Bad things happen when you pack in a game at halftime. Players lose their edge — coaches, too. Confidence wanes, underdogs feel emboldened and empowered by momentum, students leave by the thousands, and some writers (ahem) have to rewrite their columns.
It was that kind of day in Michigan Stadium. Michigan got off to a great start in a 20-13 win over Rutgers before squandering opportunities to put the game away in the first half, playing with little emotion in the second half (they could have used the students then for a boost — just sayin’) — but the Big House crowd sat in stunned silence for the better part of 30 minutes while Greg Schiano’s adjustments paid off time and again.
The second half numbers were startling: 231 total yards to 42, including 152 rushing to 35. Fourteen first downs to two, 10 points to none — it was complete domination, and frankly, it was an embarrassment, even if head coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t acknowledge it in the postgame.
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“I was really proud. We found a way, and the defense, I thought they really competed right to the fumble [recovery that saved the game],” Harbaugh said. “And thank goodness for red zone defense. We’ve put a lot of time into it, practiced it a lot.
“The defense was in a bad position. Offensively, we weren’t moving the ball. Three and outs, four straight drives to start the second half … it showed the character of the defense. I’m really proud and pleased with that, and they found a way. Got it done. Gritty game.”
They don’t put a statistic for ‘pretty’ on the scoreboard, he added, and he’s right. At the same time, there were red flags everywhere, similar to some we’ve seen in the recent past after hot starts.
In 2009, the fans thought the Wolverines were “back” after a non-conference that included wins over Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan … and then a fourth quarter home victory over Indiana to start Big Ten play exposed some warts.
That would be the Wolverines’ only Big Ten win that year.
While we expect this squad to better this year, there are concerns. We predicted Schiano would stack the box and make redshirt frosh Cade McNamara beat them. His safeties and linebackers crept closer and closer to the line of scrimmage in the second half, and while U-M’s play action and passing game worked extremely well in the first half, the offensive staff had no answers in the second.
