Utah ruins Rodriguez's Michigan debut on back of QB Johnson

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• Utah Spoils Rodriguez's Debut At Michigan, 25-23

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	16	11
Total Yards	341	203
Passing	305	167
Rushing	36	36
Penalties	15-137	8-53
3rd Down Conversions	5-19	3-14
4th Down Conversions	0-1	0-1
Turnovers	3	3
Possession	35:54	24:06

Air/Ground Leaders
Utah Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Johnson 21/33 305 1 1 Team 0/1 0 0 0	Michigan Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Sheridan 11/19 98 1 1 Threet 8/19 69 1 0
Utah Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Asiata 13 77 0 19 Mack 8 17 0 5	Michigan Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Minor 4 21 0 21 McGuffie 8 8 1 5
Utah Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Godfrey 7 84 1 19 Brown 5 59 0 17	Michigan Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Mathews 3 54 0 35 Hemingway 2 41 1 33

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UTAH	MICH
	TD	11:20	Michael Shaw 8 Yd Pass From Nick Sheridan (K.C. Lopata Kick) Drive: 4 plays, 26 yds, 2:08	0	7
	TD	07:38	Corbin Louks 8 Yd Run (Pat Blocked) Drive: 8 plays, 75 yds, 3:42	6	7
	FG	05:18	K.C. Lopata 50 Yd Drive: 6 plays, 17 yds, 2:20	6	10
SECOND QUARTER				UTAH	MICH
	FG	14:04	Louie Sakoda 28 Yd Drive: 14 plays, 66 yds, 6:14	9	10
	FG	09:48	Louie Sakoda 43 Yd Drive: 7 plays, 47 yds, 2:07	12	10
	FG	03:15	Louie Sakoda 41 Yd Drive: 8 plays, 58 yds, 3:21	15	10
	TD	00:13	Bradon Godfrey 19 Yd Pass From Brian Johnson (Louie Sakoda Kick) Drive: 5 plays, 37 yds, :38	22	10
THIRD QUARTER				UTAH	MICH
	FG	07:37	Louie Sakoda 53 Yd Drive: 4 plays, 4 yds, 2:20	25	10
FOURTH QUARTER				UTAH	MICH
	TD	08:42	Junior Hemingway 33 Yd Pass From Steven Threet (K.C. Lopata Kick) Drive: 1 plays, 33 yds, :08	25	17
	TD	06:26	Sam Mcguffie 3 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion Failed) Drive: 4 plays, 31 yds, 1:14	25	23

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's new era opened in a painfully familiar way for the 108,000-plus fans at the Big House: With an ugly-looking loss.

Not-So-Mighty Michigan

Michigan fell in its opener for the second straight season. For the past two years, the Wolverines have lost to a non-BCS schools, were down two TDs and lost by two points. Big difference this year? Offense. Michigan had close to 500 yards of offense against Appalachian State. It lost Saturday with 203 yards.

	2007	2008
Opp.	App. State	Utah
Site	Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor
Total yards	479	203
Result	L, 34-32	L, 25-23
*Lost consecutive openers at home for first time since '50-52

Rich Rodriguez's debut as Wolverines coach was spoiled when Utah's Brian Johnson threw for 305 yards and a touchdown and Louie Sakoda kicked four field goals, providing enough scoring to hold on for a 25-23 win Saturday.

"We got a chance to put our names on the map," Johnson said.

A year ago, Appalachian State stunned the Wolverines. But this was more businesslike than shocking. The Utes were just a three-point underdog and received more votes than Michigan in The Associated Press preseason poll.

"They deserved to win," Rodriguez said.

Utah decisively outplayed the Wolverines early and took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter, but had a punt blocked and fumbled to give Michigan a shot to come back.

Rich And Dubious

Rich Rodriguez's coaching career at Michigan began with a whimper following Saturday's 25-23 loss at home to Utah. He's the third coach in school history to lose his debut and the second to do so at home, joining Bump Elliot.

Michigan Coaches
Losing Debut Game

Year	Coach	Opponent	Final W-L
2008	Rich Rodriguez	Utah	???
1990	Gary Moeller	Notre Dame	9-3
1959	Bump Elliot	Missouri	4-5

Michigan was missing three four-year starters on offense -- left tackle Jake Long was a first-round pick in the NFL draft, and quarterback Chad Henne and running back Mike Hart were also picked.

Georgia Tech transfer Steven Threet, who came in former walk-on Nick Sheridan at quarterback, perfectly lofted a 33-yard pass to Junior Hemingway and Sam McGuffie ran for a score on the next drive to pull Michigan within two points midway through the fourth.

Threet's pass on the 2-point conversion was high and the next two drives ended on three-and-outs. Michigan's next drive ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down deep in its territory.

"It shouldn't have been as close as it was," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It's a sign of a pretty good football team when you can not play your best and come away with a win, particularly in a venue like this."

Whittingham is 5-3 against Bowl Championship Series schools and the latest such victory was an important first step in giving the Utes a chance to bust the BCS at the end of the season.

"Non-BCS teams should get a shot at a championship every year," Sakoda said.

Rodriguez's spread offense was kept in check, gaining just 36 yards on the ground and 167 through the air with inexperienced players at virtually every position.

Rittenberg: Some Bright Spots

Despite a shocking loss to Utah in Ann Arbor, there were some bright spots in Michigan's season opener, Adam Rittenberg writes. Blog

"The running game was a huge disappointment," Rodriguez said. "We never were able to get the defense a rest because we couldn't move the ball effectively."

Rodriguez had a lot of success with his scheme at West Virginia, but he doesn't have anyone remotely resembling Pat White or Steve Slaton to make plays.

Sheridan played for two-plus quarters and was 11-of-19 for 98 yards with one TD, getting fortunate breaks to avoid a few interceptions before being benched.

"We were struggling offensively, so I couldn't blame him a bit," Sheridan said. "We knew that both of us were going to play, and it was going to be based on how Coach felt."

Threet entered in the third quarter and completed 8 of 19 passes for 69 yards and a score.

Michigan led 10-6 after one quarter on Sheridan's 8-yard touchdown pass to Michael Shaw after a turnover in Utah territory and K.C. Lopata's 50-yard field goal. Utah scored on an 8-yard run by Corbin Louks, but Michigan's Terrance Taylor blocked the extra point.

The Utes dominated the second quarter, but stalled on three straight possessions, with Sakoda kicking field goals each time to put Utah ahead 15-10.

Michigan gave Utah one more chance before halftime as Sheridan's up-for-grabs pass was intercepted by Sean Smith and gave Utah the ball at the Michigan 37 with 51 seconds left before halftime.

With 13 seconds left, Johnson connected with Bradon Godfrey for a 19-yard touchdown and a 22-10 halftime lead.

Sakoda's fourth field goal, a career-best 53-yarder, was the only score of the third quarter.

Godfrey had 84 yards receiving and Matt Asiata ran for 77 yards, giving the Utes a good start in their quest to play in a BCS bowl for the first time since Urban Meyer helped them earn a spot four years ago in the Fiesta Bowl.

"We had the confidence. We had the swagger," Sakoda said. "There was just a look in everyone's eye. It's not something I've seen in the last couple years of Utah football."

Michigan, meanwhile, limped away from a season-opening setback looking dazed for the second year in a row. The Wolverines lost consecutive openers for the first time since 1989-90, when Notre Dame beat them in to begin both seasons.