Report Card-Grading Michigan Wolverines Football In A Win Over Northwestern
Grading every aspect of Michigan’s 20-17 win over Northwestern:
Rushing Offense: B
The Wolverines rushed for 180 yards, and would have eclipsed 200 if not for a phantom hold call on junior quarterback Shea Pattereson’s keeper on a read option in the fourth quarter, a 28-yarder. Senior running back Karan Higdon finished with 115 yards and two scores and averaged 3.8 yards per carry,. He had success on first down in the first half, especially, including runs of 18 and eight yards.
U-M managed 83 yards on eight carries in the second quarter, much of it coming on a big drive when the Wolverines trailed 17-0 and badly needed a score. It wasn’t a dominant performance on the ground, but it was effective.
Passing Offense: B
Junior Shea Patterson didn’t have his best game, missing a few open receivers, but receivers had a tougher time getting separation and the passing game was never really in synch. Junior tight end Sean McKeon’s first-half drop switched momentum on what should have been a big first down. While there were some big plays — tight ends caught 91 yards in passes and sophomore wideout Nico Collins managed 73 yards on six catches — there weren’t as many open receivers as there should have been. Patterson still threw for 196 yards on 15-of-24 passing, though, and the protection was solid. He was only sacked once.
Rushing Defense: A-
Northwestern finished with only 28 net yards, aided by sack yardage (six for 43 lost yards), and the Wildcats’ top two backs only managed 2.8 and 2.6 yards per carry, respectively. U-M didn’t give up a running play over nine yards. The Wildcats finished with two yards rushing in the third quarter and minus-11 in the fourth, a dominant performance by the Wolverines against the run that was particularly suffocating in the second half. For the game, the Wildcats averaged 0.8 yards per tote.
Passing Defense: C+
The slant pass hurt Michigan again, and it didn’t help that quarterback Clayton Thorson was on the money with his throws. He completed 16 of 27 passes for 174 yards, despite being sacked six times, and found six different receivers. Only one pass went for more than 15 yards, but the Wildcats took advantage of three pass interference penalties to keep drives alive. Head coach Jim Harbaugh was pleased that his secondary got more hands on balls in the second half.
Special Teams: A-
Freshman Jake Moody was outstanding on kickoffs again, not allowing a return. Punter Will Hart averaged 50-plus yards per kick for the third straight week (51.0), and the coverage teams were good (four punts were returned for 46 yards). The U-M return game was held in check, but redshirt sophomore kicker Quinn Nordin came up with two big field goals (23 and 24 yards) that were the difference in the game.
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