their new found love for playing defense. The second play of the game was a fumble that went for 6 for Michigan. New WMU head coach Scott Simmons saw something different so he threw out the challenge flag. This was a risky call for the second play of the game, but here was his answer to it.

�The gameplan for that game was if we wanted to stay in this game that we could not, could not lose the turnover game. Also the first drive is one of the most important because it sets the tempo for the game and builds or destroys confidence for the whole game. That one play could have doomed us from the start for that it was very early in the game and could have put losing thoughts in our player s heads. We could not afford that against such a good team.�

Luckily for him, the call was overturned and his team was able to continue their first possession. With that his team took the momentum and was able to score a 4 yard rushing TD from sophomore RB Brain Fields. Now it was Michigan s turn on offense. Michigan had a top 5 offense in most offensive categories last year thanks to most of it coming from Heisman finalist QB Denard Robinson.

Early on Michigan had troubles on offense. Their first 2 drives ended with 3 and outs. On WMU s next possession Junior QB Alex Carder threw a pick after driving to Michigan s 34 yard line. This was a big set back for Western. Michigan was able to drive and got a 39 yard TD pass from Denard to WR Junior Hemingway. The First Quarter ended with a 7-7 tie. The second quarter was not really exciting for both sides. The only score was a 40 yard field goal from WMU kicker John Potter with 11 seconds left in the half.

The first half ended with a 10-7 Western Michigan Bronco lead. This was an unexpected first half for both sides. People knew the Wolverines would have some questions for offense, but only 7 points for a team that was the 3rd best scoring offense in the nation was not expected. WMU s QB Alex Carder has high expectations for his season but threw 2 early picks without any TDs in the first half after going throwing 30 TDs to only 12 INTs.

The second half started off well for the University of Michigan. On a 1 minute and 33 second drive they were able to score a 1 yard TD run from Senior Stephen Hopkins. Hopkins has battled injuries all his career after coming in as a highly touted recruit. Little did people know that it was all downhill for the great University of Michigan. Western Michigan scored 2 Rushing TDs in the 3rd quarter. The first was a monstrous 62 yard run from Brian Fields. The second was from Tevin Drake after a long drive that ended with a 1 yard TD run. The end of the 3rd quarter was 24-14 lead from the small school Western Michigan Broncos.

The 4th quarter didn�t start off any better for the Wolverines. WMU was able to score another 1 yard TD run from Tevin Drake putting the Broncos up 31-14. This gave Tevin Drake his 2nd rushing TD for the game. Michigan was only able to answer back with a 38 yard field goal that almost got blocked. The last score came from Brian Fields of WMU on a 3 yard TD run that gave him also a 3 rushing TD game.

The last 2 plays for Michigan were 2 sacks. That was not the way the mighty University of Michigan wanted to start their first game under new head coach Brady Hoke. This was the perfect game for new WMU head coach Scott Simmons. It was Westerns first win ever against powerhouse Michigan. This was only the second loss all-time for U of M against a MAC opponent. The last was in 2007 against Toledo in one of Michigan s worst years ever.

The stars for the game were the 2 running back for Western Michigan. They combined to run for 215 yards and 5 rushing TDs. The defense was an all around effort that resulted in 3 team sacks, 1 INT and 1 forced fumble that was recovered. For Michigan RB Stephen Hopkins had the best game with 99 yards on 17 attempts and 1 TD run.

After the game head coach Scott Simmons had these words to say to reporters. �This was a huge win for this team and program. We finally were able to beat a powerhouse. We hope to take this big win and carry it throughout the season. The big game for us is of course against the wretched Central Michigan Chippawas. We will not stop there though, this season will be a failure to me if we do not win the Mac title after all these years.�

Also being asked on what his plans were for when his 2 year contract was up he answered with this. �It is only the first game of the season. I am not looking that far yet. The time will come but it is not now. Our best impact players are only Juniors and Sophmores which means that this team is only going to get even better.� Simmons is a Michigan Alumni so it is expected that his dream job is there.

Pt. 1: http://www.easports.com/dynasty?_use...&sid=0&wknum=0
Pt. 2: http://www.easports.com/dynasty?_use...&sid=0&wknum=0