Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from statement victory over Minnesota

Michigan football kicked off its 2020 season with a bang, taking care of Minnesota by a score of 49-24. What’d we learn?

The Big Ten took center stage in primetime, as No. 18 Michigan traveled to TCF Bank Stadium to play No. 21 Minnesota. This game did not play out like a Big Ten game at all, instead felt like one of those Big 12 shootouts.

Minnesota started the fireworks early with a blocked punt after Michigan’s first offensive drive. This led to a touchdown for Minnesota on a short field, but Michigan was not deterred. They went on to score a touchdown on five of their next six drives. As a matter of fact that blocked punt was Michigan’s only punt of the evening.

Joe Milton was fantastic in his first night as starting quarterback for the Wolverines. Milton had been gaining some buzz coming into the season, and lived up to the hype. Milton finished 15-for-22 with 277 total yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan’s rushing attack was just as efficient, racking up 256 yards on 31 carries (8.3 yards per carry) and added five touchdowns.

On the Minnesota side, their offense struggled to make big plays against Don Brown’s defense. Tanner Morgan struggled to connect with many receivers outside of Rashod Bateman. Mohamed Ibrahim generated most of the offense for the Gophers finishing with 30 touches for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Special teams was brutal all night long for both teams, as Minnesota played without their starting kicker, punter, and kickoff specialist. Michigan also missed three field goals and allowed a blocked punt.

There were a lot of exciting plays in this game from start to finish. So, what did we learn from Michigan’s statement victory?