It was a tale of two halves as Michigan has a second half to forget in its 27-24 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.

Below is M&BR's three final thoughts from U-M's win over the Gophers.

We often talk about wanting to see Michigan play a complete game, meaning the offense and defense play together at a high level to win convincingly. That has yet to happen this season. At this point, we have yet to see the Wolverines play a complete 60 minutes of football as strong first-half performances have been usurped by lackluster second-half performances that have kept the door wide open and allowed games to be much closer than they should've been. There is absolutely no reason the game against the Gophers was as close as it should be. In fact, you could make the argument that the Gophers should've had the chance to tie or win that game. When you fly too close to the sun, you'll eventually get burned and the Wolverines have done their fair share of flying dangerously in the second half. You just hope it doesn't come back to bite them when they need it the most.

Do you sound the alarm bells?

No, but it's certainly something to address. You need 60 minutes of effort.

The answer to the quarterback situation is that there is no answer. You just hope that the growth Alex Orji makes from week to week is enough to stay competitive as the road gets tougher this season. With the first road game coming up, everything needs to be sharp as the Wolverines have enjoyed five straight home games to start the year. The saying is that defense travels, can an offense that can play on the road travel? Five weeks in, we really don't know the answer.

The argument that Orji doesn't throw interceptions is now out of the question. While the Wolverines have steadily improved with taking care of the football, the main talking points are dissipating fast and all that's left is the overall play at the quarterback position.

It's good enough to win ugly but not every game is going to be played at your level. Can the team be trusted to play from behind? Highly unlikely.

Expectations of what this offense can be or what will happen the rest of the way needs to be adjusted accordingly. At this point, stealing a game from Oregon or Ohio State would be a big boost to playoff chances.

On a day when the defense needed guys to step up on defense, it had that in a major way with players like Jyaire Hill, TJ Guy and Rayshaun Benny coming of age before our eyes. Will Johnson is going pro after the season, there's nothing else he needs from college so U-M must adapt and get as many guys as possible. Hill is playing like a very capable CB2 and can even be trusted in CB1 situations. The interception he had was a grown man play, something he wouldn't have made earlier in the season.

On the defensive line, it's becoming clear that the staff is quickly trusting Guy and Benny in big situations and the two are repaying that trust with some good football. While there is plenty of growth to be made, the defensive line is getting some crucial depth as the stretch run of the season approaches, which allows players like Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant some time to breathe on the sidelines.

With Minnesota showing that running tempo is turning into a bit of an Achilles heel for the defense, the depth needs to show up in a hurry.

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