After a strong defensive possession, Florida State gave the ball right back with a muffed punt that Michigan recovered
In the wake of the news that Jabrill Peppers wouldn’t play, the Michigan Wolverines looked completely out of sorts. Their defense was absolutely torched on its first possession of the game. To make matters worse, their offense came out and looked completely lost as well. However, it was a big special teams play that may have kept the Wolverines in the game early on.
After the failed offensive drive by Michigan, they punted the ball away and Nyqwan Murray was back to receiver for the Seminoles. When a booming kick sent him backing up to his 1-yard line, though, he couldn’t handle the kick on the run.
Instead, Murray attempted to make a play and ended up muffing the catch. In doing so, his momentum sent him passed where the ball came to rest. That left him on the ground and the Michigan coverage team swarming. Sure enough, the Wolverines were able to get into the pile quick enough to pick up the loose ball and recover for an enormous change of possession:
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, they weren’t able to fully capitalize on the huge break on special teams. They were stuffed right away on a run attempt by De’Veon Smith before being held twice more and having to settle for a field goal.
Next: Ranking The Top 25 College Football Dynasties Of All-Time
With how discombobulated their defense looked out of the gate, though, this was a huge play for Michigan. It gave them confidence and something to believe in right away, sure. However, it also gave them a chance to catch their breath as a collective rather than to stay reeling after the Wolverines offense was less than stellar on their first time out.