McNamara Not Opposed To Run-Heavy Michigan Offense: 'No Reason To Stop It'
If Michigan redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara is frustrated with his 2-0 squad running the ball 99 times compared to 32 throws through two games, he's certainly not showing it.
Coming off a 343-rushing yard performance in its 31-10 win over Washington, the Michigan offense is averaging 6.9 yards per carry, a mark that ranks fifth in the nation, and 339 yards per contest (fourth nationally).
McNamara, who completed 7 of his 15 pass attempts for 44 yards against Washington last week, is much more focused on winning and engineering scoring drives — he's done the latter 19 times on 32 drives dating back to last season (15 touchdowns and four field goals).
"When something’s working as well as it was in the last game, there’s no reason to stop it," McNamara said on the Stoney and Jansen show on 97.1 The Ticket.
"We put a big emphasis on our run game this season, and I think that the offensive line has embraced that. We have two really good backs, and I think getting the ball in their hands — whether that’s in the passing game or the running game — is going to be beneficial to this offense."
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In limited use, the passing game was a bit of a struggle against Washington, though the Huskies have elite defensive back play, and head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game that he simply felt the Wolverines had a better chance of winning by pounding the rock.
Once it was clear the Huskies weren't going to stop it, that made the play calling process much easier. Couple that with an offensive line that has growing confidence, and it was a no-brainer to continue traveling the field on the ground.
"Some of the players on Washington mentioned that they were going to stop the run, and I think [our offensive line] took that personally and they took us not getting in the end zone on fourth down very personally as well.," McNamara said I think that fueled them the rest of the game, and they were moving people."
The Maize and Blue are without junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell, who suffered a season-ending injury in the opener against Western Michigan, a setback that must be overcome by Michigan's aerial attack.
"It was difficult," McNamara said of playing without Bell. "We have guys that are able to step up, and I’m confident in those guys, but Ronnie’s overall presence on the team as missed."
Some of the guys McNamara has faith in have done it before, McNamara said.
"I think some of the guys that are being asked to step up, as far as [redshirt junior Jackson State transfer] Daylen Baldwin or [second-year freshman] Roman Wilson, these guys have played as well. Daylen has a ton of experience, and Roman played a lot last year as a freshman. I think that having that experience can help them step up in that way."
Michigan's over/under win total heading into the season was 7.5, and it began the campaign unranked for the first time since 2015, Harbaugh's first year on the job. Now that the Maize and Blue are 2-0, nothing about their approach will change, McNamara said.
"Whatever was said about us in the media leading up to this point, we didn’t really pay much attention to because this is where we want to be," McNamara explained. "We want to be 2-0, and we expected to be 2-0, and I think as the season goes on, I don’t think that’s going to change."
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