Although it had to deal with a little bit of self-inflicted adversity on Saturday night, Michigan pulled away from Bowling Green in the second half to win its third consecutive game to open the 2023 season. The defense was once again outstanding, but the big story from Saturday's game was J.J. McCarthy's uncharacteristically poor performance.

The junior quarterback threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns but also threw three interceptions — the first such occasion of his career.

Sherrone Moore was, in Jim Harbaugh's terms, the "guardian of victory" for the Wolverines on Saturday, as he served as the interim head coach, leading second-ranked Michigan to the 31-6 victory.

Earlier in the week, Moore met with the media, and he noted that Michigan has a "starting five" on the offensive line in Karsen Barnhart, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent, Zak Zinter and Myles Hinton.

The "starting five" were the first five offensive linemen on the field for Michigan once again on Saturday, but rotation amongst the group came earlier than expected for the Wolverines.

Arizona State transfer and graduate student LaDarius Henderson appeared at left tackle in the third quarter, replacing Barnhart, who moved over to right tackle.

Moore discussed the movement on the offensive line after the game.

"This is a long season," Moore said. "And it's going to take more than five guys to get to where we want to be. Since I've been here, it's never been the same five guys so you've always got to have those guys ready to go."

The third-quarter move to Henderson was an earlier-than-normal one for Michigan, which typically rotated the 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman in with the second stringers in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Henderson joined the starters along the offensive line in the third quarter.

"Just continue to work those guys in in different situations," Moore said. "Just continue to do that to work those guys in."

Whether it's Henderson, Hinton or Barnhart, the offensive line "moved the line of scrimmage very well" on Saturday, according to Moore.

"I thought those guys up front took to the challenge that we gave them this week to continue to attack."

The offensive line cleared the way for a run game that Moore says was much improved in week 3.

"Overall, from a run game standpoint, we definitely improved and we've just got to continue to improve in all facets of the game."

Running behind the offensive line, Blake Corum registered Michigan's first 100-yard rushing performance of the season, tallying 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite the constant concern amongst the Michigan fanbase, Corum assured everyone after the game that there's "no concern" with the running game.

"No concern, man. Calm, cool and collected. It's gonna hit when it's gonna hit. No concern in Schembechler."

Michigan will open Big Ten play next Saturday, Sept. 23 against Rutgers. Kickoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will air on Big Ten Network.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @lucasreimink

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram