Michigan's Big 10 opener against Rutgers
The return of Jim Harbaugh
Rutgers looked like a legit team. But Michigan was much better.
They did get off to a poor start. The defense gave up a huge play on the first drive, allowing Rutgers to go ahead 7-0. This was the first and only time all season that Michigan would trail in a game. Michigan quickly responded with a Blake Corum touchdown.
McCarthy started off slow. He made a few bad throws, and seemed rattled from last week’s bad game. However, the return of Jim Harbaugh made an impact. The play-calling allowed JJ to get back in his groove. Starting with a few screen passes, and then a trick play, McCarthy was handed several easy throws in a row.
They also did a great job getting Donovan Edwards involved. If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that one of my biggest critiques was his lack of involvement. They changed that today, with several designed plays for Edwards to generate space out of the backfield. He’s proven to be a very effective pass-catching back.
Blake Corum had a huge day. In my opinion, he’s the most important player on the field, even when he doesn’t gain huge yardage. Corum hasn’t broken off big runs this season. However, he’s consistently generated big plays into the secondary on runs that should only go 2-3 yards. Not to mention, he literally hasn’t been stopped on the goal line all year. 8 touchdowns in 4 games is quite the statistic. This causes defenses to sell out to stop him. It requires patience, but this is excellent for Michigan’s offense. Why? Because this allows for more ways for Michigan to beat you.
The defense has to stop Corum in the run game. We know from the past 2 years that this requires a lot of manpower.
The defense has to plan for JJ McCarthy designed runs. They utilized this a lot today, which ties back to the excellent play-calling. With everyone selling out to stop Corum, it allowed tons of space for McCarthy to run.
The defense also has to plan for Edwards to catch passes out of the backfield. He’s been slow so far this season. However, in 2022 he had several huge plays that demoralized defenses.
The defense has to stop Michigan in the air. Roman Wilson has had a huge start to the year, scoring 6 touchdowns so far. He’s been faster than any cornerback that he’s faced. Cornelius Johnson and Colston Loveland are two more weapons that JJ has liked to target. And don’t forget about the freshman Semaj Morgan, who scored his first touchdown today.
This is the advantage of having such a talented roster… it’s just so hard to stop everyone on it.
Moving to the defense now. The defensive line had yet another outstanding game. Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai caused problems early on, but they quickly made adjustments. In the end, they held him to only 27 yards, effectively taking him out of the game. They slowly broke down the Rutgers offensive line, causing Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt to settle for bad throws. Eventually, this led to a Mike Sainristil interception that he took for 6. They did all this without Mason Graham, one of the best defensive players on the team.
Unfortunately, the secondary looked a little weak today. I’m not too concerned, because they are still pretty banged up. Star player Will Johnson has been dealing with injuries, as well as Rod Moore who played for the first time this season. They looked rusty, and this led to several chunk plays that really shouldn’t happen. This will be adjusted down the line. The team will grow healthier. It’s just a matter of time.
The special teams issues continued today. A kick return was dropped, resulting in a start from the 10 yard-line. The kicker James Turner also missed a kick. Michigan has always had strong special teams, but so far, it’s the opposite. That’s my biggest concern heading into the rest of the season.
Overall, the team looks strong. Michigan continues to play as a second-half team, a trend that started in 2022. The defense should feast against a struggling Nebraska team next week.