michigan beats an opponent into submission

Michigan came out of the halftime intermission and received the opening kickoff of the third quarter. They promptly ran eight plays to gain 73 yards and scored a TD to go up by 17 points. They did not pass the ball once in those eight plays. That was the kind of the night it was for the Wolverines, who bullied the Washington Huskies all game long on the ground, showing a casual indifference towards the concept of moving the ball through the air. After Cade McNamara completed a back-shoulder pass to Cornelius Johnson on a third and long with 4:24 left in the first quarter, Michigan never seriously challenged through the air downfield again. It didn't matter.

Michigan mounted a bulldozer in this game and drove Washington right back to Seattle. Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins were driving that bulldozer. Behind those two monster RB's, both of whom gained over 150 yards on the ground in this one, the Wolverines paved the Washington Huskies en route to a 31-10 victory. The crowd was told to wear Maize— and they did. Most of the 108,345 person crowd was seated nearly an hour before kickoff, and the atmosphere for the first night game with fans since August 2019 was electric. They forced Washington into a delay of game penalty on the game's opening play and the feel of Michigan Stadium, with Maize pom-poms waving, could only make your author salivate from his Toronto couch.

Washington got the ball first but the teams traded punts on their opening possessions. A sack from Aidan Hutchinson put an end to Washington's second series and a good Caden Kolesar punt return gave the Wolverines stellar field position. That drive quickly stalled out, but within field goal range of the magnificent leg of Jake Moody, who split the uprights from 52 yards out and gave UM a 3-0 lead. The next time the Wolverines had the pigskin, they drove all the way to Washington's goal line with ease but then ran into the beefy bodies of Tuli and Taki, Washington's hulking defensive tackles who represent the teeth of the Husky defense. Two consecutive runs between the tackles stalled, puzzling playcalling given the vulnerability on the edge of the Washington defense, and Michigan turned it over on downs at the goal line.

Blake Corum had himself a night to remember under the lights [Patrick Barron]

They got it back soon enough, though, and after a gutsy decision to go for it on 4th & 1 at the Michigan 30 yard line paid off, Blake Corum answered a house call and ran it 67 yards for a touchdown. Washington wouldn't threaten again in the first half after their own 4th down attempt came up short in Michigan territory, as Richard Newton was mauled by Aidan Hutchinson and a swath of angry Wolverines defenders behind the line of scrimmage. The score was 10-0 at the half.

That's when the aforementioned grueling drive to begin the second half occurred: four Hassan Haskins runs followed by four Blake Corum runs and Michigan was in the end zone. Given Washington's publicized struggles at coming from behind, it felt like game over at that point. In the end, it was.

To UW's credit, they responded with a long drive, but Michigan's bend-not-break defense held them out of the end zone, and though a Peyton Henry FG got the Huskies on the board, it was too little too late. A Hassan Haskins six-yard TD carry on the next Michigan possession made it 24-3, and that's when you could mentally begin moving onto next week and Northern Illinois. The teams traded TD's after that, a Dylan Morris pass to Terrell Bynum over Rod Moore and a late-game Corum tally, to make the final score 31-10, but the game's victor was not in doubt at that juncture.

Gotta give some love to Haskins too [Bryan Fuller]

In the end, the box score tells a tale of two different strategies: Michigan rushed for 343 yards and passed for just 44. Washington passed for 293 and ran for just 50. Given that the Huskies were being stonewalled at the line of scrimmage and playing catch up the entirety of the game, the Washington distribution makes some sense. Michigan's distribution brought much discussion online. Cade McNamara didn't really show anything heinous to justify stuffing Michigan's entire passing attack in a locker the way that Gattis and Harbaugh did, but perhaps they were satisfied with the showing on the ground.

The Maize & Blue offensive line mauled the Husky front and when you have two backs as good as Corum and Haskins, and are playing with the lead, it's hard to argue with that. Still, many eyes will be on McNamara and the receivers next week in a tuneup game at the Big House against NIU. Corum finished with 171 yards and 3 TD's, perhaps kickstarting his Heisman campaign, while Hassan Haskins got more carries (27), rushing for 155 with one score. Hard to find a better RB tandem than those two anywhere in America right now.

Josh Ross led Michigan in tackles [Patrick Barron]

Defensively, Michigan allowed 343 yards, but it felt better than that. They held Washington to 122 yards in the first half and it wasn't until Washington fell down 17-0 that they began to move the ball. UW had just four drives in the second half, but they went for an average of 55.5 yards, with Dylan Morris finding holes in Michigan's zone defense and Michigan perhaps slinking back into a more preventative look. The run defense was excellent, though, and the Wolverines got plenty of pressure.

It was a standout day for Aidan Hutchinson, playing in front of a smorgasbord of NFL scouts, finishing with 2.5 sacks and 4 tackles. David Ojabo added a sack of his own, and Taylor Upshaw was credited with a half-sack. Josh Ross led the home team in tackling by a mile, finishing with 11. It was another day for heavy defensive rotation, as 22 different players are credited on the Stat Broadcast box score as having recorded a defensive event (a tackle, sack, PBU, or QB hit).

Michigan's defense is still learning the scheme and the offense is still trying to find a playcalling rhythm and an offensive identity. If tonight was any indication, that identity is probably on the ground. And most importantly, the team is still unbeaten, advancing to 2-0. They host Northern Illinois in what should be the easiest game on the schedule, at the Big House next Saturday at 12:00 pm EST.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Nothing]