Wolverines Run All Over Eagles 45-17

This is the third in a series of Wolverine Custom Trophy Tournaments for the 2009 Season.  Each tournament will have 22 players on the field (just like a football game) and be set for 7 days (just like football).

Here are the Custom Trophies for this tournament:

1st Place:

2nd Place:

3rd Place:

Just a week after Tate Forcier cemented his status as the Michigan football team’s poster boy in a comeback win over Notre Dame, T-shirts boasting “May The Forcier Be With You” began to show up in the Big House.

In the student section, an enormous sign stating “We Love Tate!” appeared Saturday against Eastern Michigan, announcing the fans’ unbridled adoration for the youngster.

And with highlights galore on ESPN and a Sports Illustrated cover story, it was generally assumed that the Wolverines’ future rested squarely on his shoulders.

Hold on.

Just as Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez repeatedly reminds himself that Forcier is still a freshman, everyone in Michigan Stadium needs to be reminded that Rodriguez’s offense is based around a bruising ground game.

That was more apparent than ever on Saturday, with the sluggish defense giving up 128 rushing yards and Forcier’s less-than-stellar 7-of-13, 68-yard performance. Forcier, who until Saturday had looked nearly unstoppable, had a few freshman miscues but was bailed out by the relentless run support, which was too much for the Eagles in Michigan's 45-17 romp.

With the win, Michigan (3-0) matched its win total from last year's disastrous 3-9 campaign.

“I think, going into the Big Ten season, it’s a big momentum-booster,” sophomore running back Mike Shaw said. “And it’s also letting the Big Ten know, ‘Hey, don’t just worry about the freshman quarterback. We got a running game that can put up 350 yards.’ ”

Senior Brandon Minor, who is still nursing an ankle injury, took limited carries against Eastern Michigan. But the Wolverines pounded the ball with Carlos Brown. Then Minor. Then Mike Shaw, Denard Robinson, Vincent Smith and Michael Cox. Even wide receiver Martavious Odoms got into the fun, taking an end-around reverse in for a 13-yard touchdown.

It didn’t matter who carried the ball — the Eagles couldn’t slow any of them down.

“We wanted to try to get as many guys in as we could,” Michigan quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said. “You know, get their feet wet, and get them some playing time. That’s important. We think we have a great stable of tailbacks, and we’re deep.”

All told, Michigan posted 380 yards on the ground — the most in the Rich Rodriguez era — and eight players registered at least one double-digit gainer. The Wolverines averaged an outstanding 9.7 yards per rush which was boosted by Carlos Brown’s 90-yard scamper, the third-longest rushing play in Michigan football history.

And that’s exactly how the Wolverines planned it.

“We wanted to come in and establish the run from the beginning,” sophomore wideout Darryl Stonum said. “We studied a lot of film and we saw that they left the middle of the field wide open, so that’s where all our big runs came from. We just wanted to gash the middle of the field, and that’s what we did today.”

The Eagles (0-3) have been weak against the run all season, giving up 300 yards on the ground to triple-option heavy Army in an opening-week loss.

The offensive line took advantage, opening large gaps all game for the running backs to get to the second level. Once they were there, the Eagles had no answer.

“Some of our fast guys did a great job of hitting it north and south, pulled away from defenders and showed some speed, which was nice to see,” Rodriguez said. “But we weren't particularly sharp throwing the ball, so it was a good thing we could run.”

Through three games, the Wolverines are the No. 1 rushing offense in the Big Ten, averaging more than 270 yards a game. That will give opponents nightmares as conference play begins next week.

“We love it,” said Shaw who posted 57 yards and a touchdown. “When (Brown) is in there, we’re cheering him on, and then he comes to the sideline and tells us what the defense is doing. Then when it’s our time to go, we do what we can do. And we just keep rotating and keep each other fresh.”