It's Monday morning, which means we've had nearly 40 hours to better process what we saw from Michigan Wolverines football in a 20-13 close call win over Rutgers Saturday and watch the film before turning the page to Wisconsin, U-M's next opponent.

We take a look at the top aspects of the Maize and Blue's win, areas they can clean up and break down position-by-position battles in this edition of Monday Morning Quarterback.

RELATED: Michigan Football Podcast: Balas & Skene Break Down Win Over Rutgers

RELATED: Snap Counts, PFF Grades, Takeaways From Michigan's Win Over Rutgers

Michigan junior kicker Jake Moody missed a 47-yard field goal with 1:49 to go, leaving the door open for Rutgers, trailing 20-13, to tie the game on its next possession. Scarlet Knight junior quarterback Noah Vedral threw an incompletion on first down, then ran a QB draw on second down. He ran up the middle, where he had success throughout the game, but was met by Michigan redshirt freshman linebacker David Ojabo, who beat his man on the outside with a spin move before he dislodged the ball.

Freshman linebacker Junior Colson scooped up the fumble, and the Wolverines were able to grab a win despite a second-half surge from the Scarlet Knights.

1. Fourth-Down Defense

Michigan's defense continually came up with big stops on fourth downs. After the Scarlet Knights picked up a conversion in the first quarter, the Wolverines stuffed each of their next three attempts to move the chains on fourth down, including a big one in the fourth quarter on the Michigan 39-yard line, with second-year freshman linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green and sophomore defensive tackle Christopher Hinton coming up with the tackle for no gain.

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano tried to get cute with a couple play calls — like having Vedral act like he was about to call timeout before junior running back Isaih Pacheco ran up and took an under-center snap — but Michigan's defense was ready, time after time.

2. Red Zone Stops

The Wolverines bent a bit on defense, something we discuss below, but were able to tighten up in the red zone and come away with big stops on third down in crunch time to force the Scarlet Knights to kick field goals. In the Scarlet Knights' last drive of the third quarter (that extended into the fourth quarter) and first full possession of the fourth stanza, they combined for 117 yards but put just three points on the board, thanks to the Maize and Blue putting the clamps down, stopping Rutgers at the seven and 11 yard lines, respectively.

3. First-Half Offense

Michigan's offense wasn't even close to perfect in the first half, but it produced 20 points and gained 233 yards. The Wolverines rushed for only 3.5 yards per carry before halftime, but opened up the passing game and capitalized, with redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara completing eight of his 11 attempts for 156 yards. The half marked the best balance between run and pass that we had seen all season. All was right heading into halftime up 20-3.

1. Run Game

The nation's No. 1 rushing attack entering the game finally met an opponent that found some success defending it. After running for 4.3 yards per carry (64 yards on 15 rushes) on its first drive, the Maize and Blue mustered up just 2.1 yards per carry (42 yards on 23 rushes) the rest of the way.

2. Second-Half Offense And Creativity

Michigan went three-and-out on its first four drives of the second half, registering just 11 yards in that span, averaged just two yards per play, totaling 42 yards, possessed the ball for 12:18 and was held scoreless. Surprising, to say the least, after how the first half went. The Wolverines' offense put the defense in bad positions, which makes it that much more impressive that it was able to come up with some of the aforementioned stops.

The sequence that really stands out to us as a turning point and an example of offensive complacency is Michigan's first drive after halftime. Redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins rushed for three years, then sixth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis committed a snap infraction, forcing a 2nd and 12. McNamara was pressured and essentially threw the ball away on second down, before offensive coordinator Josh Gattis called a rush up the middle for second-year freshman running back Blake Corum that went for two yards. Michigan then punted it away.

That short drive marked a stunning lack of creativity on offense. It would be one thing if Michigan was gashing Rutgers on the ground, but that wasn't the case (as noted above). McNamara was playing well to that point, but then tightened up as the game went on after the offense kept sputtering.

3. Defense Getting Off The Field Quickly

There aren't many complaints with the Wolverines' defense, given the big stops they made, but it did allow Rutgers to move the ball a bit too much.

Pacheco gained 107 yards on 20 carries (5.4 yards per rush), while Vedral was able to churn out 46 yards on 11 attempts as well. Michigan missed eight tackles, per PFF, and the Scarlet Knights notched eight 10-plus-yard plays (five runs, three passes).

Rutgers' passing attack was mostly 'dink and dunk,' but it was successful in supplementing the run game in helping it march the ball down the field, totaling 156 yards. The Scarlet Knights drove into Michigan territory on seven of their 11 drives, too many times for a team not known for possessing a prolific offense.

Michigan's Offensive Line vs. Rutgers' Front Seven

The Wolverines' offensive line didn't get the push it had been getting the first three weeks, and the rushing numbers (2.9 yards per carry) are proof of that. Credit the Rutgers front seven there. Michigan was solid in pass protection, once again not yielding a sack, and only gave up two negative rushing plays.

Michigan's Pass Catchers vs. Rutgers' Secondary

One hundred of Michigan's 163 passing yards came after the catch, according to PFF. Second-year freshman wideout Roman Wilson busted a 38-yard reception and sophomore Mike Sainristil broke a 51-yarder, both with big runs after the catch. But, with Rutgers stacking the box in the second half, the Wolverines' receivers weren't able to gain much separation against man coverage.

Rutgers' Offensive Line vs. Michigan's Front Seven

The Wolverines' front seven played without redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross for much of the game — he was sorely missed — and struggled at times. The Wolverines yielded 196 yards on the ground (4.7 yards per carry), but was able to notch six tackles for loss and get home on one sack.

Rutgers' Pass Catchers vs. Michigan's Secondary

Michigan's secondary was highlighted by redshirt sophomore cornerback Vincent Gray, who allowed just one reception for five yards on six targets, and didn't allow much down the field. The Wolverines were playing back a bit on the outside, allowing Rutgers to connect on some short passes and gain 93 yards after the catch.

Quarterbacks

McNamara truly struggled in the second half, and looked uncomfortable in the pocket despite having ample time to throw on most occasions. He finished 9 of 16 passing for 163 yards and no touchdowns, having missed redshirt sophomore tight end Luke Schoonmaker, who was open in the end zone, just before half. Vedral's stats don't pop off the page — 18 of 31 for 156 yards and one score — but he distribute the ball to his playmakers and rushed for 46 yards on 11 attempts, making it a solid outing.

Running Backs

Pacheco's 107-yard day overshadowed the performances of Corum (68 yards) and Haskins (41 yards, two touchdowns). Rutgers freshman Kyle Monangai also found success on five carries, recording 22 yards.

Special Teams

Moody did his job in keeping the ball away from Rutgers return man Aron Cruickshank, notching five touchbacks, and hit two field goals. The knock on him from this one was missing a 47-yarder that would've put the game away. On a similar note, Rutgers junior kicker Valentino Ambrosio made two field goals but missed a crucial 29-yarder that would've cut the deficit to four points with 9:38 to go in the game. Rutgers punter Adam Korsak struggled (two punts for 81 yards), while Michigan's Brad Robbins was hot and cold, pinning the Scarlet Knights inside the 20-yard line twice but also shanking one for 32 yards.

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