Video: Highlights Of Michigan's Win Over UConn

HD highlights from parkinggod:

Extensive highlights from WolverineHistorian (part one):

Part two:

Michigan Wins Over UConn, 30-10

Ann Arbor, MI (Sports Network) – Denard Robinson totaled 383 yards and two touchdowns as the Michigan Wolverines bested the Connecticut Huskies, 30-10, at Michigan Stadium.

Robinson ran for 197 yards and a score on 29 carries to establish a new single-game rushing record for a Michigan quarterback. He was also 19-of-22 through the air for 186 yards and a touchdown. Vincent Smith ran for a touchdown and caught another for the Wolverines (1-0), who are coming off back-to-back losing campaigns under head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Zach Frazer hit on 18-of-37 pass attempts for 205 yards for the Huskies (0-1), while Jordan Todman picked up 105 yards and a score on 20 carries.

The Wolverines opened the scoring at the 7:33 mark of the first quarter when Smith dashed 12 yards for a touchdown to conclude a 14-play, 96-yard drive.

Richardson’s 32-yard burst at the 1:27 mark gave Michigan a 14-0 lead after one period,

The hosts extended their lead to 21-0 on Michael Shaw’s 3-yard scamper with 9:12 left in the first half.

Connecticut picked up its first points of the afternoon when Dave Teggart booted a 32-yard field goal with 4:21 left until intermission.

The Huskies drew closer when Todman’s two-yard run made it a 21-10 game just 17 seconds before halftime.

Brendan Gibbons provided the first points of the second half for Michigan on a 24-yard field goal with 6:55 left in the third period.

The Wolverines extended their lead 30-10 when Robinson hit Smith with what turned into an 11-yard scoring toss with 13:07 left in the game.

Michigan generated 473 yards in total offense and averaged 5.7 yards per offensive snap,

The game marked the official debut of the newly refurbished Michigan Stadium. A record crowd of 113,090 was on hand. The Big House is once again the largest college football stadium in the country with a listed capacity of 109,901.

The UConn Blog: 'This Was An Absolute Disaster'

Just in case you were wondering how Saturday’s 30-10 Michigan victory over Connecticut was viewed by Huskies fans, The UConn Blog had some harsh words for their team’s performance.

Calling the game "an absolute disaster" for the Huskies, Kevin Meachem directed most of his wrath toward coach Randy Edsall:

Randy Edsall did not have his team ready to play today. Flat out. I have no idea whether Michigan is a top 15 or top 25 team, but they damn sure looked like one today.

Considering many observers predicted a UConn victory at Michigan Stadium, the final result had to be all the more disappointing for those hoping for one of the biggest wins in Huskies football history.

Denard Robinson Rushes For School Record 197 Yards

The original plan for Michigan on Saturday versus Connecticut was for Denard Robinson to start, with Devin Gardner and Tate Forcier to see time later in the game. Robinson, however, played so well that the Wolverines’ other quarterbacks barely saw the field.

The sophomore from Florida rushed for a school-record 197 yards in Michigan’s 30-10 victory over the Huskies. Robinson gained the total on 29 carries, also running for a touchdown.

But everyone knew Robinson could run. How he passes will be the determining factor in the ultimate success of the Michigan offense. And Robinson didn’t disappoint there, making throws on time and with accuracy. Overall, he completed 19-of-22 passes for 186 yards and another touchdown.

[Editor's Note: Stats were edited since original publication.]

Record Crowd Of 113,090 For Michigan's Season Opener

What a way to open the newly renovated Michigan Stadium.

A record crowd of 113,090 cut the ribbon on the expanded stadium, witnessing the Wolverines’ 30-10 victory over the Connecticut Huskies.

The 113,090 is the largest gathering of fans to watch a football game, college or pro, anywhere in the world.

Report: Denard Robinson Expected To Start

Via Joe Schad, Heather Cox is reporting that Denard Robinson is expected to start today's game against UConn. Cox's report also includes something interesting about what the depth chart behind Robinson may look like.

Heather Cox: Denard Robinson expected to start, D. Gardner then T. Forcier third

Robinson starting would come as no surprise, but Gardner being ahead of Forcier would be one in my mind. While Forcier did go through the whole no wings on his helmet thing, suggesting he was in the doghouse, I would think experience would be preferred over putting a true freshman into the game if Robinson has to come out. Then again, with the way Rich Rodriguez has talked up Gardner's talent, perhaps he has just passed Forcier by for what he can do on the field.

