As Michigan gets set for Rutgers on Halloween, the ugly reality is impossible to ignore: this offense has been brutal.
The Wolverines are sitting outside the top 100 in scoring, total offense, passing offense and rush offense. Whatever category you want to grab, Michigan has been stuck near the bottom of it.
That’s what makes the current situation so hard to square, and why this game feels so dangerous. Lose to Rutgers, and this already messy season gets even messier.
Michigan needs answers fast, and against Rutgers, it needs contributions from a handful of players who can tilt the game back in its favor.
The biggest one starts up front with the entire offensive line.
It doesn’t really matter who is available, because Michigan simply has to play better there. Jake Guarnera is probable this week, and Blake Frazier might be back, but the real issue is toughness.
The line got handled by Indiana, and that showed up in the red zone when the Wolverines couldn’t punch it in from inside the 10. Rutgers isn’t exactly a brick wall either, giving up 5.8 yards per rushing attempt, so this is a spot where Michigan has to impose itself.
Tommy Carr is another obvious swing factor.
The coaching staff didn’t exactly set him up for success by starting him against Indiana, but he settled in and played fairly well in the second half. He left some throws on the field, though, and he did help get Michigan into scoring range on the final drive of regulation.
The problem is the giveaways. The speed option pitch should never have happened, and the interception was thrown into triple coverage.
Whatever Michigan wants to do with that play, Carr’s first job is simple: protect the ball.
Then there’s Manuel Beigel, who has been used in the Rhino role even though it feels like a strange fit.
Michigan seems determined to keep him there, even with Avery Gach getting the call at times and Andrew Babalola still waiting for a real run 20 games into his Michigan football career. If Beigel is going to be out there in that spot, he has to do a better job of figuring out who to block and then actually finishing the block. That hasn’t happened enough.
On defense, John Henry Daley needs to look like the player Michigan expected when the season began.
The preseason All-American has been dealing with injury issues all season, and it’s felt that way since the Iowa game. Through four Big Ten games, he has 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Those aren’t empty numbers, but they also don’t match the level he’s capable of reaching. Against a Rutgers offense that is 12th in the Big Ten in sacks allowed during conference play, this is a chance for Daley to make a real impact.
With the offense sputtering the way it has, the defense may need to play like every possession matters.
And finally, Trey Butkowski has to cash in when Michigan gets the chance.
When your offense is that limited - arguably the second-worst in the Power 4, with Michigan State possibly worse - there’s no room to waste points. Butkowski missed two field goals last week, one from beyond 50 yards and another from under 40.
If he makes even one of them, maybe Michigan walks out of that Indiana game with a win. The Wolverines don’t need perfection from him, but they do need points when they’re within range.
In Other News...
Michigans Opener Could Test One Early Wolverines Concern
Michigans exhibition slate offered a useful early look at what this roster can do when the shots are falling, with sophomore guard Trey McKenney standing out as one of the bright spots. Now the real test arrives quickly, and it comes against an Oakland team that is likely to make the Wolverines work for every clean look by leaning on a zone defense that can bog down even experienced offenses.
Mike Boynton Jr. has pointed to teamwork and smart shot selection as the keys to handling that challenge, which makes this opener more than just a routine tune-up. McKenney, Jalen Reed, Elliot Cadeau and Kenny Noland are all expected to have important roles in keeping Michigan organized against a scheme built to force hesitation, and the way they manage those possessions should say plenty about how ready this group is to open the season. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans Still Wont Shake Jay Hills Final Iowa Decision
The final sequence from Michigans Week 4 loss at Iowa is still hanging around, and Jay Hills latest reflection only gives Wolverines fans more to chew on. Michigans defensive coordinator revisited the key call on the Hawkeyes last drive, when a personal foul kept the possession alive and set up the eventual game-winning touchdown, and he said he stood by the decision to use a spy on the quarterback even while acknowledging other options were on the table.
Hill also said he had considered a different call and even the possibility of using a timeout, which is exactly the kind of hindsight that tends to linger after a loss like that. For Michigan, the immediate challenge now is turning the page to Rutgers, but the conversation around that final Iowa series shows how one sequence can keep echoing long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Not Get The Rutgers Test Its Defense Wanted
Michigans defense has spent much of this season carrying extra weight, often bailing out an offense that has had trouble finding consistency. So when Rutgers came into view, it looked like the kind of matchup that could really test how sharp the Wolverines still are on that side of the ball, especially against an opponent with enough skill talent to make life interesting.
Instead, the Scarlet Knights may be arriving at a far different shape than expected. Star wide receiver K.J. Duff is listed as doubtful and quarterback Dylan Lonergan has already been ruled out, which changes the feel of the game for Michigans defense and could leave it facing a less threatening Rutgers attack than originally anticipated, even if Duffs status remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]