On Saturday, the Michigan
football team’s offense limped
through a scoreless second half
against Rutgers. While the Scarlet
Knights stymied the Wolverines’
rushing attack, junior quarterback
Cade McNamara wilted, throwing
for just seven yards across the final
two quarters.
Still, two days later, Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh offered a
positive review of McNamara’s
performance.
“For the most part, I thought he
was pretty darn good,” Harbaugh
said.
McNamara’s first half, which
included 156 passing yards and
sustained two touchdown drives,
was exceptional and made the
late-game miscues all the more
surprising.
Speaking after practice on
Monday,
McNamara
faulted
Michigan’s
offensive
attrition
on a lack of momentum. With
four consecutive three-and-outs
to begin the second half, the
Wolverines was unable to develop
any sort of rhythm.
Having watched the film of his
performance, McNamara wouldn’t
concede whether the root of his
problems were more footwork-
related or mechanical-based. He
did, however, acknowledge that he
rushed a few throws, including a
would-be touchdown in the final
seconds of the first half, when
he missed senior tight end Luke
Schoonmaker in the corner of the
endzone.
Heading into a pivotal matchup
against Wisconsin, McNamara
remains confident in the passing
game, in spite of the struggles.
“I think throughout the season,
our intermediate stuff has been
really good,” McNamara said.
“We’ve thrown it deep in the
game (and) we’ve been able to do
that really well, so I think we’re
building.
“...
When
we’re
in
those
scenarios where we have to throw
our way back into a game, I think
I’m more than capable of doing
that.”
The Badgers will certainly test
that declaration. Through four
games, the Wolverines’ passing
game has played second fiddle to
their rushing attack, averaging the
second-fewest passing yards per
game in the Big Ten. When Rutgers
stacked the box with an eighth
player, McNamara and company
could not engineer the offense by
themselves. For the first time this
season, the opposition successfully
carried out a gameplan to stop
Michigan’s offense.
Wisconsin, which boasts the
top rushing defense in the Big Ten,
seems well-equipped to follow
that blueprint themselves.
“Really stout, really good,”
Harbaugh said of the Badger
defense. “Guys that have played a
lot of football. Experienced, solid,
physical, athletic defense that
knows the scheme and they’re
very dialed in.”
That unit will place McNamara
further
underneath
the
microscope.
Still,
Michigan’s
second half woes cannot solely be
attributed to McNamara — suspect
playcalling and the receivers, who
dropped several catchable balls,
are equally to blame. But, the
Wolverines’ fate may very well
hinge on McNamara’s ability to
develop a consistent passing game
and establish the momentum that
he lamented.
It’s a task made more difficult
by
the
raucous
environment
inside Camp Randall — not only
has Madison emerged as a house
of horrors for the Wolverines in
recent years, but McNamara is yet
to play a road game in front of fans,
a byproduct of the pandemic.
“Overall, I’m gonna have to do
a better job, or really just a louder
job, of communicating whatever
the protection is or whatever I’m
asked to do,” McNamara said.
“Just me being louder, whether
that’s doing stuff with more
signals, we’ll see, but I’m ready for
the challenge.”
After
senior
kicker
Jake
Moody missed a 47-yard attempt
to
put
the
game on ice,
Michigan’s
defense
took
the
field.
Again.
With
the
Wolverine
offense
struggling
to
make
an
impact,
Rutgers’s time of possession
skyrocketed
in
the
second
half, totalling 17:42 of 30 total
minutes. Now, with a chance to
drive down and tie, or win, the
game, the Scarlet Knights could
take their momentum and drive
past a weary defense.
Instead,
junior
linebacker
David Ojabo executed a spin
move
and
stripped
Noah
Vedral, the ball ricocheting into
freshman
linebacker
Junior
Colson’s arms. A worn down
defense found a stop. Michigan
would win.
“(It was a) gritty game,”
Harbaugh said after the game.
“It wasn’t pretty. But when they
make a space for pretty on the
scoreboard, then we’ll worry
about that.”
There are a lot of lessons to
take from a game where the
Wolverines
beat
Rutgers
by
one score and totaled just 47
yards of offense in the second
half, drawing out fans and their
shovels.
But
Michigan
still
won. It executed when it had
to, sucking down time with an
eight play, 33 yard drive (the only
non-three-and-out of the half)
and coming up with that crucial
turnover.
