This is going to be a bit short, a theme that’ll probably carry over for the next couple of weeks as Michigan faces a cascading number of teams the kids would describe as “mid”, at best.  Michigan scored over 30 points while giving up 7 or fewer yet again; it has been the story for the entire season.  I’m sure it’s fun for the team and it’s relaxing as a fan but it makes recapping a bit repetitive and uninspiring, which I know sounds, and is, the most first-world football fan problem in the world. 

Best:  Husked

You’d be excused if you watched the first 4-ish weeks of this season and conclude that Michigan is clearly a really good team but have no idea if that means “one of the best teams in the country and capable of winning a national title” or “good enough to soundly beat a bunch of teams that reside in the 100s per SP+.”  Last week’s game against Rutgers was a good first sign, as the Scarlet Knights are a legitimately okay team, and being “legitimately okay” is not a term thrown around Piscataway lightly.  Furthermore, Rutgers has been a tough opponent for UM recently, giving them an absurdly competitive game in 2020 followed by a closer-than-it-needed-to-be game in 2021 and a slow-motion blowout last year that went into halftime with Rutgers up 17-14.   The consensus take has been that Michigan never takes Rutgers particularly seriously, especially coming off the Chris Ash years where the metric “a Rutger” was birthed, and that’s why these games have seemingly been more competitive than they should be.  But it was more than that – there’s a level of competence Rutgers possesses under Schiano, for as bad as he is coaching basically anywhere else, that helps to mask some of their talent deficiencies.  Him and Rutgers are like star-crossed lovers, divined to always be stronger together and while I’m not sure he saw his career ending as the winningest coach in that school’s history it seems like he genuinely is happy to be there and he’s absolutely made them better being there again.

The same sense of ascension, of injecting new life into a moribund program, was what everyone in Nebraska expected when Scott Frost returned to the plains in 2018.  He was the hottest coaching prospect in the country, coming off an undefeated season at UCF that earned him a ton of personal accolades as well as the very real aura of perhaps the next great young coach in the sport, a former 2-time national champion in Lincoln as a player who seemingly threaded the needle between 21st-century offensive innovation and throwback “real football” guy that warmed the hearts of blue hairs everywhere. He talked about hitting harder and making players puke due to exertion and always looked ready to lace up the cleats and give it a go.  He was supposed to usher a new era of Nebraska football, one that probably would look a lot like what Michigan has fielded under Harbaugh; a team capable of bullying you up and down the field and then lobbing it over your head while you licked your wounds.  But his teams hilariously underperformed in close games (5-22 in 1-score affairs) and he could never field two coherent, above-average units on both sides of the ball during any given season, and what looked like the embers of progress in 2018 and 2019 turned into a series of increasingly-embarrassing seasons, culminating in being the “1” in “1-11” Northwestern last season and ultimately being fired after a home loss to a 6-7 Sun Belt team that marched down the field on them in about 2 minutes to pick up the win.  Michigan played the Cornhuskers late last year and it was such an unremarkable blowout that I actually forgot it had happened, as the Wolverines put up a bit over 400 yards, held the Cornhuskers under 150, and moved on to bigger and better things.

In the offseason Nebraska hired Matt Rhule, formerly of those good Temple teams you remember (including the one that sacked PSU 8 times in a game) and having fixed the massive crater left behind in Waco after Art Briles was fired from Baylor for making Urban Meyer seem like a decent human being by comparison.  His stint in the NFL didn’t go as well but he’s a damn good college coach and, by all appearances, seems like a decent human being in a sport that doesn’t necessarily reward that temperament.  He’s been willing to tinker with his offense early on this year, seemingly realizing the futility of Jeff Sims at QB and instead adopting a triple-option adjacent offensive philosophy along with short passing concepts.  His defense lacks depth but has talent and plays soundly (for the most part), and while they’re 2-3 and blew a heartbreaker to Minnesota to open the year they have looked far more competent and lively this year than the past couple of seasons.  Honestly, had they switched over from Sims to Haarberg earlier they would have been far more competitive against Colorado and probably would have beaten at least one of the Gophers or the Buffs.  They’re still not good but they’re not terrible, and certainly better than the NW/MSU/IU/Purdue tier of this conference. 

