Hot take on the offense

Michigan still benefits for a backfield that has both Haskins and Corum. Corum provides a receiving threat out of the backfield that Haskins cannot provide. On that 3rd and 5 inside our 10, Corum takes that likely for 10 to 15 yards. Michigan would've really benefited from Corum out of the backfield against Penn State, in specific situations that warranted a screen. 

It probably just seems that way because both Haskins and Corum are unbelievably good

Actually, I was thinking the opposite. The offense has been a little too inconsistent and while Haskins is great it really needs the home run punch from the backfield that Corum provides to operate at its capacity.

We need them both.  Corum brings an added dimension and there's a limit to how long Haskins can carry that kind of load.

I get where you're going with this. I think it's better when there's one main RB who gets 50+ percent of the carries, with there being a good 25+ to RB2, and the rest being QB runs or RB3. That being said, it really seems like Corum and Haskins are building each other up. At least publically, I've never seen either of them saying they want more carries. However, Corum and Haskins are 2 totally different RB's. Corum isn't going to be dragging anyone like Haskins because Corum already slipped the tackle and got ahead of them. Would Haskins have had 156 yards last game with Corum playing? No, but they both would've had 80+. 

You raise a good question.    It almost seems like H2 wears the opposing defensive line out.  Plus he seemed as fresh going for that last first down at the end of the game as he did in the first quarter.

Just my thoughts:

1) Michigan absolutely needs another RB in the mix. If not for the most basic reason of needing someone to spell Hassan and keep him fresh, Blake has an extra gear to kick into that Hassan simply does not have. Blake is just flat out faster and can outrun most everyone on the field. Hassan does not have that attribute, and that's okay. He's got things to offer that Blake doesn't have. Great RB, but if Hassan breaks free into the open field, I'm usually expecting a member of the opposing secondary to catch up to him and bring him down before he can find the end zone unless they're inside the opposing 20 or 30 yard line. 

2) Hassan may simply be playing better because his team has needed him to. They've needed him to step up, and he's delivered thus far. Think about it: you're stepping into high pressure moments with your entire season on the line, you know the offense goes through the run game, and your other half is down for the count. Hassan may really just be digging down deep and finding that extra "oomph" to get his team over the finish line until Blake is back to help share the load. Kind of that "I will not be denied" mindset. 

I think they can get by against Maryland without Blake. That should be a time for Donovan to step in more and get his feet wet. But if Blake can play and is anything close to 100%, he needs to be on the field against OSU, and I'm sure he'd tell you that himself as well. You need any and every possible weapon you have just to even give yourself a fighting chance against those guys. 

I get where you're going and your point is somewhat valid, but I would wager that if you polled every coach in the country as to whether they'd rather have Corum AND Haskins available in their arsenal, as opposed to only Haskins, every single one of them would say yes.

Of course Corum wouldn't be doing the same things Haskins does. That's sort of the point of rotating them for their unique individual talents.

Your offense is at its best with all of its weapons. Let’s hope Blake is back for the OSU game 

From the perspective of the running back I'm sure there's an argument to be made for more touches equals better running.

From a defense perspective it's more difficult to adapt to two different running styles and offensive skill sets.

From an offensive perspective, having two running backs keeps each of them more fresh for an entire game and gives more opportunity to vary your play call.

I don't know if better is the right word.  Haskins suits the current offense better because of the lack of a downfield passing game (RIP Ronnie Bell).  Both RB's get hit early a lot because of stacked boxes and only one is really great at churning out a ton of extra yards despite that.  That said, we still the guy (Corum) really badly because I don't like the amount hits Haskins is taking.  Sooner or later that will catch up with him.

I guess I'm in the no crowd, as well, though the last significant time we saw from Corum involved two key costly miscues.

I do buy your premise this much: that game on Saturday may have been one where UM benefitted from having their mudder run the race. I suppose the counter to that is, with a mix of Corum downs in the running game PSU couldn't have cheated their linebackers as much to the inside runs. 

Unfortunately have to agree that it was a blessing to have only Haskins for PSU. He gets so many yards after contact while Corum goes down ion contact often and is more of an open field threat than between the tackles. 

Would love to see Corum do the skip jump and take it outside more as a designed play like MSU does a lot. Gotta get Corum in space to do what he does best and let Haskins take care of the power while obviously mixing in a bit for both to change it up. 

It was so great to see them finally run outside against PSU with great success. If M is going to play manball then Haskins has to be the guy. 

Their success is not mutually exclusive. Corum is a home run hitter. Haskins gets you consistent singles with some doubles mixed in. It’s reasonable to assume half of Haskins’ touches would have gone to a healthy Corum with similar or better results.  

I've said this before, but I would love to see some 2-back packages if Corum comes back for OSU.  As an example, on the 4th and 2 that got stoned, if you have both Haskins and Corum in the backfield, running a flare or wheel route with Corum probably draws more than one defender, so he effectively blocks more than an extra TE would, and you wouldn't have defenders selling out against the run.  Even Corum faking that he would be receiving a pitch could hold either a crashing edge or a LB.  Also, part of the reason PSU was able to align the way they did was that the TE to the left was Trente Jones, who is not going out for a pass, so there was no need to have a safety to that side. Obviously Corum wasn't available, but if that TE is All, and you have Haskins deep with Edwards as a FB, PSU has to be more honest with their alignment.

Sorry to thread hijack but had a stupid question. What was the ruling in the Penn State game when we punted and a Michigan player caught the ball at the 2 but fell into the endzone? I was sure it was a touchback but Harbaugh argued with the refs and they placed the ball at the 2. 

That's a good point, actually. The great backs get better as the game goes on and Hassan is one of those guys. We definitely don't drop off any without Blake being there. To say not having Blake available makes the team better is inaccurate, but we don't lose much - style, I suppose - when Hassan is the only back. The dude is 'Nails'; 'I'm doing all the work? No problem'