Three Up/Three Down: Michigan Handles ECU In Season Opener

Michigan won its opener easily, but it didn't look how most thought it would.

Michigan was expected to win by 30 or more points against ECU and, for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what they did. The defense was solid all day and never let the Pirates into the end zone and the offense was pretty balanced and good enough to score almost at will all day long. In a season opener, you want to check a few boxes, which Michigan certainly did, but there is also plenty to work on heading into week two.

Three Up

JJ McCarthy is already razor sharp

It's just the first game of the season, but McCarthy looked like he had 10 games under his belt already. He was checking things at the line, making smart reads and putting the ball on the absolute money. He finished the day 26-of-30 for 280 yards and three touchdowns — all to Roman Wilson in his No. 1 jersey.

Roman Wilson worthy of the No. 1 jersey

Speaking of Wilson, he definitely looked at home in his new number. The No. 1 is reserved for absolute stud wide receivers at Michigan and that's exactly what Wilson was in the 2023 opener. The Hawaiian native finished the day with six catches for 78 yards and those above-mentioned three touchdowns.

Michigan's defense overall

With Jesse Minter pulling double duty as head coach and defensive coordinator, his unit was very strong. Key players Will Johnson and Rod Moore did not play and still the defense was able to pitch a shutout for all but three seconds of the game and keep ECU's offense in check for four quarters. When the dust settled, ECU had just 235 yards of total offense and a measly, meaningless three points on the scoreboard. Michigan didn't record a sack, and only forced one turnover, but they still made plays when necessary, stayed true to their assignments and got a big win for their coordinator-turned-head coach in week one.

Three Down

Running game was not dominant

Sure, Michigan won by a lot, but its bread and butter did not work against an ECU team that was supposed to be very outmatched. The Wolverines averaged just 4.7 yards per carry on the day and had just one rushing touchdown despite many attempts at getting in from short distance. 

Unimaginative playcalling

Everyone knows it's ECU and everyones knows Michigan is easily 1-0, but still...there are some things that just never change, apparently. Even with Jim Harbaugh suspended, today's approach was as if he was every person on the staff and on the field. With a speed and athleticism advantage at every position, Michigan seemed to limit itself and make ECU's job easier on at least two different possessions that ended very poorly for the Wolverines. On Michigan's first offensive possession of the game and again late in the third quarter, it looked like Kirk Campbell was operating with a Tecmo Bowl playbook. At the beginning of the game, it was straight give after straight give, which resulted in a three-and-out, and then in the third quarter, Michigan tried to punch it in from the goal line on four straight dives and ended up turning the ball over on downs (or a fumble). 

It's just one of those things, albeit in a relatively easy win. The offense is clearly trying to score a touchdown, so why not do some things to make it tougher on ECU? At times, when the coaches choose to pound it up the middle over and over again, it feels like they're not putting guys in the best position to succeed. Should Michigan get into the end zone against ECU on four straight gives? Yes. Are there seemingly easier and more efficient ways to try to score a touchdown when the defense is selling out against the run? Also yes.

James Turner's missed extra point

Ok, this is a minor bad blip in an easy win, but considering Jake Moody went 148-of-148 on extra points during his time at Michigan, it's not awesome. Turner redeemed himself later on by absolutely nailing a 50-yard field goal right before halftime, but people were worried about this area of the team taking a big step back after watching Moody kill it in Ann Arbor for so long and you just hope issues don't rear their head when it really counts.