Michigan got the win it needed against Rutgers, but the way it got there hardly suggested anything is fixed.
The Wolverines had to survive a Saturday fight with a two-win Scarlet Knights team, and even after Tommy Carr pushed them ahead for good, the game still felt like another reminder that this season keeps getting away from clean, comfortable football. Michigan led 14-3 early, then watched Rutgers claw all the way back to 21-21 in the fourth quarter after missed field goals, penalties and busted coverages opened the door.
Carr ultimately settled things himself. He drove Michigan down the field and then ran in the go-ahead touchdown on third down to make it 28-21, which held as the final.
That finish gave Michigan another win, but not much relief. The Wolverines have needed late surges to beat UTEP and the Nittany Lions, and this one fit the same pattern: messy, tense and far closer than it should have been. That’s why Whittingham’s comment earlier in the week stood out so much.
"But right now, I don't think it's time to panic. I guess you could say we're two or three plays away from 6-1 or 7-0, primarily due to our defense," Whittingham said on Monday.
For most of the season, Michigan’s defense has been the stabilizer since Kyle Whittingham arrived in Ann Arbor. On Saturday, though, that side of the ball was part of the problem against a Rutgers team playing without its starting quarterback. Carr did enough to keep the offense moving, but the defense that had carried the Wolverines let them down.
Carr’s performance was the bright spot. In his second start, he looked calm, made the right read most of the time and threw for 266 yards while adding 54 more on the ground.
His arm strength still showed up as a question mark when he couldn’t connect with Andrew Marsh on a double move that left Marsh open for a touchdown, but Carr still gave Michigan the kind of steady outing it needed. His second rushing touchdown proved to be the critical one.
Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan both continued to look like difference-makers, while freshmen Salesi Moa and tight end Mason Bonner chipped in as well.
Still, the run game never truly took control. Rutgers came in allowing nearly 200 rushing yards per game and sitting last in the Big Ten against the run, but Michigan couldn’t consistently take advantage.
The Wolverines finished with 161 rushing yards, and once Carr’s yardage is removed, that number drops to 107. The second half was better than the first, but the offensive line remains a problem, and so does the Rhino.
Jason Beck is sticking with his six-linemen package, and it appears on the field for about half of Michigan’s snaps. Even in obvious passing situations, Manuel Beigel is still out there. On a third-and-15 in the first half, Rutgers rushed four and Beigel missed his block, leaving Carr under immediate pressure.
It’s not working, but Beck has not backed off the look.
Special teams remains another headache. Trey Butkowski started his Michigan career 4-for-4 and looked like a real answer at kicker, but that has unraveled quickly. He shanked both of his kicks against Indiana last weekend in a game that went to overtime tied 6-6, then missed two more field goals against Rutgers.
That means Butkowski has now missed four of his last six attempts, and the confidence seems shaken. Michigan brought in Kerry Coombs to steady special teams, but with four games left, the kicking issue is still very much alive.
In Other News...
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Bryce Underwoods freshman season has already hit an early crossroads, and Michigan is now weighing what comes next for one of its most highly touted young players. After struggling against Penn State, the former five-star quarterback recruit was benched in favor of Tommy Carr, leaving the Wolverines with a familiar but uncomfortable question about how quickly to lean on a talent that arrived with so much expectation.
Underwoods athleticism is part of what makes the conversation so intriguing, because it opens the door to the idea of using him in a different offensive role if the quarterback picture stays unsettled. For now, though, no official decision has been made and no position change has been mapped out, which leaves Michigan in evaluation mode as it tries to sort out both the present and future of its offense. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Heads To Rutgers With Key Starting Spots Still Unsettled
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Michigan Fans Still Have One Big Question About This Team
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Greg Schiano offered a very different view from the outside, calling Michigans defense elite and pointing to several of the key players driving that reputation. With praise coming from one sideline and criticism from another, the bigger question for Michigan fans is how much of this is perception, how much is reality, and what it all means for a program still trying to define itself. [Read more 🡒]