What They're Saying: Michigan Wolverines Football 38, Wisconsin 17
Is the national media ready to jump on the Michigan football bandwagon? Several are placing the Wolverines in their unofficial top 10s this morning.
CBS Sports' Chip Patterson moved the Wolverines up five slots from last week, up to No. 9.
"Even though Wisconsin wasn't a ranked team, the 38-17 win in Camp Randall Stadium conquered too many predetermined stereotypes of the Jim Harbaugh program for there not to be a bump in the rankings," he opined. "It was the first time Michigan won as an underdog under Harbaugh. It was also his first win at Wisconsin as the Wolverines coach, and the game was won in a decisive manner that highlighted the Wolverines as worthy of top-10 consideration."
Meanwhile, ESPN put the 5-0 Wolverines at No. 7 in the land.
"The last time the Wolverines were in Madison, in 2019, it was for a 35-14 blowout by Wisconsin in which the Badgers had 359 rushing yards," Tom VanHaaren wrote. "This time, it was Michigan's defense that did the dominating, holding Wisconsin to only 43 rushing yards and 167 passing yards in the 38-17 win. Michigan has taken some criticism for relying on the run this season, and while the passing game was not perfect against the Badgers, quarterbacks Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns with three completions going for over 30 yards. This was supposed to be Michigan's first big test, and it passed with flying colors."
Here's a look around at what else the internet is saying following the Wolverines' 38-17 triumph on the road as an underdog in Wisconsin.
Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com: Notes, Quotes & Observations From The Win
What’s encouraging is that this was far from Michigan at its best, but it’s still the U-M team we’ve been waiting to see on the road in Harbaugh’s tenure.
Again, this wasn’t vintage Wisconsin — not close — but this isn’t Harbaugh’s most talented team, either. Many weren’t sure how this one would play out, us among them, but we did express confidence this team wouldn’t lay down if and when things started to go poorly.
On that there was no question. They rose to the occasion and seized control every time it seemed to be slipping away.
“There were multiple momentum swings during the game,” Harbaugh said. “You try to get that momentum back as fast as you possibly can, and I thought our guys did a great job of that today.”
It’s easier to do when a team is legitimately ‘all in’ and not manufacturing it. This group looks and acts more connected, and it’s obvious.
“It’s all based on our brotherhood. We believe in each other,” Ojabo, a force on the edge much of the game, said. “No matter who is across from us, we preach faceless opponents and nameless opponents. As long as we’ve got each others’ backs, man, we are not really worried about whoever is in the other side.”
“We came to the locker room [at halftime] and said, ‘let’s not panic.’ We’ve got each others’ backs. Through ups and downs, we really were not worried. The defense got the offense’s back, and the offense got the defense’s back."
Collectively, they broke the Badgers’ spirit in the way Harbaugh’s Stanford team used to in hostile venues, something we’ve been waiting for. They maximize the talent on defense under new coordinator Mike Macdonald, go all out on every play … frankly, seem to care more about the name on the front of the jersey instead of the back better than some recent Michigan teams.
John Borton, TheWolverine.com: Wolverine Watch: Getting The Jump On Wisconsin
Breakthroughs? We’ve got breakthroughs …
• Michigan won for the first time at Camp Randall since Oct. 17, 2001, before some of this crew had even arrived on the planet.
• The Wolverines made it to 5-0 for only the second time in seven years under Harbaugh, and the first time since the 10-win 2016 season.
• U-M posted its second-biggest margin of victory over the Badgers since a 41-3 win in 1990.
The team some picked to go under .500 before the campaign began won’t be close to that sort of plunge. There’s a long way to go before anyone finds out exactly what they will be, but they’ve stamped something important on their résumé in the opening handful of games.
They’ve improved, and fear nobody.
“This group’s different,” Harbaugh said afterward. “They don’t flinch.”
The Wolverines were different when they came out and took control with a 10-0 lead on the road. Sparked by redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara’s 34-yard flea-flicker bomb to sophomore wideout Cornelius Johnson, they underscored the fact that they were ready for the fight on both sides of the ball.
“Everything we do, we’re trying to win,” McNamara said. “Getting into Big Ten play, there’s no reason to hold back now. We’re going to be aggressive on offense. Whether that’s going for it on fourth downs, or playing smashmouth football, or taking shots, we’re going to do it.”
They did all of it, and then some.
There were questions about the future of Jim Harbaugh at Michigan after a 2-4 season last year and a contract extension that made it much easier for the school to part with its coach.
Five wins in five weeks is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Wolverines, including Saturday's win at Wisconsin, where they had lost the last five meetings.
The formula this season is working. The running game has been consistent and taken pressure off quarterback Cade McNamara to carry the offense. The defense hasn't allowed more than 17 points.
Now here's some reality. The jury is still out on how good this Michigan team is and we won't know much more until the end of the month. Wisconsin was the best team it has faced and the lead was just three until the Badgers lost quarterback Graham Mertz on the first drive of the second half.
That winning formula hasn't been tested by a complete team that can slow Michigan's running game and has the offensive firepower to test its defense. Those tests are coming later, however. Michigan State will be the first on Oct. 30. Penn State and Ohio State will follow in November.
There's still reason for optimism as Michigan has developed an identity and confidence. The possibility of a first trip to the Big Ten title game is a realistic goal. But the story of this season is still yet to be told.
At what point are we allowed to fall for Michigan?
It was woefully underrated – which means, not ranked at all – in the preseason polls, it wasn’t given nearly enough love for beating a Washington team that actually is good, and it’s probably not going to receive a whole lot of respect for getting by Wisconsin and it’s pathetic offense.
