Michigan vs. Fresno State simulation: Donovan Edwards goes off after slow start

The No. 9 Michigan Wolverines defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 29-14 in a simulation run by TheWolverine.com on EA College Football 25 on Friday afternoon, starting off the virtual season with a win ahead of Saturday night’s primetime game at the Big House (7:30 p.m., NBC).

Vegas has Michigan installed as a 20.5-point favorite with the over/under set at 45.5 points, so the simulation was under on both fronts.

Piggybacking off of some of the most recent buzz out of Ann Arbor, senior quarterback Davis Warren got the start for Michigan and led a balanced attack that got off to a slow start but found its stride late. The defense was a bit shaky early on but settled in as the defensive line caused more disruption up front. Overall, the day was saved by a heroic performance from Donovan Edwards, who had 170 yards on 17 rushes with a pair of touchdowns.

The simulation was played with 6-minute quarters for brevity’s sake, which will be adjusted in future installments to provide a more accurate simulation experience. For example, the Wolverines ran 39 total plays in the simulation, which is a little more than half of the normal amount of snaps in a game. They still found a way to rack up 330 total yards of offense despite the clock.

Here is the recap of how the virtual sim came to its conclusion.

First quarter

Michigan had the ball for about the first two thirds of the quarter, using an 11-play drive that stalled out to get on the board first with a 50-yard field goal from transfer kicker Dominic Zvada, taking a 3-0 lead with 1:59 to go. Fresno State would respond with 6 plays down to the Michigan 45-yard line as time expired with the Wolverines up 3-0 heading into the second frame of action.

Michigan 3, Fresno State 0

Second quarter

Continuing their drive that extended over from the first quarter, Fresno State used five more plays to march into the endzone for the game’s first touchdown, a 2-yard rush from quarterback Mikey Keene. They would lead 7-3 with 4:14 to go in the half after the extra point. It was this point when Michigan senior running back Donovan Edwards took over with four rushes for 74 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, to put his team back ahead 10-7 with 2:42 to go in the half. The Bulldogs returned the favor with a 6-play, 75-yard drive and Keene carving them up through the air to go back ahead 14-10 on a three-yard pass to Jake Boust from three yards out. with 46 seconds to go.

Warren and the Michigan offense put together a quick scoring drive down to the Fresno State 29-yard line before the drive stalled out, leading to a Zvada field goal from 46-yards out to narrow the deficit to 14-13 at the half. Keene kneeled out the clock, sending the two teams to the virtual locker room.

Fresno State 14, Michigan 13

Third quarter

The Michigan defense got off the field after six plays and a punt from the Bulldogs, giving way to the offense. A methodical drive that got down to the Fresno State 18-yard line stalled out, resulting in another kick from Zvada, this time from 35 yards out. The attempt was good, giving the virtual Wolverines a 16-14 lead with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. What followed was a pair of tackles for loss by Mason Graham and the Michigan defense to run out the clock.

Michigan 16, Fresno State 14

Fourth quarter

Michigan got off the field on 3rd and 16 to start the quarter, giving the offense the ball back with 5:27 remaining at their own 48-yard line. Five plays later, Warren found sophomore wide receiver Semaj Morgan for a 26-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 23-14 after Zvada’s second extra point of the day with 4:19 remaining.

After five plays that got the Bulldogs up to their own 47-yard line, junior linebacker Jaishawn Barham came down with an interception, return for 10 yards back near the original line of scrimmage with 3:05 to go. Six plays later, Edwards found the endzone again on a 7-yard run after a 21-yard rush two plays prior to extend the lead to 29-14. Michigan went for the two-point conversion and failed, leaving the score at 29-14 with 1:42 to go.

Fresno State mounted its last defense, but a pass was knocked away by sophomore cornerback Jyaire Hill on 3rd and 13 from their own 20-yard line. One play later, linebacker Ernest Hausmann picked off Keene to seal the victory for the Wolverines. Warren kneeled out the clock to secure win No. 1 of the virtual season.

FINAL: Michigan 29, Fresno State 14

Michigan standouts

PASSING
QB Davis Warren: 13-for-17, 153 yards (9.0 ypa), TD, 171.1 4 QB rating

RUSHING
RB Donovan Edwards: 17 rushes, 170 yards, 2 TD

RECEIVING
WR Fredrick Moore: 4 catches, 55 yards
TE Colston Loveland: 3 catches, 19 yards
WR Semaj Morgan: 2 catches, 46 yards, TD
WR Tyler Morris: 2 catches, 25 yards

DEFENSE
DT Kenneth Grant: 5 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
DT Mason Graham: 5 total tackles. 3 TFL, 0.5 sack
LB Jaishawn Barham: 5 total tackles, INT
LB: Ernest Hausmann: 4 total tackles, INT
EDGE Josaiah Stewart: 3 total tackles, TFL, 0.5 sack
CB Jyaire Hill, 1 pass defended

KICKING
Dominic Zvada: 3-for-3 (50, 46, 35), 2-for-2 XP