Michigan field reporter Doug Karsch is back with another year of “From The Sidelines,” giving his takes from up close.

Here’s what Karsch observed from Michigan’s 40-21 win over MTSU, including commenting on…

• Michigan’s offense: “It took a while for them to get going. That’s to be expected. I made the comment that I could already hear next season, the pre-season comments that, ‘Oh, we’re much more familiar with this offense now, we’re not thinking we’re just reacting, everything’s instinctual.’

“There are going to be growing pains. This is the year you experience those. This offense is asked to do a lot with the football, when it comes to the mesh point of the zone read game — ride the running back, the run-pass option. There’s a lot going on there that can go wrong.

“Basically, I would describe it as not a well-oiled machine. But if it’s a souped-up car that you’ve been working on for nine months, and you take it out on the road, you say, ‘Something’s not quite right. We’ve got to go back to the garage and work on it some more, fine tune it.’

“I think that’s what you’re seeing here.”