So that’s a long-winded setup to get to the punchline that the way Michigan manhandled the Cornhuskers in this game was the first time all year that I came away believing Michigan played like the best team in the country.  SP+ anointed them such after last weekend’s big win and they held onto the top spot again this week, the first time that’s happened all year.  But the fluidity at the top thus far points to relative “meh”-ness of the season up to this point, where defending champion Georgia is in 4th-quarter battles with mediocre SEC teams, OSU needs two cracks against 10 defenders to get a yard in South Bend, and even teams like Texas follow up a huge win against Alabama with a stinker against (an admittedly good G5 team) Wyoming.  While teams like the Longhorns, the Washington Huskies, and Oregon can lay claim to being one of the best teams in the country based on their marquee wins thus far, Michigan is coming off a 5-game stretch where they’ve scored at least 30 points and given up 7 or fewer, a streak that hasn’t been seen since Florida State’s national title-winning team in 1993.  Yes, opponent caveats and all that but at some point the fact Michigan’s first-team defense is –6 on the season, having given up up 6 points to BGSU on short field goals and a broken tackle TD to Rutgers while recording a TD of their own against the Scarlet Knights has to be reckoned with.  Michigan’s really freaking good at football right now and what’s gotta be scary for everyone else is that they still have a gear or two more they can switch into if necessary.

In this game the Wolverines put up 436 yards on 74 plays, a healthy 6 ypp that was effectively the same offensive output Colorado put on the Cornhuskers in a far more competitive game.  And they did it with balance, racking up 249 yards on the ground and 187 in the year even after pulling most of the starters by the 4th quarter.  Nebraska came into the game with 14 sacks, one of the best numbers in the country, yet they didn’t record one and at times seemingly couldn’t even get particularly close to McCarthy.  And perhaps even more impressively was the fact UM held the Cornhuskers to only 46 plays on offense, with 7 drives spanning 5 plays or less (admittedly 1 of them was the 74-yard TD run that averted the shutout deep into the 4th quarter).  But while Nebraska finished the day with 305 yards of total offense, 126 of them came when they were down 38-0, and the only time Nebraska truly threatened scoring during the “competitive” part of the afternoon UM stoned them on 4th-and-1.  It was a game that absolutely could have been a slog Michigan quickly dispelled any such concern, and did it in such a way that you have a hard time seeing the script being any different until late in November, if at all.

Best:  Eating Corn and Thanking Linemen

J.J. McCarthy had another productive day, averaging 9.8 ypa on 16 attempts and 2 TDs, sprinkling in some bullet throws into tight windows even when they probably weren’t advisable i.e. that TD throw to Roman Wilson.  He also added 30 yards and a TD on 2 carries, one a designed run to punish an overly-aggressive Husker front on the opening drive of the game and the other a “I know the coaches don’t want me to get hit but good lord I can walk into the endzone from the 10 yard line” scramble in the 2nd.  And after that play McCarthy celebrated exactly as you’d expect, first miming the consumption of a corn cob followed by thanking his linemen for such great blocks.  Throughout the broadcast the announcers kept mentioning how McCarthy contains multitudes, about how he practices meditation and calming affirmations but also contains a “demon” that enjoys physicality and violence.  I’m sure that dichotomy, of being at a 5 until you have to turn it up to an 11, is a trait common amongst the best athletes in the world.  But McCarthy has an edge to him that you can see in this team, one that mirrors his head coach.  He’s not going to intentionally try to embarrass an opponent or “show off”, but he’s absolutely willing to play to the whistle and if that means blowing past a gasping linebacker or making NFL throws against decidedly non-NFL defenders then so be it.  Him and Corum both exude what I can only describe as “action movie professionalism”, that trope where some extremely well-trained guy who just wants to be left alone gets called back into action because “he’s the best” and some wrong needs to be righted.  Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington have made careers out of that part, as you see them ruefully pick up their weapon or check a watch before demolishing a bunch of unnamed goons.  With McCarthy and Corum, you can tell they come into every game expecting to win as economically as possible, as soundly as possible, and that sense of professionalism and competency permeates the entire team.  It’s a big reason why Michigan leads the country in fewest penalty yards and save for that BGSU game has been extremely careful with the football.  This second full year of McCarthy is a different level of QB than Michigan has had in a minute, and its effect on the offense can’t be overstated.

 

Best:  Blake Corum But 240 Pounds

https://twitter.com/mgoblog/status/1708210134810272077

Kalel Mullings started getting short-yardage carries in earnest last year once Blake Corum went down, and while it had its highs and lows you could see the potential in him after transitioning over from linebacker.   He was a legitimate 4* linebacker from my neck of the woods in Boston coming out of high school, the type of guy Don Brown typically unearthed from high schools with gothic buildings, manicured lawns, and college-level tuition.  He projected more as an NFL linebacker than a running back, but there was always the nimble feet, the quick burst, and the vision there on film with the ball in his hand, and after two years scuffling at linebacker his move to the offensive backfield made more sense especially with improved depth at his old defensive position.  He’s clearly #3 on the depth chart behind Corum and Edwards, but you watch him break thru multiple tackle attempts while keeping his feet up and moving on his 21-yard TD score and you see why he’s probably the leader in the clubhouse going into next year if the two guys ahead of him are in the NFL.  At his size and athleticism, he’s a tough guy to take down and can make defenders miss in the backfield as well.  Especially as the staff clearly wants to keep everyone fresh while also exploiting various mismatches on the ground, having a guy like Mullings who can serve as a lead blocker and a clear run threat opens up a ton more options for an offense that is already a nightmare for opposing defenses.

