Michigan Wolverines Red Zone Report: How Michigan Finished Drives Against UTEP

Michigan was able to handle UTEP, thanks in large part to a big second half. Both Bryce Underwood and Savion Hiter fumbled in the first half and that helped keep UTEP in the game until halftime. In the second half Michigan came alive, and were able to come away with the win by a final score of 52-17.

Let's dive into how Michigan performed in the red zone this week and what it may mean for Michigan's offense moving forward.

Red zone Trip #1: 4 rushes, 1 pass - Result: Savion Hiter touchdown

Michigan's first red zone trip came in the second quarter when they were down 7-0. They started with the ball just outside the 20 yard line with a first and 10. From there Savion Hiter carried the ball for two yards, Andrew Marsh caught a seven yard pass, and Savion Hiter carried again for a five yard gain and a first down at the UTEP seven yard line. Savion Hiter would carry it two more times to punch it in from there to tie the game up at 7-7.

Red zone Trip #2: 3 rushes, 1 pass - Result: Jordan Marshall touchdown

Michigan's second red zone trip started with a first and 10 from the 25-yard line. Bryce Underwood carried it first for a five yard gain, followed by a 10 yard completion to JJ Buchanan to give the Wolverines a first and goal at the UTEP 10. After that it was two straight carries for Jordan Marshall who ended up punching it in from six yards out to give the Wolverines a 24-14 lead in the third quarter.

Red zone Trip #3: 2 rushes, 1 pass - Result: Savion Hiter touchdown

On Michigan's third red zone trip, they started with the ball with a first and 10 at the UTEP 15 yard line. Their first play this time was an incomplete pass to Travis Johnson, followed by a seven yard rush to Jordan Marshall, and then an eight yard rush from Savion Hiter to punch it into the end zone again to put Michigan up 31-14.

Red zone Trip #4: 2 rushes, 1 pass - Result: Tommy Carr to Salesi Moa touchdown pass

Michigan's fourth and final red zone trip came late in the 4th quarter with most of the 2's and 3's subbed in. Starting with a first and 10 from the 23-yard line, Salesi Moa carried the ball for a loss of one yard, Tomas O'Meara carried the ball for a gain of five, and then Tommy Carr took to the air on third and six and threw a beautiful 19-yard touchdown pass to Salesi Moa. It was both a great pass and a great catch for the pair of true freshman. Michigan's offense sure looks to be in good hands in the future.

What it means for the offense moving forward

That brings the total count for red zone plays to this: 11 rushes, 4 passes - Resulting in four Michigan touchdowns. It was a very productive red zone game for the Wolverines who were lethal once they got the ball within scoring range against this overmatched UTEP defense.

After not registering a red zone pass in either of the first two games, they showed a little more balance this week. Still though, you can tell that they want to run the football down in the red zone because they called 11 rushes to only four pass attempts.

I have to believe they're going to continue to try to become more balanced in the red zone in future games, because being too one dimensional and predictable when the field shrinks is usually not a recipe for success. Nonetheless, it's hard to argue with the results they've had so far this season in their red zone trips. It's only been three games but the Wolverines have a really good 87.5% red zone touchdown percentage. For reference, last year the Wolverines ranked 103rd nationally in red zone touchdown percentage at 78.85%.

Hopefully they can keep that percentage up that high the rest of this season but they likely need to be more balanced when it comes to rush/pass percentages moving forward to achieve that.

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