Grading Michigan football in all facets of a harder-than-expected win over Rutgers ...
Michigan Football Rushing Offense: D+
Back to reality ...
Michigan looked outstanding in its first two drives, led by an offensive line that dominated. The Wolverines ran 15 times on a 17-play, 74-yard drive to open the game. That opened things up for the passing game, and it was humming in the second quarter.
But Rutgers adjusted in the second half, bringing seven and eight defenders into the box consistently, and Michigan didn't. The Wolverines managed only seven rushing yards in the third quarter, 28 in the fourth and 112 total on the ground. Freshman Blake Corum averaged only 3.2 yards per carry, Hassan Haskins 3.4 and explosive frosh Donovan Edwards didn't get a single carry.
It's going to be a struggle against the better teams, starting next week at Wisconsin, if they don't mix it up.
Michigan Football Passing Offense: C-
Redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara had a nice first half, with the running game successfully setting up the passing game. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 156 yards, including big plays of 24, 38, 23 and 51 yards, mostly to the middle of the field, and looked confident.
The second half was a completely different story. He got happy feet, missed open receivers and was repeatedly put in bad positions. He completed a seven-yard pass on a first down for his only completion of the second half, and the Wolverines were then stoned on consecutive short-yardage runs.
The offensive staff had no answers for what to do in the passing game when Rutgers schemed to take away the run, and that's a concern.
Michigan Football Rushing Defense: C-
The Wolverines' interior line was gassed in the second half, and the run defense took a hit when redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross went down with a stinger. The Scarlet Knights went to more read option and spread the field, with quarterback Noah Vedral averaging 4.2 yards per carry overall in moving the chains.
Running back Isaih Pacheco went over 100 (on 5.4 per carry) and even freshman Kyle Monangai managed 4.4 on five carries. The Scarlet Knights ran for 72 yards on only seven carries in the fourth quarter alone while dominating U-M's front.
Michigan Football Passing Defense: C
The Wolverines gave up too much underneath on the hitch routes, and while they avoided a lot of big plays, Vedral was able to complete 18 of 31 passes for 156 yards and a score. U-M gave up passing plays of 24, 16 and 16 yards, and a blown coverage led to the only touchdown — a 16-yard pass to Aaron Young — and allowed 8.7 yards per catch on 18 completed passes.
One of the positives — Rutgers was 0 for 4 on third downs of nine yards or more. Two of their seven third-down conversions (on 16 tries) came via pass.
Michigan Football Special Teams: B+
Kicker Jake Moody missed a chance to ice the game with a 47-yard field goal, missing wide right, but his kickoffs were one of the more underrated aspects of the win. Rutgers return man Aaron Cruickshank wasn't a factor as a result and managed only one punt return for eight yards, as well.
Punter Brad Robbins had a couple nice kicks inside the 20 but also shanked one. A.J. Henning notched a nice 29-yard punt return, but kick returner Blake Corum was held in check with a 21-yard average on three returns. The blocking was inconsistent in front of him.
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