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.

