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UCF vs Michigan recap: 3 things that we learned

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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What did we learn from Saturday afternoon’s UCF vs Michigan game in Ann Arbor and who were the top players?

After tearing Hawaii apart in the season opener, Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines had a shot to do the same to Central Florida. The Knights went 0-12 a season ago and even lost to FCS squad Furman. The Wolverines got to work early on, taking a 31-0 lead in the second quarter before the Knights finally got on the board.

Michigan was putting up points with ease and it was mostly due to first-year starting quarterback Wilton Speight. He didn’t put up huge numbers, but he was 14-for-22 with 163 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wolverines opened the second half with another quick touchdown and the Wolverines didn’t look back. Michigan asserted its dominance yet again and it looks like a premier team in college football, worthy of a No. 5 ranking.

Harbaugh might not make too many friends if he keeps going for it on fourth downs and running passing plays up by 37. That’s something that he needs to work on moving forward if he wants to last in Ann Arbor.

It was yet another easy victory for the Wolverines in week two. Could Michigan jump into the top four?

1. Wilton Speight could be better than we thought

People, including myself, have knocked the choice of Speight over Houston-transfer John O’Korn, but the truth of the matter is, he’s not that bad. The junior gunslinger keeps showing why he deserves the job as he was fairly accurate against the Knights and made big throws when he needed to. He finished with 312 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-37 completions.

Could Speight be the next Jake Rudock? From zero thought of an NFL future to a mid-to-late round draft pick.

2. Michigan’s pass defense still elite without Jourdan Lewis

Jourdan Lewis was in street clothes for this one with an undisclosed injury, but that didn’t matter as the Wolverines’ defense was still as solid as ever. Michigan made life tough for the Central Florida offense as pressure constantly got to the quarterback.

Outside of an 87-yard touchdown run by Adrian Killins, Michigan was as stingy as could be. The pass defense allowed just 56 yards.

3. Run game needs serious work

Despite having a solid first game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on the ground, Michigan experienced tough sledding against Central Florida. The Knights held Michigan to just 73 yards on 19 carries in the first half and the Wolverines just couldn’t break anything. Michigan had just 119 yards on 41 carries all game.

Highlights

Can Michigan continue throttling inferior opponents as they take on Colorado next week or will the Buffaloes have a little more fight in them?

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