MMQB: Michigan Football Owned The Line Of Scrimmage In Washington Win
It's Monday morning, which means we've had over 30 hours to better process what we saw from Michigan Wolverines football in a 31-10 win over Washington Saturday night and watch the film, before turning the page to Northern Illinois, U-M's next opponent.
In this edition of Monday Morning Quarterback, we examine the top aspects of Michigan's win, areas that could use improvement, and break down position-by-position battles.
RELATED: Snap Counts, PFF Grades, Takeaways From Michigan's Win Over Washington
Key Moment Of The Game
Michigan picked up 101 yards and five first downs in the first quarter, but had just three points to show for it, after getting stonewalled at the goal line and turning it over on downs. On the Wolverines' first possession of the second stanza, it looked like they had stalled out again.
But on 4th and 1 from their own 30-yard line, Jim Harbaugh rolled the dice, calling a fake punt direct snap to redshirt sophomore up-back Michael Barrett, who gained three yards for good measure.
On the next play, second-year freshman running back Blake Corum took a handoff going left, found a seam and broke free down the sideline, scoring from 67 yards out and giving the Maize and Blue a 10-0 lead.
Three Things That Worked
1. Offensive Line Dominating The Line Of Scrimmage
After a solid showing in Week 1, the Wolverines' offensive level rose their game to another level up front against Washington, firing off the ball, getting plenty of push, playing their techniques and creating massive holes in the process.
Michigan's offensive linemen who spoke to the media before the season kept harping on how they want the identity of the offense to be a physical, downhill group. No talking was needed after this one — the rushing stats spoke for themselves: 56 carries for 343 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and four touchdowns.
The men up front deserve a lot of credit.
2. Pounding Blake Corum And Hassan Haskins
Michigan's offensive line was creating big holes, but Corum, who's currently the nation's leader in all-purpose yards, and redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins were getting the most out of those seams. The former rushed it 21 times for 171 yards (8.1 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, including the aforementioned 67-yarder, while the latter had 27 carries for 155 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and a score.
The Wolverines ran it 56 times compared to 15 passes, an almost unheard of split in this era of college football (unless we're talking about a service academy or a game in severe weather), but it worked. Why not continue to go back to it until the other team can stop it?
3. Living In Washington's Backfield
From the first play from scrimmage — when redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross laid a big hit on U-W sophomore running back Richard Newton for a loss of two yards — to the end of the game, Michigan's defense was all over the Washington backfield, totaling seven tackles for loss and four sacks. Michigan was stout against the run, yielding just 1.6 yards per carry, forcing the Huskies to throw. In addition, the first forced turnover of the season came behind the line of scrimmage, with fifth-year senior safety Brad Hawkins punching the ball out and redshirt freshman defensive end David Ojabo recovering it.
Three Things That Didn't Work
1. Passing Offense*
There's an asterisk on this one because Michigan didn't try to throw the ball around the yard — even Harbaugh admitted that after the game. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara completed 7 of his 15 pass attempts for 44 yards, and 33 of those yards came on a nicely thrown ball to sophomore Cornelius Johnson that picked up a big first down on a 3rd and 15.
The Wolverines could've used more of a passing attack if Washington had made it a closer game in the second half (they didn't) and found a way to stop the run (they didn't). Harbaugh and Co. seem content with running first and passing only when needed, a bit reminiscent of the 2018 offense (a really good unit).
2. Staying Steady In Pass Coverage
Michigan made some nice plays in pass coverage, registering eight pass breakups, but there were too many blown coverages, including when the usually-stellar sophomore safety Daxton Hill bit on a play-action fake and allowed his guy to be wide open to pick up a third down conversion. His stat line epitomizes the Maize and Blue's struggles in coverage in this game: Four receptions allowed for 45 yards on six targets.
Washington redshirt freshman signal-caller Dylan Morris connected on 20 of his 37 throws for 293 yards (14.7 yards per completion) and one touchdown, a 22-yarder on a slot fade to junior wideout Terrell Bynum, who got the better of Michigan freshman safety Rod Moore.
3. Playing A Cleaner Game
By most accounts, this was a very good showing for Michigan, and not many complaints can be had given the final score and the fact that the Wolverines are 2-0. But there are certainly some areas to clean up.
Harbaugh said postgame that some receivers weren't playing the right calls, which hindered the passing offense. Some of the undisciplined play on the back end of the defense also stood out, as did the several times that the defense substituted late and had multiple players not in a stance before the ball was snapped. The six penalties were also too many, though there were a couple questionable calls.
Position-By-Position Battles
Michigan's Offensive Line vs. Washington's Front Seven
In pass protection, Michigan's offensive line allowed no sacks and just two quarterback hurries, according to PFF. In the run game, as noted above, the Wolverines dominated the trenches, rushing for a whopping 353 yards. Washington simply never stopped the run, as head coach Jimmy Lake admitted Saturday night.
Washington's Offensive Line vs. Michigan's Front Seven
Michigan junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was a marked man, but Washington wasn't able to contain him. He registered a career-high 2.5 sacks, and the Wolverines put up four total and seven stops for loss. Michigan posted five quarterback hurries, constantly disrupting the pocket and making Morris uncomfortable.
Michigan's Pass-Catchers vs. Washington's Secondary
Washington registered just one pass breakup, but still got the better of the Wolverines' pass-catchers. Michigan had so much respect for Washington's elite corners — sophomores Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon — that they hardly went their way. McDuffie was never targeted, while Gordon was thrown at just twice.
Washington's Pass-Catchers vs. Michigan's Secondary
Washington's receivers did a solid job of beating Michigan's cover men down the field, accumulating 293 yards. Bynum was a particularly tough cover, with the junior having recorded five catches for 115 yards and a score on seven targets.
Quarterbacks
McNamara very well may be a better signal-caller than Morris, but he didn't get a ton of opportunity to show it since the run game was working at such a high level, with just 15 attempts, and he didn't make the most of those opportunities, completing just seven passes. Morris had no run game to help him out, so he had no choice but to air it out more, and he posted a solid stat line of 20-for-37 passing for 293 yards and one touchdown.
Running Backs
Michigan's duo of Corum and Haskins were electric, finding the right holes and getting as much out of them as possible. Washington's backs, on the other hand, struggled mightily. Newton gained just 24 yards on 12 attempts, while redshirt freshman Cameron Davis churned out just 22 yards on nine attempts. The Huskies weren't able to generate many explosive plays in the run game, with their longest rush being 12 yards (twice).
Special Teams
Michigan's special teams was stellar for a second straight week, with junior kicker Jake Moody knocking home a career-high 52-yard field goal attempt to score the game's first points, Corum returning two kicks for 49 yards and redshirt junior punter Brad Robbins punting it four times for 184 yards (46 yards per punt), including a 59-yarder and one pin inside the opponent's 20-yard line, and Barrett picking up the first down on the aforementioned fake punt. Redshirt freshman punt returner Caden Kolesar was shaky in his job, letting one ball go over his head and returning two punts for 24 yards.
Washington senior punter Race Porter was used five times, averaging 49.8 yards per boot and notching a long of 63 yards. He had three pins inside the 20-yard line and three punts over 50 yards. Sophomore kick returner Giles Jackson was only able to return one kick for 11 yards, with the Wolverines swarming him, while McDuffie returned one punt for four yards.
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