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