The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL made mistakes against Utah, but we had to come out and make sure we made a great statement." Smith, who had a career-high 126 yards and three touchdowns, de- serves plenty of credit for the success of the rushing attack against the Bea- vers, establishing a physical platform while keeping the OSU linebackers off-balance. "I think his problem against Utah is he wanted to run up in there and didn't have patience," TheWolver- ine.com analyst Ron Simpkins said. "He was coached up, and we saw a number of times against Oregon State where he bounced it outside. "He doesn't have the speed to run laterally but if he can take it outside the tackle when there's a good oppor- tunity, and now he's taking on an out- side linebacker or a safety before help arrives, that's a matchup he will win, and I think he saw that a few times. "And when you go outside a few times then it really gives the line- backers fits because they can't cheat anymore. They can't go inside auto- matically. They have to hesitate for just a split-second and now the holes between the tackles stay open a little bit longer, and now you've got a line- backer corps on its heels, and if you watch our second half, you really saw that. You saw some of our other backs benefit from that because the lineback- ers weren't crashing down anymore. "They were waiting to see what our ball carriers were going to do, and that allowed our offensive line to block three or four defenders with five and really create that push. "So I give De'Veon Smith a lot of credit for helping us to establish the running game." If Smith earns kudos for week two, redshirt sophomore Ty Isaac re- ceived it for week three, rushing for 114 yards and a score on just eight attempts (14.2-yard average). "As far as contributing, it feels good," said Isaac, who sat out last season after transferring from Southern Cal. "I've been here for a year without playing, doing a lot of practice squad stuff. I know that stuff helps the team, but it really feels a lot better when you can put it on the scoreboard and help your team win." MICHIGAN STADIUM'S CAPACITY CONSTANTLY EVOLVING When Michigan announced before the season that The Big House had shrunk to meet federally mandated requirements for handicap patrons, it marked the second time in the sta- dium's storied history that the capac- ity at Stadium & Main had decreased (see chart). Michigan Stadium opened in 1927 with a capacity of 72,000, but only 17,483 paying customers showed up for the Maize and Blue's home opener against Ohio Wesleyan. A year later, capacity rose to 87,752 but attendance did not. However, by 1949 — when Michigan Stadium could fit 97,239 — fans were turn- ing out in droves, filling the bowl to capacity for the 1949 home opener against Michigan State.