Ten months ago, with the Michigan
football team trailing 17-0 in Piscataway,
N.J., Jim Harbaugh turned to quarterback
Cade McNamara.
The move was seen as a last resort.
McNamara, then a sophomore, began
the season third on the Wolverines’
quarterback depth chart behind Joe
Milton and Dylan McCaffrey. He had never
seen meaningful game action, but after the
former played his way to the bench and the
latter transferred, McNamara was thrust
onto the field.
He made the most of the opportunity,
steering
the
Wolverines’
comeback
win and saving the program from a
catastrophic loss. He completed 27-of-36
pass attempts for 260 yards and accounted
for five total touchdowns in the 48-42
overtime victory. But above all, he showed
the leadership traits Michigan’s previous
quarterbacks lacked.
“That’s probably the biggest statement
you can make,” Harbaugh told reporters
on Monday. “Coming into a game like that,
that’s your opportunity. Seventeen points
down, rally the team, comeback victory.
That does a lot — that does a tremendous
amount for your own confidence and the
belief everyone has in an individual.”
Nearly a year later, that confidence
has only grown stronger. McNamara has
emerged as the Wolverines’ stabilizing
factor, leading to a 3-0 start this fall.
Even in Michigan’s run-heavy offense,
McNamara’s consistency through the
air maintains a valuable dimension of
any college offense. Despite limited
opportunities to throw, he’s completed 24
of his 37 passes so far — a 64.9% completion
rate — and has three touchdowns through
the air, including an 87-yard bomb, the
third-longest in program history.
McNamara’s early success dates back to
the end of last year, when he went into the
offseason as the program’s unquestioned
starting quarterback. That allowed him to
take on a bigger leadership role following a
dismal 2-4 season in 2020.
“When something’s not right, he’s going
to speak up,” fifth-year senior safety Brad
Hawkins said. “He’s going to point it out.
He’s a great guy, a great leader. He wants
to be successful, he wants his team to
be successful and he does everything he
needs to do for the team to win. He’s a great
leader. Everyone looks up to him. Everyone
listens to him when he talks. He’s going to
continue to be a great leader, he’s going
to continue to play well and he’s going to
continue to do great things.”
Immediately following Shea Patterson’s
departure
in
2019,
the
Wolverines
struggled to find a reliable pocket presence.
That’s not for a lack of trying, though.
While McNamara patiently waited his
turn, others gave it a shot at the helm.
Milton, for all his untapped potential,
never panned out. McCaffrey decided to
opt out and enter the transfer portal before
last season even began.
Yet, any newcomers brought in to add
depth to the roster haven’t been able to
pry the job from McNamara. Texas Tech
transfer Alan Bowman still hasn’t thrown
a pass in a Michigan uniform. Five-star
freshman J.J. McCarthy has shown
flashes of special talent, but he lacks the
consistency of a veteran like McNamara.
Since the two-year Patterson era ended,
McNamara is the only quarterback to
establish firm control over the job. He
hasn’t earned it with style points or circus
throws — rather, his fundamentally sound
approach has set him apart.
“He’s been consistently good since he’s
played in games,” Harbaugh said. “The
ability to drive the team for points, that’s
getting really impressive. His overall
confidence, ability, time on task, reps …
just like anybody when you play in a game
and realize you can do this. Not as hard as
it seems. Get better at football by playing
football.”
When McNamara takes the field
against Rutgers this upcoming Saturday,
his journey from third-stringer to starter
will come full circle. And his grip on the job
has only grown tighter since leading the
Wolverines’ memorable comeback against
Rutgers 10 months ago.
“He capitalized on his opportunity and
took the bit and ran with it,” Harbaugh said.
“Got to give great credit to Cade for doing
that, for having the fortitude to step in there
and take the bull by the horns. And he hasn’t
given it up, so that’s all to his credit.”
On
Wednesday,
Michigan
running backs coach Mike Hart
told reporters that his biggest
regret from the
Wolverines’
matchup
against
Washington
was
keeping
Donovan
Edwards
on
the bench for
so
long.
On
Saturday,
we
saw why.
With just under seven minutes
left in the third quarter, the
freshman running back came
barreling down the middle of the
field with the ball in his hands and
one thing in his sights: his first
college touchdown.
With just four yards between
the line of scrimmage and the
end zone, Edwards easily made
it through, putting Michigan up,
56-3.
Edwards had picked up a
handful of yards in the Western
Michigan and Washington games
— 27 and four, respectively — but
he made his first true impact
on the stats sheet this weekend
against Northern Illinois with
eight carries, 86 yards and two
touchdowns.
