Beyond The Box Score: Michigan Wolverines Football 49, WMU 3

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Taking advantage of Rivals' partnership with Pro Football Focus (PFF), The Wolverine goes beyond the regular box score in Michigan's 49-3 victory over Western Michigan Saturday:

Passing Totals (minus two drops)

20+ yards: 1-2, 44 yards, 1 TD

10-19 yards: 2-2, 19 yards, 1 TD

1-9 yards: 5-7, 54 yards, 1 TD

LOS-Behind: 4-4, 8 yards

Left: 3-3, 17 yards, 1 TD

Middle: 7-10, 84 yards, 2 TD

Right: 2-2, 24 yards

• Patterson's adjusted completion percentage rises to 82.4 percent to account for two drops. On the year, his adjusted completion percentage (81.4) ranks 11th among passers nationally with at least 30 attempts.

• When Patterson had a "clean pocket" — which was on half of his dropbacks — he went 7 of 9 for 87 yards and three touchdowns (plus had one dropped, a tough, but catchable, throw over the middle to senior Grant Perry).

• Patterson went 7-of-9 for 87 yards and three touchdowns against no pressure and also had a pass dropped for an 88.9 adjusted completion percentage and 87.8 passing grade in that situation. However, he posted his highest PFF grade when WMU blitzed, going 8-of-10 passing for 97 yards and a touchdown with one drop (90.0 adjusted completion percentage) while receiving a PFF passing mark of 91.6.

• Michigan's 91.3 PFF passing grade marked its highest in a week since the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl at the end of the 2015 campaign (93.3, when Jake Rudock was 20-of-31 passing for 278 yards and three scores in a 41-7 win over Florida). The Wolverines' overall offensive grade of 88.7 was its best in that category since a 93.7 in game 10 of the 2016 season against Maryland, a 59-3 victory.

• Along the offensive line, Michigan allowed one sack, one QB hit and two hurries for four QB pressures total. No player allowed more than one of any; the sack was credited against James Hudson, though head coach Jim Harbaugh said Dylan McCaffrey should have gotten rid of the ball.

• The top pass-blocking grade went to right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty (79.6), although he was followed closely behind by center Cesar Ruiz (79.4). The redshirt freshman Hudson earned the top run blocking grade (78.8) but only played six snaps. Backups Jalen Mayfield (72.0 run blocking, 10 total snaps) and Nolan Ulizio (71.6, four) also earned high marks on the ground in limited action; the starting lineman with the top run grade was also Bushell-Beatty (71.2).

• Eighty of Chris Evans' 86 rushing yards came after contact, while 98 of 156 of Karan Higdon's gains came the same way. As a team, 215 of Michigan's 326 ground yards came after contact, an incredible average of 6.52 yards after contact per attempt.

Here's how the team's rushes looked by direction:

First, a bit of information on PFF's grades:

1. QB Shea Patterson — 91.3 (high-quality grade)

Unsurprisingly the U-M signal-caller leads the way on 44 snaps played (walk-on wideout Jake McCurry actually registered the top mark of 92.2 but played just three snaps). Patterson's grade noticeably increased from last week's 55.7 to PFF's seventh-highest mark among college quarterbacks in week two.

2. RB Chris Evans — 87.4 (good to high-quality grade)

The junior running back was in for 22 plays but made the most of them after a rough first game at Notre Dame. He gained 86 yards and two touchdowns on 10 rushes, moving the chains on four carries and posting an "explosive" rush (at least 10 yards) on three different totes. Both Evans (16th) and counterpart Karan Higdon (24th) ranked among PFF's national top 25 for the week in elusive rating — both avoided five tackles between rushes and receptions — and breakaway percentage (Evans 21st and Higdon 25th).

3. RB Karan Higdon — 75.5 (good grade)

Walk-on Tru Wilson graded out at 76.8 offensively, but only was in for 12 snaps. However, it's not surprising at all to see Higdon on this list. He gained 156 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, going for 10 or more on three rushes and gaining 98 yards after contact. He also led the team with five avoided tackles after a rush and had just one rush go for negative yardage (a loss of one).

4. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones — 74.6 (good grade)

Redshirt freshman QB Dylan McCaffrey finished between Wilson and Higdon with a mark of 76.7, but was in for just six snaps. Peoples-Jones, meanwhile, caught all four targets and gained 31 yards with his first receiving touchdown. He moved the chains on three of his four catches.

5. TE Sean McKeon and TE Zach Gentry — 74.3 (good grade)

The two tight ends each posted respectable grades of 74.3 while combining for three catches, which gained 33 yards and a score (McKeon had the TD). Both had one first-down grab, while McKeon led the team with 19 yards after the catch (Peoples-Jones was the only other one to break double digits, with 14).

Other Notable Performances

• Tackles James Hudson (74.2) and Jalen Mayfield (72.8) were the top-graded linemen in overall offensive grades. Among starting offensive linemen, right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty ranked the highest at 68.6 (which is still classified as "above average" in PFF's system).

1. LB Josh Ross — 79.0 (good grade)

WMU went at Ross in coverage twice, but he allowed just a three-yard catch (the running back dropped the other pass against him). He logged 39 snaps and had the unit's top run defense grade (78.9) and ranked third on the squad with a tackling grade of 80.3. All are classified as "good" grades by PFF (its third tier, behind elite and high quality). He also paced the Wolverines with four "stops," tackles that constitute a loss for the offense.

He even posted an above-average 72.9 mark in coverage, which ranked fifth on the squad. The final (official) box score credited with him seven stops (three solo), including 1.5 tackles for loss.

2. CB David Long — 77.6 (good grade)

Long was targeted four times in coverage, but did not allow any receptions and broke up a pass. He also graded favorably with a good 77.0 for tackling and 77.9 for coverage on 46 total snaps played.

3. S Tyree Kinnel — 74.8 (good grade)

The Broncos only tried the safety once in coverage and he broke it up, earning him a 74.7 coverage grade, which ranked fourth on the team. His tackling was also sound (78.2), although the official box score credited him with just a pair of stops. Only Brandon Watson (65) and Devin Bush Jr. (63) played more than his 60 snaps.

4. DT Michael Dwumfour — 72.3 (above average to good grade)

One of several players with three "stops," the redshirt sophomore defensive tackle made an impact in 36 snaps played. His run defense grade of 78.0 tied for second on the team with defensive end Rashan Gary, while he logged five takedowns in the game.

5. DE Chase Winovich — 72.0 (above average grade)

The fifth-year senior tied for the team lead with two quarterback hurries and finished fifth on the team with a run defense grade of 76.8. His pass rush production did dip from an insane 10 pressures in week one (and 87.8 pass rush grade that was nearly elite) to the two hurries and a 60.2 grade in the category.

Other Notable Performances

• Weakside fifth-year senior linebacker Noah Furbush posted the top defensive grade — a high-quality 91.1 — but was in for just 14 snaps, just barely missing our cutoff for the above list. His grade ranked 15th nationally among all defenders.

• Six more defenders checked in with above-average grades between 68.1 and 71.9, showing how close it was for the last spot on our above top five. Maybe the most surprising name among those — each of whom played at least 13 snaps — was sophomore defensive end Kwity Paye, who was credited in the box score with two stops, including half a tackle for loss, and posted the seventh-best grade among all defenders with a 71.9 on his 21 snaps.

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