Michigan gets the coveted sixth win and are now bowl-eligible after a 50-6 win over Northwestern on Saturday.
Here are three final thoughts from the win.
Playing the best at the right time
If there's a time to play your best football, it's right now. We've been asking for Michigan to play a complete game in all phases and it did just that against Northwestern. It goes without saying that the Wildcats and Ohio State aren't in the same stratosphere in terms of talent but if you're looking for any chance of a major upset, you'll have to be at your best. Your best might not even be good enough, you might have to play the perfect game to get the win. With that being said, if you're playing your best ball, the path to continue that upward trajectory gets a lot easier compared to the opposite direction.
You also like what you saw from the group coming out of the bye week. No one was satisfied with the way the team looked coming out of the bye against Illinois and it wasn't exactly pretty in the first half, either. Credit to the staff, the team is fighting and hasn't phoned it in.
A classic Michigan victory
This felt like a classic U-M victory circa 2023. A drama-free game where you beat who you were supposed to beat and looked good doing it. Many expected, myself included, thought this was what the Wolverines would look like for most of the season and it just didn't happen that way.
Yes, you have to keep the opponent in mind when it comes to prognosticating about the entire season but I am convinced that the Wildcats aren't the worst team the Wolverines have played this season.
One of the worst? Yes. Not THE worst.
With that being said, the Wolverines showing they're capable of playing like their former selves is encouraging and frustrating all at the same time.
Encouraging because of who the Wolverines play next week. Frustrating because this game has left many asking one big question:
Where has this been all year?
You don't need elite QB play to win but it sure helps
Let's call it what it is, Davis Warren will never be elite and it's been proven that he's not going to single-handedly win you games. However, if everything else is working around him, Warren has the goods to help you win games.
The turnover is what it is at this point, it was a sailed pass in coverage. At this point, I'd rather see him take some risks this late in the year and turn the ball over than make a horrifically bad play like we've seen the quarterbacks do this year.
However, Warren has still been a bit timid with his arm, he hasn't seen the entire field and the Wolverines left some meat on the bone in an impressive win. That's not going to change much next week but Warren can win you games if the supporting cast helps out.
If the offensive line can continue to protect and open up running lanes like it did in the second half. If the playcalling can do the offense some favors, you have a shot.
That shot might be small but it's a shot nonetheless.
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