Michigan Vs. UConn Preview

(From The Sports Network)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Michigan Stadium (109,901) -- Ann Arbor, Michigan. Television:ABC/ESPN2. Home Record: UConn 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Away Record: UConn 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Neutral Record: UConn 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Conference Record: UConn 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: This could be the make or break season for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez, and he hopes his Wolverines can get things started with a win over the Connecticut Huskies in this weekend's opener for both programs at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

Entering his third season in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez is clearly on the hot seat, as he has failed to take Michigan to a bowl game in any of the prior two campaigns. Following a historically bad 2008 campaign, the Wolverines had no place to go up but up in 2009. Things certainly got started off well with a 4-0 beginning, but that was all forgotten about by season's end. Michigan dropped its final five games of the campaign to finish 5-7 and an embarrassing 1-7 in the Big Ten. Expectation are always high in Ann Arbor, and Rodriguez will certainly be under a microscope in 2010.

UConn meanwhile, has had good success under head coach Randy Edsall, who is highly respected around the nation. Edsall had a difficult task last season, but showed his character and coaching ability when all was said and done. On October 18th, starting cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death on the school's campus, leaving Edsall and his players heartbroken. Three straight tough defeats by a grand total of 10 points followed the stabbing and left the Huskies even more shaken. However, Edsall found a way to rally the troops, as UConn won its final four games, including a 20-7 victory in the Papajohns.com Bowl, to finish a remarkable 8-5. A wealth of experience returns from last year's resilient squad, giving Edsall and UConn a shot at a double-digit win campaign in 2010.

This is the first-ever meeting between UConn and Michigan on the gridiron.

Quarterback Zach Frazer missed part of last season after a suffering a knee injury, but returned for UConn's impressive stretch run, displaying the same resiliency as the rest of his team. He now enters the campaign as the unquestioned starter and is set to build off the strong finish.

Frazer's success should also help UConn become a bit more balanced, as the Huskies have been long known as a run-oriented team. Speaking of which, Jordan Todman returns to the backfield and will be the primary ball-carrier after splitting time with Andre Dixon last season. He ran for 1,188 yards and 14 scores a year ago and is one of the top returning backs around.

The offensive line, which helped pave the way for 170.7 ypg on the ground last season, is loaded with four returning starters, so expect Todman to find plenty of room to run.

The Huskies also return a good deal of experience on defense, and the linebacking corps figures to be the strength of this unit, which allowed just 23.6 ppg in '09. Lawrence Wilson leads the way after recording an eye-popping 140 tackles, to go with five sacks, and he will be joined by Scott Lutrus, who had 69 stops in an injury-plagued season.

Up front, Lindsey Witten and his 11.5 sacks will be missed, but there is a wealth of athleticism in place. Sophomore end Jesse Joseph posted 38 stops and 2.5 sacks last season and he has the skill set to pressure the quarterback consistently.

The secondary, however, is the biggest concern for the Huskies after this group allowed 17 passing touchdowns, including many late in games, in '09. Corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson (40 tackles) and safety Jerome Junior (48 stops) both performed well as freshman last season and their return does give hope for improvement in the secondary.

Michigan has three options at quarterback in freshman Devin Gardner and sophomores Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson, but it's not clear as to who Rodriguez favors. Forcier (2,050 yards, 13 TDs, 10 INTs) and Robinson (351 rushing yards, five rushing TDs) were involved in a two-man rotation last year, so they obviously have the most experience and best chance of starting.

As for the receivers, there is plenty of young talent to go around, with the main threat being sophomore Roy Roundtree, who led the club with 32 receptions, 434 yards and three scores last season.

Leading rushers Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown are gone, opening the door for redshirt sophomore Mike Cox and incoming freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint. Sophomore Vincent Smith averaged 5.8 ypc as a freshman, but isn't fully recovered from ACL surgery or he would be the primary candidate to carry the load.

Michigan gave up a school-worst 393.3 ypg last season and now must improve after losing its three best defenders. The Wolverines plan to run a 3-3-5 set to help exploit the team's speed, as they seek a turnaround on this side of the ball.

Up front, Michigan appears to be in pretty good shape thanks to the return of nose tackle Mike Martin and hybrid defensive end/tackle Ryan Van Bergen. Martin finished with 51 tackles and 8.5 TFLs last season, while Van Bergen logged 40 stops and five sacks.

The Wolverines have plenty of experience returning at linebacker in Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton, whom combined for 135 stops a year ago. Craig Roh should also play a bigger role after a good rookie campaign that saw him make 37 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss.

