Iowa falls to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. What can we truly know about a defense when the guy who is tied for second on the team in tackles for loss was a slot receiver last year? It was not a great day for punter Brad Robbins, however. Michigan Monday: Rammer Jammer Maize Hammer - Buckeye Huddle Receiver AJ Henning had a long kickoff return of 31 yards, so that was at least notable. 10 Evan Pryor, Closer Look: Malik Hartford Checks Every Box At Safety, 5 True Freshmen Who Could Make An Impact On Ohio States Offense, Malcolm Jenkins, Nick Mangold, Rick Middleton Among 2023 Ohio State Athletics Hall Of Fame Class, Closer Look: Josh Simmons Brings Experience, Athleticism To Offensive Line - Buckeye Huddle, Closer Look: Physicality, Length Set Calvin Simpson-Hunt Apart, Closer Look: Defensive End Joshua Mickens Is A Complete Run-Pass Defender, Closer Look: Jelani Thurman Provides Punch, Potential At Tight End, Closer Look: Lincoln Kienholz A Complete Package At Quarterback, Ranking Ohio State's Top 10 Playmakers On Offense For 2023 - No. The Wolverines should have been able to do better. Jim Harbaugh lost his first five times as a head coach in this series, but has now won two in a row. Sometimes it can just be a scare, but too often the fact that a player simply releases the football is because the scales have shifted in terms of concern and importance. Michigan finished with 264 yards on the ground, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. the Michigan Monday from Toledos win over Michigan in 2008, Closer Look: Josh Simmons Brings Experience, Athleticism To Offensive Line, Ranking Ohio States Top 10 Playmakers On Offense For 2023 No. Saturdays finale saw the Wolverines beat Connecticut 59-0, and the game was sickeningly less close than the score indicated. BuckeyeHuddle.com (@BuckeyeHuddle) / Twitter The Buckeyes ran the ball 20 times for 125 yards in the first half, but then ran the ball just nine more times in the second half. Unless, of course, they meet again in the playoffs. It cant be as good as it was last year, but its impossible to know yet just how close it might be. They were fine as usual. Over the last three games in the red zone, McCarthy has produced 18 yards on 14 drop-backs (including one sack). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Linebacker Junior Colson led the team with 13 tackles, but he never seemed to impact the game. There is no scoffing. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Nine of those passes came in the second quarter, so that was actually quite a few in one short span of time, but he completed just four of his attempts. There was no single standout defender for Michigan, which is pretty much what you want to see against an offense like this. This team can finally go about improving its weaknesses. Instead of writing about what has been learned about this Michigan team against UConn, I thought it would be more prudent to discuss what we still dont yet know about the Wolverines. Safety Makari Paige was out again this week. Maryland did a pretty good job in coverage on the wideouts, which was a somewhat surprising. I think this may have been cornerback Gemon Greens best game as a Wolverine. Its just unfortunate for him that hes having to learn on the job in Big Ten play. Going into this game, I thought this would have been a good opportunity for quarterback JJ McCarthy to throw the ball around and try to find some type of rhythm. Other than that, you couldnt even hear the muffled screams. Michigan Monday: Happy Warriors Super Fun Time. 2023 Buckeye Huddle | Community Services from. Thats nearly two-thirds of their total yardage. Brown rushed for 140 yards on 29 carries, including a 37-yard touchdown that gave Illinois a 17-10 lead that they took into the fourth quarter. If Michigan doesnt sack CJ Stroud on Saturday, expect him to have more than 178 yards passing. Welcome To Michigan Week - Buckeye Huddle McCarthy is still deadly on the move and appears to throw better when hes out of the pocket and not thinking too much. Tagovailoa had some big pockets to work with in this game. Defensively, the Wolverines have more of an idea of what its going to take to deal with Big Ten offensive lines. The Michigan special teams is a winning complement to both sides of the ball because they set up the offense and defense for success whenever they are involved. They threw the ball the first time they lined up in the Pistol, and they ran it the second time they were in the shotgun. Third and goal from the 8-yard line. The Buckeye Weekly Podcast: Michigan Monday - Apple Podcasts They havent even allowed 400 yards of total offense to an opponent yet this season. The receiver room doesnt appear to have the muscle to consistently catch passes in the end zone. Marc Givler 1 min read June 26, 2023. Ryan Day wont get that long. Behind Enemy