Michigan football finally vanquished one of its last-remaining demons left hovering around the program with a 29-7 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.
While the Wolverines should've won by even more than the final score suggested, kicker Jake Moody came up clutch nailing five field goals in the winning effort.
Below are three final thoughts coming out of the weekend.
1. Tunnel assault stains what was an excellent rivalry win for Michigan
Everyone is going to be talking about what happened in the tunnel after this one and deservedly so. It was a shameful act that needs attention. Examples must be set that this can never happen in any setting, let alone from football players after a game.
Unfortunately, from a pure football perspective, the assault is going to take away from what was an excellent rivalry win for the Wolverines. It's the baggage that will always cling to this game forever.
"Remember the win in 2022? Oh, yeah! The one with the brawl in the tunnel?"
It's unfortunate as the discourse after the game should be about the win. Instead, we're left wondering what kind of punishments will be handed down for this disgusting act.
2. Time to be concerned with Michigan's red zone offense?
Points are points, you take them however you can get them. However, is it time to become a little unnerved with what the Wolverines are doing in the red zone? I think it is.
In order to cross the plane of being elite, red zone trips must be converted into touchdowns. Field goals are how you get beat. Fortunately, it hasn't come back to bite the Wolverines yet and the program is fortunate to have a guy like Jake Moody who is almost automatic from anywhere inside of the red zone.
At some point, the Wolverines are going to need touchdowns, not field goals. Can this offense be trusted to do that once it gets there? We'll see but the play near the goal line has left a lot to be desired in recent weeks.
3. Jesse Minter's second-half adjustments continue to be elite
What a revelation Jesse Minter has been to the Michigan defense this season. Couple him and the addition of Mike Elston together, the Wolverine defense is playing on a totally different level than it was last season.
Minter continues to come out of halftime with a gameplan that always seems to work.
Take this game, for example. Keon Coleman and the MSU deep ball were hurting the Wolverines in the first half, which was the only source of offense MSU was able to muster all game. The team comes out of halftime and effectively shuts down the MSU passing attack outside of a late competition that saw Coleman get free.
Credit the players for making the adjustments but also give Minter plenty of praise for creating a quick turnaround to put his players in a position to be successful.