Not every team can do that.
Look at Iowa State, or Clemson
or Wisconsin. None of those
teams executed when the time
called for it.
“I think we had a positive
attitude throughout the whole
game, through all the ups and
downs,” junior defensive tackle
Christopher Hinton said. “ I
really like that about the defense
and this team this year. We’ve
just got to keep that rolling
because every game is not going
to be sunshine and rainbows.
We’ve just got to stay stout in
tough times.”
Good teams win games, and
this weekend the Wolverines
won.
At least, they’re probably good
enough to match pre-season
expectations, maybe more. A
20-13 win over Rutgers may not
be too flashy, but it shows that
even with poor performances,
Michigan can put together a win.
And that’s promising.
Consider the 2015 Michigan
State team, which scraped by
every game it won and did so
in
an
incredibly
frustrating
fashion. But that team made the
College Football Playoff while
looking not impressive in any
way.
Or consider Nebraska, who’s
found increasingly funny ways
to lose this year, always close
but never finding the final
push. Or Iowa State faltering
and floundering to match the
mountains of expectation heaped
on them. Winning is a skill and a
very difficult one to master. But
once you figure out how to do it,
it can carry you through rough
patches like Saturday.
Next weekend, we’ll see if
this Michigan team has really
learned how to win. It’ll face
a Badgers team that failed to
execute against Notre Dame and
is now having the question asked
of whether they can beat good
teams.
“As a team, we’re not doing
enough to give ourselves a chance
to win and to beat good football
teams,” Wisconsin coach Paul
Chryst said after losing to Notre
Dame. “That’s something that
we’ve obviously got to improve
upon, and everyone’s got to find
a way to move forward.”
Wisconsin will pose a huge
challenge, regardless of how
it’s performed so far. It’s a
program that’s used to winning
and knows how to do it, unlike
Rutgers.
The Badgers will target the
weaknesses
the
Wolverines
showed Saturday, but Michigan
has shown an ability to create
explosive plays through both
the air and the run. In the first
half, junior quarterback Cade
McNamara showed what fans
had wanted to see — he aired it
out and found holes, doing what
the fanbase desperately hoped
he could.
And the defense, who, despite
being repeatedly forced into
difficult
situations,
stopped
the Scarlet Knights when it
mattered most. A fourth down
stop, a missed field goal and a
fumble are no small tasks.
Fans shouldn’t be too scared,
with shovels in hand to bury
their hopes again. In the team’s
first big battle of the season
it showed an ability to work
through the pain, something
that was foreign last year.
Disappointment will, for now,
wait a little longer: maybe just
one week, maybe until the
Wolverines go to East Lansing.
SportsMonday: Don’t bury Michigan yet
KENT
SCHWARTZ
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
10 — Wednesday, September 29, 2021
EMMA MATI/Daily
Michigan’s victory Saturday showed it’s capable of grinding out tough wins.
Michigan faces first bout of
adversity
When greeted with adversity
for the first time in the 2021
season, the Michigan football
team emerged unscathed.
For
three
weeks,
the
Wolverines
coasted
to
comfortable
victories
by
double-digit margins. Neither
Western Michigan, Washington
nor Northern Illinois proved
capable of slowing down their
potent rushing attack.
That feel-good success came
to a screeching halt Saturday
against Rutgers. And yet, in
spite of a furious comeback
attempt by the Scarlet Knights,
Michigan proved victorious.
Whereas
the
Wolverines
simply
collapsed
in
similar
situations last season, 2021 is
thus far telling a different story.
“I think as a team, we didn’t
flinch
at
all,”
sophomore
linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green
said.
“Offense,
they
know
they’re going to clean their stuff
up, but I feel they didn’t flinch,
they did what they could do, and
we did what we could do. We
didn’t flinch at all and we got
the win.”
Junior
defensive
tackle
Chris Hinton maintained that
the team remained poised and
positive on the sidelines, even
amid the persistent struggles.
It’s a mentality that first formed
during spring ball.
“We just preached through
the offseason, keep grinding
through whatever, don’t flinch,”
Hinton said. “Take the punches
and respond when we need to.”
Games
like
Michigan’s
contest with Rutgers could
serve
as
a
launching
pad
moving forward. The success,
particularly in contrast to last
season’s failures, also points
to the refined culture that the
Wolverines constructed over
the offseason.