Lines: Michigan - Buckeye Huddle You dont have enough oven. If anybody wants my advice, Id say sell out to stop the run and make JJ McCarthy beat you. Any time an injury leads to a player immediately losing focus on the ball, it is usually pretty bad news. Saturday night was the beginning of the JJ McCarthy Era at Michigan and now the Wolverines may have the biggest difference maker they've ever had at quarterback. Ohio State held on, just as theyd seen Michigan do earlier in the day. He also rushed for 39 yards on five attempts before leaving the game with an injury. Did you see the way they spelled inordinate so confidently? The other answer is Corum was already banged up a little and they were simply trying to give him some relief. He clearly wasnt right and so they rest of the running burden fell to freshman CJ Stokes and walk-on Isaiah Gash. Or even be the No. The Wolverines can win out doing what theyre doing. Or maybe this is exactly what should be expected of a run defense that also gave up over 5 yards per carry to Ohio State, Minnesota, and Maryland. There will be a struggle between doing what you do best, avoiding being overly reliant on those traits, and then doing something new at the right time and in the right way. As such, this piece wont have the same depth of minutiae and detail that you can sometimes find here. Jim Harbaugh now moves to 4-4 against Michigan State as Michigans head coach. On the passing side of things, McCarthy completed 15-of-25 passes for 167 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. 318 episodes Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning covers Ohio State football, basketball, hockey, and other athletics with daily episodes. 10 Evan Pryor - Buckeye Huddle, Tony Alford Excited About Return Of Evan Pryor, Michigan Monday: Happy Warriors Super Fun Time, Michigan Monday: Wolverines Smother Tucker. They each bring something different to the passing game, and all three possess the reliability a young quarterback needs. Penn State returned four kickoff returns and had a long of just 19 yards. Nebraska ran for 75 yards, making them the seventh UM opponent this season to be held under 100 yards rushing. I suspect it will be very good, but McCarthy has thrown all of 25 career passes against ranked opponents. They are now done with a non-conference schedule that should have included apology letters to every Michigan season ticket holder. We all said coming into this game that you have to make JJ McCarthy beat you. It was not his best game, however. Weve said here for weeks that its a two-way street between the QB accuracy and the receivers ability to get open or make 50/50 catches. Corum showed the patience that were now used to seeing from him. pic.twitter.com/cSmUiKXCNe. Though to call what Michigan did holding on would be a bit generous since they actually lost control of the game until the final moments. Nebraska tailback Anthony Grant came into the game averaging 95.3 yards rushing per game. As for the shotgun tendency, after running out of the shotgun the second time in that alignment, they threw the ball the next 16 times with the QB and RB lined up evenly. Michigan Monday: Corn Futures Down. This was the best game of his career. He scored both of Michigans touchdowns, though one was a jet sweep touch pass. The 33-yarder came on fourth down at the end of the first half to give UM their first lead. This is now JJ McCarthys team, and while that means a higher ceiling, we still dont know what the floorplan looks like. Michigan Monday: The 2 Questions That Could Decide Ohio - Spreaker It also means that to this point, it apparently doesnt matter how many times Blake Corum carries the ball. Things are moving faster now and hell need to do the same. Required fields are marked *. Required fields are marked *. Even the 57-yard field goal attempt up 31-20 in the fourth quarter was a dangerous call and didnt work, but Harbaugh was thinking about the 14-point lead it would have given them. The Wolverines had two drives in the first half alone that utilized more time of possession than all of Penn States first half T.O.P. McCarthy only threw six passes more than five yards downfield, and completed just 2-of-5 attempts that went at least 10 yards downfield. He finished with 22 yards on 11 carries. But then the Wolverines took it one step further and also knocked out offensive coordinator Mark Whipple who got rolled up on while standing on the sideline. He took shots throughout the game but they werent connecting. There is no legitimate insight that I can provide from this game. Michigan State has one of the worst red zone defenses in the Big Ten. Your email address will not be published. I think this defense can tackle, which makes them even more effective. But Day also has plenty of self-inflicted wounds as well. Another week, another pair of blowout wins for Ohio State and Michigan, as the Buckeyes and Wolverines continue to march toward an epic showdown in the Horseshoe on November 26. