I will admit, after the high-octane offense led by Devin Gardner trumped the Notre Dame team in front of the largest NCAA crowd in history I had a front and center seat on the Wolverine bandwagon.  Maybe it was the bright lights, filling a stadium with so many people in one venue as a sports lover it was truly a magnificent sight to see.  Or it could have been the over obsessive national media attention that spotlighted what was the most hyped game of the season at that point in time.  Safe to say their was a lot of people watching that game, and for good reason.  However, after Michigan dismantled the Fighting Irish in a high-scoring explosive game, everyone was ready to crown Michigan the next up and coming powerhouse in the Big Ten and a legitimate favorite to be ranked in the top-ten in the AP Polls.  Since that game though the Wolverines have only giving us legitimate reasons to think the opposite.  So lets break down and find out if Michigan is a contender or a pretender. 

We can't take away from them the gutsy performance they had against Notre Dame in week two of the college football season.  The game itself was loaded with rich history, fun facts, and about as much hype as you can endure going into kick-off.  After a record setting attendance in the stands, an incredible half-time performance filled with a LED light show, the nations top recruit Da'Shawn Hand making an appearance, and only the second night-game being played in the hundred plus year old history of the two teams was the actual game it self.  After a slow start dual-threat quarterback Devin Gardner stole the show leading his team to a 41-30 victory.  Gardner had five total touchdowns throwing for four and running one in.  He also had almost 300 yards of passing and amassed 82 yards on the ground.  He hooked up with his go-to receiver Jermey Gallon for three touchdowns and had his offense rolling.  The Wolverines defense looked solid and played fundamental error free ball for most of the night. 

Sure Irish' quarterback Tommy Rees threw for 314 yards, but most of that was while they were playing catch-up and Michigan was giving them a lot of easy short completions.  But now that both teams have played two more games since then lets look at what we know now that we didn't know then.

Starting with Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish followed that loss up with a nail bitter against Purdue, who by far the worst team in the Big Ten and managed to edge out a victory by the score of 31-24.  Whoa.  A single possession win against a team like Purdue is a big red flag that Notre Dame is struggling a lot more than we think.  Then last week in another four-quarter battle they managed to sneak by Michigan State who has had plenty of issues of their own specifically on offense.  They won that game thanks to a final drive defensive stand with just seconds remaining.  Another not so convincing win for them in back-to-back weeks against two lesser opponents.  Its no secret now that we are four weeks into the season that the Notre Dame team that you fell in love with last year, with Cinderella's glass slippers on their feet while they walked into the BCS championship game isn't the same team thats lining up to play on Saturdays this year.  However, most of the main stream media saw a drop off in play from last year coming and isn't a big shock to most of us.  So what about Michigan?

Michigan followed their entertaining win against the Irish up with a game in which they paid Akron a reported 900 thousand dollars to visit Ann Arbor.  Still rising high on momentum from the victory a week before Michigan was supposed to make the game look like one of those spring scrimmages, where by the end of the game you couldn't name one player on the field because of so many second and third stringers playing.  What happened was the Wolverines survived a scare they won't forget for a long time taking the whole 60 minute play clock up to seal the victory.  Gardner's play was atrocious, throwing three interceptions one for a touchdown at a critical turning point in the game, their defense looked out of sync and tired, and in the end it took Akron to fail on four attempts from Michigan's two-yard as time expired to give them the victory.  Okay well maybe it was a fluke, they said.  One of those hangover games from the week prior, they said. 

After such an embarrassing performance their was just no way head coach Brady Hoke would follow that ugly win up with anything less than a full throttle whooping against University of Connecticut, right?  "Not so fast my friends," Lee Corso once said.  Trailing, yes trailing into the fourth quarter by a score of 14-21 it was like deja vu all over again.  Gardner, now the focal point of the teams regression, ended the game with a stat line that looked like this; 13-25, 111 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.  If you gave me those stats before the game I would put my money on Uconn. but in the end they found a way to win by a score of 24-21.  Another win that left coaches, players, and fans shaking their heads. 

So lets recap.  Michigan was truly fortunate, not once, but twice to escape in back-to-back Saturdays over two unranked teams that should never be in the headlines when it comes to their college football programs.  Akron owned the lead with four minutes left in the game, and Connecticut was up 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.  They now rank 79th in the nation in passing yards (215 per game) and 54th in rushing (194.3 per game).  The defense although solid in their front seven, hasn't created the amount of turnovers or splash plays that is expected putting more pressure on Gardner and the offense.  Gardner has too much talent to be under-acheiveing like he has and needs to make smarter decisions with the football than in his past two games, throwing stupid interceptions in critical times.  The Wolverine's signature win against Notre Dame was admittedly over blown by us, the media, and fans.  We got caught up in the glitz and glamor of what was the most meaningful game of the year at the time and gave to much credit to Michigan after their win.  Now that we know the Irish were barely able to hold off a team like Purdue there is no question we over-valued and over-rated the talent of the team Michigan beat. 

Now the Wolverines don't play another ranked opponent until they go on the road to Northwestern on November 16th.  Until then, after their last two games it wouldn't be wise to hold your breath and hope they can escape with more fourth-quarter victories until they face off.  Michigan is a talented team with many young recruits making their way up on the Wolverine roster.  However for now, they are a team that is growing in many areas of the game and will continue their ups and downs through out this season.  Sure they will win another big game or two, but they a another year away from Big Ten supremacy.  As for the now, this team will only go as far as Devin Gardner lets them.  The talented and athletic quarterback can torture you with his arm and feet, and torture himself with his decision making.  Until he gets more consistent in all facets of the game its not fair to rate the Wolverines as high as we have so far in the year.  Final verdict.  Overrated.