Two minutes after his first, he
found the end zone again. At the
42-yard line, Edwards waited for
the Wolverines’ offensive line to
create an opportunity, and then
he took it. Finding a hole in the
Huskies’ defense, he outran every
defender en route to a 76-yard
touchdown.
Together,
these
two
moments were emblematic of
Michigan’s offense this weekend:
systematically
grinding
down
Northern Illinois’s defense while
creating and taking big offensive
opportunities whenever it could.
More than that, it kept the ball
almost entirely on the ground.
After receiving criticism for last
week’s
run-game-dominated
performance, the Wolverines did
pick up the passing game, securing
233 yards in the air compared to 44
against Washington.
“That was a goal of ours going
into the game. We wanted to rush
for 200 yards, we wanted to pass
for 200 yards,” Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh told reporters after
Saturday’s game. “Felt like the
timing is there, the execution has
been there in practice.”
Yes,
the
Wolverines
were
passing, but it wasn’t the driving
force behind the offense. It was
barely an afterthought. Out of nine
touchdowns, only one resulted
from a pass — an 87-yard bomb
caught by junior receiver Cornelius
Johnson.
Michigan’s
offense
is
still
irrefutably defined by its run
game. Saturday, the Wolverines
registered 373 yards on 48 carries.
In each game so far this season, the
Wolverines have picked up more
rushing yards than the one before.
Michigan now leads the nation
with 1,051 yards on the ground.
This identity — an identity it
seems offensive coordinator Josh
Gattis has been trying to find since
arriving in Ann Arbor three years
ago — could serve as a strong, stable
foundation for Gattis to build upon.
Even with the implied asterisk that
comes with a win over an inferior
opponent, a 63-point trouncing
isn’t meaningless.
It’s an identity built primarily
on the backs of sophomore Blake
Corum and senior Hassan Haskins.
The duo holds a combined 688
rushing yards and 11 touchdowns
this season.
Going into the season, it was
anticipated that the run game
would be a focal point of this
offense.
“We’ve got really good running
backs,” Gattis told reporters before
the start of the season. “Those guys
need the ball. We’ve got to make a
firm commitment to run the ball.
That’s how your numbers go up
from that standpoint.”
Adding Edwards as a valuable
third wheel adds stability to that
strategy.
“It’s
so
tremendous
with
(Corum) and (Haskins),” Harbaugh
said. “You talk about that kind of
tandem at running back. Each is
so good. Add Donovan in there.
Donovan, he’s quite the back
himself. He does a great job with
ball security, it’s important to him.
Some people are just better at that
than other people, and he’s really
good at that.”
If Haskins and Corum are
thunder and lightning, Edwards is
a downpour: maybe not as flashy,
but relentless and powerful all the
same. This trio could be planting
the seeds for an offensive identity
that defines Michigan not just this
season but for years to come.
Or it could be a ceiling. Yes, give
Haskins the ball and you can beat
Northern Illinois. You can beat
Rutgers and probably Minnesota.
But Penn State? Ohio State? The
Wolverines are going to struggle to
find the success they’re looking for
in the long term without an equally
strong passing game.
A common football truism is
that the team that controls the
rushing game usually wins.
Think back to the Wolverines’
most recent triumph over the
Buckeyes
in
2011.
Michigan
was focused on the run game. It
outran Ohio State 277 yards to 137
and the Buckeyes out-passed the
Wolverines 235 yards to Michigan’s
167.
But
a
regression
analysis
published in the Sport Journal
showed that having a first-half
passing-yard advantage increases
the probability of winning whereas
an advantage in rushing yards has
no effect. As such, the saying is
probably a case of reverse causation
— teams that takes the lead will
likely pull ahead in rushing yards
as well.
Now,
think
back
to
2016.
Michigan had an offense anchored
by running backs Karan Higdon,
De’Veon Smith and Chris Evans.
The Wolverines started the season
with a 63-3 win against Hawaii, a
blowout that started a nine-game
win streak. It was a good Michigan
team, but in big moments it couldn’t
pull through.
An Iowa defense was able to
stop the run game, and there was
no passing game to fall back on. An
intercepted pass in the third quarter
caused the Wolverines to blow a 17-3
lead against Ohio State. Michigan
notched two passing touchdowns
in its Orange Bowl appearance, but
it wasn’t enough to prevent another
loss to another ranked opponent.
No one can say that 10-3 is a
disappointing season. No one can
say that the Wolverines weren’t
good in 2016.