The secondary was torched for big plays last season and there doesn't appear much reason for optimism with mostly freshman and sophomores filling up this group.

Michigan may appear as the favorite, but that is mostly because of its name and the fact the game is being played in Ann Arbor. The Huskies though, are the more talented team and their ability to run the ball and play solid defense should give them the win this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Connecticut 24, Michigan 20

Saturday, September 4th, 3:30 p.m. (et)

Michigan Plans Friday Pep Rally

Press release from the Michigan athletic department:

The University of Michigan football team will host a preseason pep rally this Friday (Sept. 3) at the Diag on central campus, just hours before the 2010 season kicks off against Connecticut inside the newly renovated Michigan Stadium. The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 6 p.m. and last approximately one hour.

Featured speakers will include head coach Rich Rodriguez, director of athletics Dave Brandon, and season captains Stephen Schilling and Mark Moundros. In addition, the Michigan cheer and dance teams will be on hand to perform.

Michigan begins its 131st season of football on Saturday (Sept. 4), when it hosts Connecticut in the Michigan Stadium Rededication game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:36 p.m. and the game will be televised to a national audience on ABC.

In addition to the pep rally, Michigan has also put together a number of special events for Saturday, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a fanfest.

Michigan Releases Injury Report For UConn Game

Michigan's injury report was made public on Thursday night. Four total players are on the report, three of which are out. Here's a full look:

Out: RB Fitzgerald Toussaint (knee), CB Troy Woolfolk (ankle), S Jared Van Slyke (clavicle)

Questionable: WR Junior Hemingway (hamstring)

Hemingway is the only unexpected player on the report. Then again, considering how much he has been banged up during his career, it shouldn't be too surprising that he is hurt again.

Michigan Planning Many Pre-Kickoff Festivities For Saturday

The first game of the college football season is always a big deal, especially for Michigan. This year, however, it is an even bigger deal because the season opener is going to be the first game played in the "new" Michigan Stadium. Almost three years of construction are in the books, and Saturday will be the first time a game is played with all of the luxury suites and club seats and the new press box up and running. It will also be the first game played on the new FieldTurf that was installed this summer.

While everybody will be focused on Michigan vs. UConn come 3:30 p.m., in the half-hour or so leading up to kickoff there will be quite a scene in Michigan Stadium. Here is a rundown of the planned festivities, via MVictors:

• Video piece on the Stadium project
• Video piece on Brock Mealer
• Ribbon cutting (with Bill Martin, Dave Brandon, the Regents)
• Brock Mealer will lead the team out, walk under the banner.  The team will follow.
• Looks like two flyovers (sounds like MGoShoe has it right.) 
• TBD – but possibly some type of pyrotechnics(!)?
• There will also be set video pieces throughout the game

It sounds like the pre-kickoff spectacular will be divided up into a few phases. The first is commemorating the "new" Big House by having a rededication ceremony, which will reportedly include a flyover. Next will be the band's usual pre-game show. Then, Brock Mealer, who couldn't even walk following a car accident in 2007 that took the lives of his father and his brother's girlfriend, will lead the team out of the tunnel. Many may be unaware of this whole story, but for those who have followed it, the scene will be quite emotional.

After Mealer leads the team onto the field, another flyover will happen during the national anthem and then it will be time for football. Kickoff is the moment everybody is counting down to, but the pre-game festivities will definitely add to the game day experience on Saturday.

Michael Shaw Eligible And Ready To Play

While the rumors about Tate Forcier's academic eligibility were unfounded, that was not the case with running back Michael Shaw. At the very beginning of camp, word started to trickle out about his eligibility being in question due to academic reasons, and when Rich Rodriguez was asked about him, the response was basically that it was a wait-and-see situation. To say the least, Rodriguez's response didn't sound all that promising.

Luckily, whatever Shaw had to do to ensure he was eligible for the 2010 season has been done, as Rodriguez confirmed this week that the junior running back has been cleared to play and will be on the field against UConn.

"Mike is good to go," Rodriguez said Wednesday during a teleconference. "He did what he had to do with his summer class. He's finished with all his finals. He's full participation and will be ready to go on Saturday."

Shaw is competing with Vincent Smith for the starting running back job. A starter has not been named yet, but both Shaw and Smith will likely see a lot of playing time on Saturday.

Fitzgerald Toussaint Doubtful For Saturday

Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint will likely be sidelined on Saturday because of a knee injury.

“Fitz does not look like he’ll be able to go,” Rodriguez said. “He’s still dealing with the knee a little bit. Hopefully with a few more days rest he’ll be ready for next week (at Notre Dame), but he’s doubtful for Saturday.

