Claiming J.J. McCarthy as the best QB in the country is not a stretch
Another week of Michigan football and another week of junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy being completely dialed in.
Aside from an uncharacteristic three-interception game against Bowling Green in Week 3, McCarthy's play has been nearly flawless as he is putting his throws in the tightest of windows and extending plays to buy time for his receivers to get open when the pass protection breaks down.
McCarthy had three touchdown passes in the first half (he finished the game with 287 yards passing and four touchdowns before being pulled in the third quarter due to the score) against a Spartans defense that never had much of a chance. Two of those touchdown throws were to tight end Colston Loveland—who had himself a game with 79 receiving yards to go along with his two scores, as MSU's defense could not match up with his size and athleticism.
Those two throws in particular to Loveland were put on an absolute rope, with the Michigan quarterback placing the first score to his tight end perfectly on his back shoulder in tight coverage.
On the second scoring play to Loveland, McCarthy threw a seed over the middle that found its way past multiple Spartan defenders and in stride to make it 28-0 Wolverines with 2:54 to play in the second quarter.
Those two touchdowns throws showed McCarthy's ability from the pocket, but his first touchdown throw to receiver Roman Wilson was just as impressive, but this time with McCarthy showing his poise and athleticism by side stepping an MSU blitzer while calmly finding Wilson for Michigan's second score of the game.
Coming into the game against the Spartans, McCarthy ranked second in the nation in passing efficiency, trailing only LSU's Jayden Daniels in that category.
There are a handful of college QBs playing at a high level this season in Daniels, Michael Penix, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams—but McCarthy is right there in the discussion with making his case for the best at his position in the nation with the way he is playing.
Give the offensive line credit for its work in pass protection
As much praise as McCarthy deserves for his playmaking ability and for the types of throws he is making, the offensive line also deserves some credit for keeping him generally clean in the pocket.
Yes, there are a handful of times per game where McCarthy has to use his elusiveness to get out of pressure because of a missed blocking assignment or a good blitz call by the defense—and that certainly happened a few times against MSU.
But overall, the offensive line has done a really good job of keeping a clean pocket for McCarthy to make his reads to find his playmakers.
To have the success on third-and-long that the Wolverines have had all season, that starts with the protection from the five guys up front and their ability to give their QB time to throw, as well as the receivers the time to get open to run their routes past the first down sticks.
With some of the new pieces along the front—such as Drake Nugent, LaDarius Henderson and Myles Hinton, it was expected the group would take some time to fully gel. However, as a unit, the o-line has continued to improve each week and are playing at a high level.
Michigan's depth on defense is scary good
The Wolverines' depth on the defensive side of the ball is well-known, but each week, it seems like more guys are stepping up to make plays.
In the first half, freshman corner DJ Waller found himself into the game and made a play where he made a nice play on a ball on a pass from MSU QB Kaitin Houser.
Sophomore corner Amorion Walker also saw meaningful snaps in the first half and nearly came up with a pick-six in the second quarter on what ended up being a nice pass breakup.
The Wolverines have rotated guys in the secondary quite a bit this season, and young players such as Keon Sabb has seen significant snaps since even since safety Rod Moore returned from injury. Veteran safety Quinten Johnson has also made plays in the back end for the Wolverines this year, as well as veteran corner Keshaun Harris.
Add those contributors to an already talented back end with players like Moore, Will Johnson, Makari Paige and Mike Sainristill—who had his second pick-six of the year against the Spartans, and it equals a secondary that is incredibly deep and can have anyone step up on any given Saturday.
The front seven is equally impressive in terms of the depth, with Derrick Moore (who had a sack against MSU) and Braiden McGregor coming into their own as playmakers coming off the edge for the Wolverines.
Transfer Josiah Stewart is also becoming an increasing contributor by the week as he also recorded a sack against the Spartans.
The play of the edge rushers with a dominant interior line with Mason Graham, Kris Jenkins and Kenneth Grant manning the middle has caused the Wolverines to completely overwhelm their opponents up front.
The linebackers have also done a nice job in their run fits and they all tackled in space very well against MSU receivers.
Michigan is a defense that can almost do no wrong right now, and with more players getting reps and contributing by the week, it's scary to think there may be even more room for growth on that side of the ball.