But just like Notre Dame was able to create the avalanche in the fourth quarter against the Badgers in a blowout win, and just like Penn State was able to hang on in the red zone for its tough victory, Michigan was able to do what it needed – and it was more impressive than it might seem.
The Badger D continues to be the truth, but the Michigan offense was creative, it didn’t make any big mistakes that mattered, and Cade McNamara was good enough to allow for the rotation with JJ McCarthy to be a curveball that made sense in a key time in the game.
Wisconsin had one good scoring drive late in the first half, but it couldn’t run on the Wolverine defense, and QB Graham Mertz didn’t do much of anything outside of a few good throws. Wisconsin is usually the one beating up and knocking out the other team’s quarterback, but Michigan was able outbully the Badgers.
That’s what Michigan is supposed to do. It took a wounded team and pounded it for the first road win in the Jim Harbaugh era as the underdog.
There’s still a whole lot of work to do with road dates at Penn State, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Maryland, and a home game against that Ohio State thing, but the team is 5-0 against five teams that all have an outside shot of going bowling.
It’s okay to think Michigan is good. For now.
1. Michigan gets the monkey off its back
It has been nearly eight years since Michigan did what it did today: win a game straight up as an underdog. Yes, you read that right. The last time the Wolverines won a game they weren't expected to by oddsmakers was on Nov. 16, 2013, when they beat Northwestern, 27-19.
It had been 18 straight losses since, including 0-11 under Harbaugh. Now, Michigan fans can point to the fact they've only been an underdog in 19 games over the last eight years, but the inability to win any of those games was still a reflection of where the program has been during that time.
Perhaps this win Saturday is the start of a turnaround ... or maybe Michigan shouldn't have been the underdog against a Wisconsin team that's been awful this season. We'll let history decide!
John Niyo, The Detroit News: Wolverines' defense crashes Badgers' party, steals their 'juice'
Michigan continued the assault a couple plays into the fourth quarter, as Mertz’s backup, Chase Wolf, dropped back to pass and was immediately under siege. Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo came charging off the edge — Wisconsin's tackles were completely overmatched Saturday — and Ojabo stripped the ball from Wolf as he tried desperately to escape. Defensive tackle Chris Hinton recovered the fumble, and Michigan tacked on a field goal to make it 23-10.
Then on the ensuing possession, Wolf again felt the pressure on first down — Hutchinson and Donovan Jeter this time — and threw a pass he shouldn’t have, one that Hill snagged with a leaping interception to give the Wolverines’ offense the ball back at the Wisconsin 35. Five plays later, Cade McNamara hit Cornelius Johnson in the corner of the end zone, adding a 2-point conversion to make it 31-10.
Game over, party on. Wisconsin’s student section made a hasty exit after that, headed for beer. And just like that Michigan made itself feel right at home on the road, as the visiting fans who stayed started chanting, “Let’s go, Blue!”
A strange sight, and an even stranger sound, considering Michigan hadn’t won a game in Madison since 2001, before some of these players were even born.
The last two years, the Wolverines got rolled by Wisconsin, outscored by a combined 59 points while getting outmuscled and outhustled and outcoached as well.
But while this Wisconsin team clearly isn’t like the others, these Wolverines keep saying the same. And with performances like this, it’s getting harder not to believe them.
You said wait 'till Wisconsin. Don’t take stock until then. Forget about 4-0.
Well, maybe you didn’t say that. But plenty did, including, ahem, me.
What should we say now?
After Michigan football rolled over the Badgers , 38-17, on Saturday afternoon the way thunderstorms roll over Lake Michigan?
The Wolverines?
They brought thunder early and lightning late, beating Wisconsin in Madison for the first time since 2001, finding enough push at the point of attack to run the ball and protect the quarterback. What more do you want?
Yes, Cade McNamara missed several open receivers early. Yet to focus on that instead of the dimes he threw down the field later would be like judging coach Jim Harbaugh’s past few years and concluding this one would be no different.
Wait, we did that. And it might not.
But U-M is 5-0 for the first time since 2016, the year, if you’ll recall, that the Wolverines lost a spot in the Big Ten title game by a few inches in Columbus, Ohio.
This isn’t to say U-M will roll into the Ohio State game with a chance at a trip to Indianapolis. On the other hand … why not? Maybe the Big Ten isn’t what it has been recently.
Brad Shepard, Bleacher Report: Winners and Losers from Week 5 of College Football
Winner: The Jim Harbaugh Reclamation Project
There's no question Jim Harbaugh's tenure at his alma mater has been rife with underachievement.
After some promising first steps to his rebuild in Ann Arbor, he's gone just 11-8 the past two years. While he agreed to a four-year extension in January this offseason, it was at a much smaller price tag that has him in the bottom half of the Big Ten in annual base salary.
This is for a coach once among the nation's highest-paid.
So far this year, it looks like the Wolverines may have a bargain. Harbaugh's team went into Camp Randall on Saturday and whipped Wisconsin in every facet of the game on its way to a 38-17 win. The Badgers aren't going to scare anybody this year, but it was still a strong win, even if it wasn't exactly a statement.
The No. 14-ranked Wolverines are not a pushover this year. They've been run-heavy much of the year, but against a Wisconsin defense determined to stop the run, Michigan diversified.
Wolverines quarterback Cade McNamara found Cornelius Johnson twice for scoring tosses, proving they can move the ball through the air, too. A rugged Michigan defense knocked Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz out of the game with a chest injury.
After Mertz's injury, Michigan scored 25 consecutive points to run away with the game. Wisconsin could do nothing on the ground, and that's how the Wolverines won in Madison for the first time since 2001.
Harbaugh's team is now 5-0, and there are plenty of reasons for Big Blue Nation to hope.
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