But it didn’t hit the benchmarks
of success that Michigan has set
for itself, that Michigan fans have
come to place their blind faith in —
and it hasn’t done so since.
If the Wolverines really hope to
live up to their own expectations,
they can’t rely solely on the run
game.
But, it’s a great place to start.
Managing
Sports
Editor
Lane Kizziah can be reached at
lkizziah@umich.edu or on Twitter
at @KizziahLane
2-News
SportsWednesday: Is Michigan’s rushing game the floor or the ceiling?
LANE
KIZZIAH
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
10 — Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Cade McNamara has thrown three touchdowns in three games this season.
GRACE BEAL/Daily
GRACE BEAL/Daily
Michigan’s run game has fueled its 3-0 record this season. But the run game alone may not be enough to shatter expectations.
Last November, the Michigan football team
stumbled into Piscataway, N.J., on the heels of
three consecutive losses and required three
overtimes and a quarterback change to escape
with a victory. The game made for a stunning
indictment of the state of the program, exposing
the depths to which the Wolverines had fallen
in Year Six of the Jim Harbaugh era.
Now, as Michigan prepares to face Rutgers
again this weekend, the 3-0 Wolverines appear
to be back on the upswing, causing others to
take notice.
“Sounds like Michigan’s back to being
Michigan,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told
reporters on Saturday.
A calamitous 2020 season resulted in
Michigan entering the 2021 campaign as a
national afterthought, a first under Harbaugh.
But that perception is beginning to change.
Having outscored their opponents 141-34
through three games, the Wolverines find
themselves ranked 19th in this week’s AP Poll.
And, according to ESPN’s SP+ metric, Michigan
is the sixth-best team in the nation, sandwiched
between Ohio State and Penn State.
The obvious disclaimer is that these marks
are both wonky and meaningless, by no
means an indication of what is to come. Each
of the Wolverines’ three opponents have been
unranked — their stiffest competition was
Washington, which dropped its season-opener
to FCS level Montana.
Michigan
players
recognize
the
insignificance
of
a
national
narrative
themselves.
“We’re just looking at it as if we haven’t
won anything,” fifth-year senior safety Brad
Hawkins said on Monday. “We haven’t done
anything yet. Yeah, we’re 3-0, but we still
haven’t done anything. We’re just gonna
continue to play with that chip like we haven’t
done anything, which we haven’t. That’s just
where we are.”
That mentality is quickly becoming the
mantra for this iteration of Wolverines. After
the season-opening victory over Western
Michigan three weeks ago, senior defensive end
Aidan Hutchinson offered, “We haven’t done a
damn thing. We’re not content with this at all.”
Senior cornerback Vincent Gray echoed
Hutchinson’s sentiment, chipping in, “We
haven’t done anything yet.”
That phrase is a common trope among sports
teams, often used as a way to restrain egos and
focus on expectations. Now that Big Ten play
and a subsequent uptick in competition are
imminent, Michigan continues to adhere to
that mindset.
“We know as soon as we lose one game,
everyone’s gonna be like, ‘Michigan sucks
again.’ We’re just taking every game as an
underdog,” junior linebacker Mike Morris said.
“I feel like we’re underdogs against Rutgers.
Everybody probably thinks we’re gonna lose
that game. Everybody probably thinks we’re
going to lose every game in the Big Ten right
now. We’re just taking it as us versus everybody.
We don’t care if that team is 3-0 or 0-3. We’re
just taking it one week at a time and just kicking
everybody’s butt.”
The
collective
chip-on-the-shoulder
disposition can in part be attributed to
Michigan’s culture change, starting with
the coaching staff — a common talking point
through fall camp. In the offseason, Harbaugh
turned his staff upside down, bringing in four
new coaches in a youth infusion that instilled a
new energy within the program. That vigor has
carried over into the season, painting a stark
difference through the first three games.
“As you can see on the sidelines, we’re having
a bunch of fun,” sophomore running back Blake
Corum said. “Last year, when you looked at the
sidelines, we weren’t having much fun. We’re
dancing now, we’re cheering each other up.
We’re here for each other.”
The true test of the team’s new culture
will come with the inevitable adversity. And
as it heads into the gauntlet of Big Ten play,
Michigan is sticking to the same mentality it
shaped in the offseason.
“What we’ve done to this point is good,”
Harbaugh said on Saturday after the team’s
53-point victory. “But now, it really starts
counting.”
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Editor
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Michigan looks to continue its strong start to the
season Saturday against Rutgers.
Michigan maintains underdog
mentality despite early success
How Cade McNamara became
Michigan’s stabilizing factor
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Editor