Randy Edsall had heard all of the rumors.
The Connecticut coach knew that Michigan Stadium had been declared “the quietest 100,000 fans in America” on more than one occasion.
But after Michigan’s 30-10 victory over Edsall’s Huskies on Saturday, a game that debuted a newer and allegedly louder Big House, Edsall made sure to squash those rumors.
“I’ll tell you what, it was loud,” Edsall said. “When people told me, that we’re coming to Michigan to play, that’s it’s not loud, I don’t know what they were saying. Maybe it was the new additions that they put on that kept the sound in there, I don’t know. But it was loud.”
The $226-million renovation project included luxury boxes on the east and west sides of the stadium and a new press box, among other changes. Athletic Director David Brandon said this summer that the finished towers — standing 85 feet above the stadium’s concourse — were expected to make the stadium around 30 percent louder.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said earlier this week on his teleconference that players had told him last year — while the stadium was under construction — that it was louder, but when the team scrimmaged last week, it became much more obvious that the sound would be noticeably different.
“It’s a whole lot different,” sophomore running back Vincent Smith said on the field after the game. “It’s more of an echo, and it gets you riled up. It’s nothing like last year, it’s way louder.”
Of course, 113,090 fans — the largest crowd ever at a football game according to Michigan officials — may have had something to do with that.
“That’s why they call it the Big House,” junior tight end Kevin Koger said. “We have the most seats, we have the craziest fans. I was thinking during the game, ‘Dang there’s a lot of people here, more than usual.’ “
Added freshman punter Will Hagerup: “When you have a crowd in there, the biggest crowd in football history, and they’re all yelling and they’re all into it, I can’t see how that can’t be a problem for the other team.”
TATE TRANSFER?: After sitting on the bench with a towel over his head and shoulders for much of fellow sophomore Denard Robinson’s record-setting performance on Saturday, quarterback Tate Forcier told Ann Arbor.com, “All you need to know is that I’m out.”
Forcier declined comment to the Daily after the game.
When Robinson went down in the third quarter, both Forcier and freshman Devin Gardner began to get loose, but ultimately, it was Gardner who spelled Robinson for the few plays that he was out, despite the fact that Forcier started every game for the Wolverines last season.
Forcier quelled rumors earlier in the summer of a transfer, but his comments following the game brought questions of him leaving the program to the forefront.
In a tweet from MGoBlog’s Tom Van Haaren, Forcier’s father, Mike, responded to questions about his son possibly transferring.
“As Tate’s father, and someone who would advise him, a transfer isn’t something I want to be a part of,” Mike said. “Sometimes you think, ‘Man, do they want him there?’ But we don’t think that’s the situation. Rich Rodriguez has also been straight with us.”
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Of all the areas Rodriguez had shown concern this summer, special teams was one of the most worrisome.
And after Saturday, which brought windy conditions for most of the game, questions aren’t necessarily answered about the young, inexperienced position group.
Hagerup only attempted one punt on the day — a roll punt which landed and rolled for a total of 51 yards. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman kicker Brendan Gibbons was 1-for-2 on field goals, missing one short earlier in the game due to the wind. He also missed an extra point and struggled to fight the wind on a few kickoffs.
Special teams coach Tony Gibson said the weather was too much of an issue for the two to be properly evaluated.
“The wind was just swirling all day,” Gibson said. “We couldn’t ever get it down. It was with us once, against us once. We just have to keep trying at it.”
INJURY NOTES: Freshman hybrid safety Carvin Johnson has a sprained MCL and is day-to-day after going down in the second quarter.