 

Best:  Lining Up Nicely

If there’s been one consistent bit of consternation about Michigan’s offense this year it has been with the offensive line, which has been rotating tackles at times with nobody above “okay” really emerging.  On the most recent podcast Brian noted that having two okay tackles was the floor coming into the year and so its disappointing to hit that low expectation but I thought the tackles looked a step better in this game than the past couple of contests.  On McCarthy’s first TD throw when he had basically the shot clock turned off both Henderson and Barnhart were walls while on Mullings’s TD run it was Henderson again who demolished an end and opened up a huge hole.  On the day McCarthy was rarely moved off his spot let alone touched by the pass rush, and Nebraska only collected a single TFL despite coming into the game averaging over 6.  I believe Hinton missed the game but if Henderson is making strides after coming over in the summer and plays like the draft pick he was projected after last season at ASU, that raises the ceiling for the tackles into the territory where you don’t see a lot of teams in the country, let alone on the schedule, that’ll be able to consistent get pressure on McCarthy and the backs.

And on the defensive line, even without Graham for another week Michigan’s front was largely impregnable.  Yes Nebraska broke off a big run inside late but that’s against guys who are decidedly still down the depth chart, but without that 74-yard TD run they averaged 1.6 yards on 20 carries and were stuffed on 4th down rather emphatically.  Kenneth Grant got the second Big Guy pick of the year but McCgregor deserves credit for getting his hand up and batting that ball up in the air at the line, and on top of the 4 sacks they picked up by Moore, McGregor, and Stewart they also recorded 2 more hits and 2 pass breakups.  In particular, it was encouraging to see Stewart consistently get into the backfield and hold up somewhat well against the run; he’s still got a ways to go but feels like he might be getting close to the Mike Danna-level performance you’d expect from a G5 up-transfer.

 

Worst:  Stop Trying to Make “Mess with OSU” Happen

It goes without saying that there are basically 2 opponents on this schedule who pose a real threat to Michigan, and they are Penn State and Ohio State.  Penn State continues to feel quite tractable, the type of James Franklin team that’ll struggle with middling competition for a while before blowing them out in the second half so that you don’t look too deeply into why their starting QB completed 55% of his throws for 5.7 ypa against NW.  OSU, while still having some issues at QB, look far more dangerous simply because of their embarrassment of riches at wide receiver.  So it makes some sense that Michigan would use these games to work on formations and defensive alignments optimized to slow down that attack.  But in doing so, it can be a bit annoying as an observer because it doesn’t always make a ton of sense for the actual opponent they’re facing who decidedly doesn’t have that level of talent.  Last week it was Michigan’s corners and safeties inexplicably giving Rutgers receivers 7-8 yards of cushion on plays that Gavin Wimsatt (usually) hit for easy gains.  This weekend it was some of that but with the added wrinkle of having defensive linemen jump in and out of coverage at the snap.  I understand at an intellectual level that messing with QBs post-snap is essential to disrupting high-level passing games, and Michigan’s linemen are athletic enough to do so.  But it felt like Nebraska either compensated for were just ready for it because a lot of Haarberg’s completions were to guys sorta being checked by these linemen, or at the very least into areas where they had vacated space.  It doesn’t really matter in a game where Michigan is demolishing people and I’m sure it makes the UFR more interesting but it was my one complaint about the defense on what was otherwise a dominating game.

Next Week:  Minnesota

Another week, another mediocre B1G West team.  Minnesota was expected to be one of the tougher teams on Michigan’s schedule due to their stout defense and punishing running game.  But without 12th-year senior Tanner Morgan (he was in the same recruiting class as Dylan McCaffrey and Sean Clifford) and Mo Ibrahim, the Gophers’ offense has floundered (77th per SP+) and their defense is just okay.  They can still run the ball a bit (close to 200 yards per game) but they’re not particularly efficient (4.7 ypa) and their passing game has really struggled to move downfield with any consistency.  They probably should have lost at home to Nebraska to start the year and blew a 21-point lead over NW 2 weeks ago.  I’m sure they’ll put up a fight but I’m having a hard time seeing this game going demonstrably different than the first 5 of the year for the Wolverines.