“Every game’s not going to
be sunshine and rainbows,”
Hinton said. “We just have to
stay stout in tough times.”
Ross injury forces others to
step up
Through
the
first
half,
Michigan’s
defense
held
Rutgers’s
offense
in
check,
allowing only a field goal.
Fifth-year
linebacker
Josh
Ross
was
integral
to
that
effort, contributing six tackles,
including two tackles for a loss.
But Ross left the game late
in the second quarter with a
“stinger” injury and did not
return. In his absence, the
Wolverines’
defense
proved
increasingly
vulnerable,
allowing a series of prolonged
drives and turning a blowout
into a nail biter.
With
Ross
sidelined,
freshman
linebacker
Junior
Colson played alongside Hill-
Green,
while
sophomore
linebacker Kalel Mullings also
saw an increase in playing time.
Colson racked up six tackles,
while
Mullings
recorded
five. Hill-Green, meanwhile,
notched eight tackles and keyed
a series of late-game stops
that squashed a late Rutgers
comeback.
“We practice situations like
that all the time in practice,”
Hill-Green said after the game,
noting
that
Michigan
had
prepared for a similar scenario.
“When your number’s called,
you’re ready and do your job
and step up to the plate. That’s
what Junior Colson did; that’s
when Kalel Mullings did. I’m
super proud of those guys.”
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh said following the
game that Ross is “going to
be okay,” mentioning that he
didn’t
regain
the
requisite
strength to be cleared following
the injury. While it appears the
injury isn’t serious, losing Ross
for an extended stretch of time
would be a sizable blow for the
Wolverines’ defense.
Offensive
shortcomings
hamper defense
The ineptitude of Michigan’s
offense on Saturday triggered
a
two-pronged
effect.
Four
consecutive
three-and-outs
to begin the second half wore
down a nicked-up Wolverine
defense, subsequently fueling
a Rutgers offense that had
previously been listless.
After the game, Harbaugh
conceded
that
fatigue
had
influenced
the
unit’s
performance.
“I think that’s part of it,”
Harbaugh said. “That many
three-and-outs, that’s gonna be
a factor. Those kinds of things
stacked up against them. (They
were) on the field too much.”
Through
the
first
three
games of the season, fatigue
hardly mattered, considering
the fact that the starters were
often pulled from the game early
in the third quarter. But, it’s a
situation that will likely repeat
itself later in the season against
more formidable opponents.
First-year
defensive
coordinator Mike Macdonald
likes to rotate through swaths
of players as a way to keep them
fresh, a strategy that stands in
contrast to Don Brown’s former
scheme.
On
Saturday,
the
Wolverines rotated defensive
line packages, pairing fifth-year
Donovan Jeter with sophomore
Kris Jenkins and junior Mazi
Smith alongside Hinton. The
secondary and edge rushers
also shuffled through players
with
sophomore
defensive
back Jordan Morant and senior
defensive
lineman
Julius
Welschof seeing the field.
Macdonald’s tactic figures
to bode well moving forward,
when fatigue inevitably emerges
as a variable.
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Editor
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Michigan’s linebackers stepped up in the absence of fifth-year senior Josh Ross on Saturday.
Notebook: Adversity, injuries and fatigue for the Wolverines
McNamara remains
confident in passing
BARBARA GRAZIOSI
PROFESSOR OF CLASSICS
AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
THE GERALD F. ELSE LECTURE
IN THE HUMANITIES
CLASSICS, LOVE,
REVOLUTION:
THE LEG ACIES OF
LUIGI SETTEMBRINI
WEDNESDAY,
SEPT. 29, 2021
4:00 P.M.
MICHIGAN LEAGUE
HUSSEY ROOM, 2 ND FLOOR
A public lecture and reception. For more info, call 734.615.6667
or visit events.umich.edu/event/86627. Livestreaming will be
available. Please visit lsa.umich.edu/classics for more information.
A public lecture and reception; you may attend in person
or virtually. For more information, including the Zoom link,
visit events.umich.edu/event/84262 or call 734.615.6667.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | 4:00 p.m. | Weiser Hall, 10th Floor
LSA COLLEGIATE LECTURE
Ewart A.C. Thomas Collegiate
Professor of Psychology
VONNIE C.
MCLOYD
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Editor
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Michigan junior quarterback Cade McNamara threw for 163 yards.