Photoshop Phriday: De’Veon Smith
Last Saturday Michigan played its first game at Michigan Stadium under Jim Harbaugh and handily defeated Oregon State, 35-7. I was somewhat reminded of the 2007 game against Minnesota where Michigan went down 10-0 early and then completely dominated the Gophers the rest of the way for a 34-10 win. De’Veon Smith was a key part of Michigan’s victory on Saturday as he ran through the Oregon State defense for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now in his junior year, both of those were career bests. He had several punishing runs including this 10 yard carry in which he bulldozed through several defenders.
Smith was Michigan’s clear starting running back at the beginning of this season on a depth chart that included ‘or’ at many positions. The holes generated by the offensive line allowed for a very consistent running game as the contest went on. Late in the game Michigan reeled off a 14 play, 73 yard scoring drive that lasted over 7 minutes and included just one passing play. I watched the game from New Jersey (you know, Big 10 country) due to a family wedding but hope to see more of the same when I go this weekend. When asked in the post-game press conference what his secret was, De’Veon gave credit to his Friday night tradition of eating several servings of a chili cornbread skillet (Photo credit to Bryan Fuller).