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. McCarthy fumbled twice in this game, but the Wolverines were able to recover both. And from our (yes, Im a Michigan fan/alum) biggest rival, no less. It looks like Ronnie Bell, Roman Wilson, and Cornelius Johnson are going to be the big three in the passing game this year, which is smart since those are the three most consistent receivers on the team. Michigan is now in the process of learning, however, which they hope will lead to much less guessing down the road when it matters most. Corum came back out in the second half and carried the ball once, but that was it. Michigan has finished the most embarrassingly easy non-conference schedule for a major Big Ten team in quite some time. It also means that Michigans defense is not ready for Ohio States offense. Closer Look: Josh Simmons Brings Experience, Athleticism To Offensive Line, Ranking Ohio States Top 10 Playmakers On Offense For 2023 No. Thats the kind of year its been for everybody else in the Big Ten. Ohio States focus in this game was rightfully going to be on stopping Corum, and if some of that attention can go somewhere else, that is a bad development for a Michigan offense that is searching for some help right now. A-Deck: Predicting The Ohio State Class Of 2024 (Version 2.0) - Buckeye Huddle on A-Deck: Intel From June 16-18 Official Visits, Previewing Upcoming Monster Recruiting Weekend . Defensive tackle Mazi Smith was as active as ever with eight tackles. Clifford eventually left the game and was replaced by true freshman Drew Allar, who completed 5-of-10 passes for 37 yards. In Spartys case, however, they just kept singing along until they passed out. 2023 Buckeye Huddle | Community Services from. It means that Michigan is well on their way to 11-0, but if they want to keep that zero in the loss column theyre going to need to get better in the red zone. I think we know the scheme works and the players know the scheme, so thats definitely a plus. Penn State rode into Ann Arbor this past Saturday with a 5-0 record and a No. The Wolverines used a team effort to shut down talented wide receiver Jayden Reed. (The Wolverines are 49th nationally.). Day no doubt after the game is saying If you just take those five plays away That may give him some hope and confidence that things arent necessarily as desperate as they seem, but just taking five plays away is a lot like saying if you just take the gun out of John Wilkes Booths hand, the Lincoln Family wouldnt have left such a poor review of Fords Theater on Yelp. The Terps had no answer for Corum in this game. They were led by Blake Corums 177 yards on 33 attempts. Quarterback JJ McCarthy added 62 yards rushing on six carries, which came via both scrambles and read-keepers. Rather than throw the ball with quarterback JJ McCarthy, the Wolverines ran the ball with Gash for two yards. He connected on his fifth attempt, which was when it was needed most. He is not as good as Corum yet, but just because Dr. James Andrews isnt doing your knee surgery doesnt mean youll never walk again. For the game, the Wolverines rushed for 243 total yards. The Terp quarterbacks were sacked three times, and were able to escape from a couple more. Saturday's finale saw the Wolverines beat Connecticut 59-0, and the game was sickeningly less close than the score indicated. When Michigan was on defense, Penn States offense was pushed back more often than Chinese Democracy. They say you can throw the records out when rivals play, but when those rivals are both undefeated, why not keep the records in play a little longer? Perhaps, but its still better than having to watch the Connecticut game and then also writing about it. Quarterback Payton Thorne completed 17-of-30 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception. If Ohio State is going to tell us everything we want to know about the Michigan secondary, the offensive line is going to have to give CJ Stroud time to throw the ball. In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr recap Michigan's 51-7 win o. . Instead, he threw it 17 times and completed just eight passes. Sept 3 Michigan 51 Colorado State 7Sept 10 Michigan 56 Hawaii 10Sept 17 Michigan 59 Connecticut 0Sept 24 Michigan 34 Maryland 27Oct 1 at IowaOct 8 at IndianaOct 15 Penn StateOct 29 Michigan StateNov 5 at RutgersNov 12 NebraskaNov 19 IllinoisNov 26 at Ohio State, Your email address will not be published. Especially when youre fumble prone. The game went about as expected, which is always a good thing when you're hoping your starting quarterback plays poorly enough to be replaced without any extra drama involved. The Wolverines rushed for 335 yards on 43 attempts (7.8 ypc) and passed for 216 yards on 17 attempts (12.7 ypa).