Toussaint was fourth on the depth chart, so this isn't a huge blow by any means. It would be nice to have him as added depth in case another running back goes down or simply to mix things up a bit, but Michigan will get by without him for sure.

Latest Tate Forcier Rumors Nothing But Nonsense

Tate Forcier burst on the scene last year after leading Michigan to a 4-0 start. He was the big man on campus and could seemingly do no wrong after leading Michigan to thrilling wins over Notre Dame and Indiana, giving all fans hope that they would see more of the same in the future.

Following the Indiana game, Forcier's health started to go downhill, as did Michigan's season. Ever since Forcier has had a pretty rough go of it, struggling on the field and being the focus of various rumors off the field. For example, in the final weeks of the season, the hot rumor was that Forcier was thinking about transferring. Then, earlier this month after the whole no wings on his helmet firestorm, more rumors emerged about Forcier possibly leaving the team.

All of those transfer rumors eventually died down and turned out to be bunk, but a rumor of a different sort emerged in the last few days. Specifically, some chatter developed over Forcier's status academically speaking. The rumor was that he had too many incompletes on his transcript, making him ineligible for the upcoming season. From the very beginning the rumor seemed untrue, but since you never know with these things, it was good to get confirmation from Rich Rodriguez that the rumor was indeed false.

Rodriguez on latest Forcier rumors: "He's cleared and eligible to play"

Although Forcier has taken a beating in the press and from many fans over his supposed lack of work ethic this summer, he is still in the mix for the starting job at quarterback. Even if he doesn't start, it is expected that he will play against UConn at some point, so I would be surprised if we don't see No. 5 on the field this Saturday.

Matt Millen Will Provide Color Commentary For Michigan-UConn Game

Detroit Lions fans may want to plug their ears if they plan on watching the ABC/ESPN2 telecast of the Michigan-UConn game on Saturday. Via MGoblog.com:

For those of us who will be watching the game from our homes/bars/jails, the Michigan/UConn game will be covered by Sean Mcdonough and local hero Matt Millen on ABC/ESPN2. Heather Cox is on the sideline, so at least you have that going for you.

Millen has broadcast a few Michigan games before, so watch some old game tapes to prepare yourself.

Michigan Releases Depth Chart For UConn Game

Michigan's depth chart for the UConn game was made public earlier today. Some things, such as who is the starting quarterback, won't be determined until later in the week and likely won't be made public until Saturday, but what we know right now can be found below. (For UConn's depth chart, go here.)

Rich Rodriguez: Devin Gardner Will Probably Not Redshirt

Ever since Devin Gardner stepped foot on campus at the beginning of the year, the hope from fans has been that he would spend the 2010 season redshirting. That's not because fans didn't want to see him on the field or anything, but rather they wanted Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson to be able to hold down the quarterback position this year. Also, a redshirt would give Gardner some separation from Forcier and Robinson eligibility-wise, giving Michigan an extra year with No. 7 after the other two QBs graduate.

While the plan of redshirting Gardner sounded nice, Rich Rodriguez has a different plan for the true freshman quarterback: playing him.

Rich Rodriguez says all three QBs may not play in opener, but can see all three playing during the year. Devin will probably not redshirt.

The possibility of Gardner playing, to me, has more to do with his talent than anything else. I still expect Robinson to be the starter this week, and it's likely that Forcier will get some playing time as well. For Gardner to see the field, though, it will be because he's too talented to not play considering Michigan has two serviceable quarterbacks in Robinson and Forcier.

While I would still prefer that Gardner redshirt just so Michigan can get another year out of him, if he's talented enough to play now, then he should see the field if a situation presents itself where he is needed. It's unclear right now if that situation will be an injury, a package to mix up the offense or just letting him take the reins as the starter, but in Rich Rodriguez's eyes, Gardner is too talented to not play at some point this season.

Michigan Vs. UConn: Game Week Is Here!

The first game week of the 2010 season has finally arrived. After months and months of waiting for football season to start, we are now just five days away from kickoff and the rededication of Michigan Stadium. Oh, what a wonderful time it is!

Here is the skinny on what you need to know for Saturday's game between Michigan and UConn:

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
• Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC locally, ESPN2 nationally
• Radio: Michigan Sports Network/Sirius Ch. 125/XM Ch. 102
• Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Stadium: Michigan Stadium

During the lead-up to Michigan's season-opening game, check back here for updates on the latest news involving the Wolverines and their opponent, the UConn Huskies.