JJ McCarthy's Heisman Quest

The Wolverines, and their dominance across 8 straight weeks

Until yesterday, McCarthy was hard to find on the list of Heisman Trophy candidates. Nobody has been dominant across 8 games except for McCarthy, and maybe Michael Penix. As of yesterday, JJ McCarthy was finally given the top odds to win the Heisman.

This Saturday was Michigan’s biggest show of dominance all year. It was the largest margin of victory against Michigan State since 1947.

Almost every week, I talk about how the team played lights out. But on Saturday, they took it to a whole new level.

JJ McCarthy probably played the best game of his career. His 4 passing touchdowns were a personal record. He connected with superstar Roman Wilson for the 10th time this year. Overall, McCarthy was able to connect with 10 different receivers. The Tight Ends both had their biggest games of the year. Sophomore Colston Loveland hauled in 2 TDs along with his 79 yards. The Indiana transfer AJ Barner had himself a career game, racking up 99 yards and a TD. 

We also saw contributions from an emerging star in Semaj Morgan. The Freshman has put together quite a nice season so far, and he continued to be a factor this weekend. 

Corum has done what he’s been doing all year. Yet again, he ran the ball very effectively, and was unstoppable on the goal line. Donovan Edwards got a few touches, but it seems like he’s much more effective in the passing game. 

Defensively, you can’t get much better than 0 points allowed. Michigan has played 8 games, and they still have not allowed an opponent to score more than 7 points. Mike Sainristil’s 2nd pick 6 of the year put a bow on the beautiful defensive performance. 

In the past, I’ve talked about how this team is so good that I’m looking for very small things to criticize. Now, I’ve reached a new category where there are simply no mistakes that I can see. The team has played perfectly. 

The only downside is that Michigan still has not faced a real threat, which is why they won’t earn a #1 ranking. They won’t really be tested until Penn State on November 11th. I will be at that game, ready to report for you all. 

Coming into this week, there was tons of anticipation about the Penn State/Ohio State game. It looked as thought Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State were all on a collision course for the Big 10 title. However, I was very disappointed in Penn State. The 20-12 score doesn’t do justice to the low quality of their play. PSU Quarterback Drew Allar had an abysmal performance, throwing under 50% completion percentage. The offense only mustered 6 points until their garbage time TD at the end. 

For Ohio State, they also did not play perfectly. However, it’s the second time that they’ve managed to beat an AP top 10 team. They seem to be finding ways to win, even if it’s not pretty. It seems that yet again, Michigan and Ohio State will fight for the Big 10 crown.