The Wolverines hosted the Washington Huskies in a Primetime NCAAF matchup last Saturday. Were the bright lights and national spotlight too much for this young Wolverine team? I’ll start with a recap of this NCAAF game before diving deeper into some topics I feel need to be addressed.
NCAAF Game Review
First Half
The game starts out as a defensive battle, with the game scoreless until the middle of the first quarter. Michigan drew first blood on a 52 yard field goal from Jake Moody. Michigan’s defense shut down whatever Washington was trying to do in the first quarter. If there were any positives for Washington, it was their goal line stop late in the first quarter. Nonetheless, the quarter ends 3-0 Michigan.
The 2nd quarter started with a bang. Michigan faked a punt to convert a fourth down. On the following play, Blake Corum scored on a 67-yard rushing touchdown. The Wolverines wound up running a lot in this game. Is that a problem going forward? We’ll touch on that later. As the quarter continues, both defenses remain stout. The second quarter ends with a 10-0 Michigan lead going into the half.
Let’s quickly talk about Michigan’s passing attack; one that only put up 29 yards. You read that correctly. Michigan only had 29 yards passing at this point. Quarterback Cade McNamara hasn’t looked great to this point, but I believe that was due to bad playcalling. It could also be due to Harbaugh’s lack of trust in his young quarterback.
Second Half
In the 2nd half, Michigan marches right down the field without passing at all; just rushing with Haskins and Corum. With a seven yard rushing touchdown by Corum, Michigan extended its lead 17-0 early in the 3rd quarter. Washington would finally put together its first good drive of the game and get into the red zone, but Michigan’s defense would rally and only give up three points. Michigan did a great job of controlling the clock in this game only letting Washington touch the ball once in the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Michigan is up 17-3. Michigan starts the 4th with another touchdown, this one a six-yard run by Haskins. With Michigan in the driver’s seat and looking to close out the game, Washington quickly responded with a touchdown of their own; easily their best drive of the game. Michigan would add one another score to make the final in this one 31-10 Michigan.
Post-Game Thoughts
Smothering Defense
Michigan’s defense played great, only allowing 10 points. You can already see the strides Mike McDonald is making in such a short time. Hopefully he can continue the early success we’ve seen thus far. What stood out the most is the team really only giving up two drives down the entirety of the field.
Michigan shut down the run, but had some trouble with the pass. Washington passed for almost 300 yards, but Michigan did a really nice job of not giving up points. Their edge setters controlled the game, stuffing the run and forcing Washington to make big passing plays. An offense can’t win if they’re consistently in long yardage situations on 2nd and 3rd down.
One Dimensional Offense
I touched on it earlier, but I must mention the non-existent passing attack in this game. Cade McNamara only threw for 44 yards on 7 of 15 passing, which means JJ McCarthy may get more time. While I think it is still too early to bring him in, this game showed that the coaching staff seems to have little -to-no trust in what Cade can do on the field. Is a QB change necessary? That remains to be seen.
There are some positives, though. I believe Corum and Haskins could quickly emerge as the top running back duo in NCAAF. The duo rushed for 326 yards and four touchdowns, displaying incredible rushing ability.
Game Experience
The atmosphere was electric Saturday night, with a lot of Michigan’s recruits in the building. The school did right by me, they brought back the POM POMS! This game exceeded my expectations in every way, and blew the recruits out of the water.
Lastly, I must mention the way they honored 9/11 was breathtaking. The light show they did at halftime was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and it was a great way to honor the men and women that passed on that tragic day.
