Strong second half propels Michigan football past Rutgers

Saturday night, Michigan football improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play with a win over Rutgers. This is the second time the Wolverines have reached the 9-0 mark under Jim Harbaugh — the first time coming in 2016. If Michigan can get past Nebraska next weekend, the Wolverines will be 10-0 for the first time since 2006 when Lloyd Carr was head coach.

First half

Quarter 1

Michigan opened the game with a huge 35-yard pass from JJ McCarthy and followed it up with a series of solid plays. Although Blake Corum’s first touchdown run was called back, the Heisman contender eventually punched in his 15th touchdown of the season to cap off the game’s opening drive.

Rutgers’ first drive ended in a quick three and out, which swiftly gave the Wolverines the football back. Surprisingly, Michigan could not do anything on its second drive and was forced to punt. The Scarlet Knights managed to block Brad Robbins punt and returned it for a touchdown, tying the game at seven.

Despite Michigan’s slow start, the Wolverines got it together on their following drive. Rutgers attempted an onside kick — a gutsy call to say the least — but failed to recover and gave Michigan the football back at the 50-yard line. A few plays later, Michigan converted another short 4th down, this time allowing JJ McCarthy to sneak the ball into the endzone.

The score gave Michigan a 14-7 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter.

Rutgers responded to Michigan’s score with a deep ball to Sean Ryan who hauled in a 37-yard grab and was downed at the Michigan 36-yard line. The Knights’ drive got serious on its next play as Gavin Wimsatt completed another first-down pass, this time to Aaron Cruickshank for 16 yards to the Wolverines’ 20-yard line.

After one quarter, Michigan led Rutgers, 14-7. The Knights’ lone touchdown came on a blocked punt, though Schiano’s squad was driving toward the endzone quickly.

Quarter 2

The Knights’ drive was heating up as Rutgers moved the ball inside of Michigan’s 15-yard line. The Scarlet Knights were eventually contained by the Wolverines’ top-notch defense and settled for a field goal which brought the game back within four points.

A penalty off the kickoff forced the Wolverines’ drive to start at the 12-yard line. After being rocked on first down, JJ McCarthy responded with a solid throw to Luke Schoonmaker to get the Wolverines’ drive going.

Michigan’s offense could not get anything going once again and was forced to punt back to Rutgers. After a solid start, the Wolverines seemed to be stuttering early — from poor execution to dumb penalties, Michigan football was not looking like a top-5 team.

Michigan’s defense made a huge stop on third down as Mike Morris recorded his sixth sack of the year. This forced Rutgers to punt on 4th and 19, which gave the Wolverines another opportunity to extend its lead. Michigan could not capitalize yet again, settling for a 50-yard field goal attempt which was missed wide-right by senior Jake Moody.

As the first half began to wind down, Michigan maintained its 14-10 lead over a four-loss Rutgers team.

The Wolverines’ offensive woes are nothing new but are extremely concerning. If Michigan cannot find a way to move the football efficiently, there is little-to-no shot that Michigan beats Ohio State in Columbus later this season.

Rutgers’ offense went to work on the Wolverines’ defense once again, this time completing a huge 48-yard pass that pinned the Wolverines’ defense back inside of its own 20-yard line once again. Rutgers failed to convert on 3rd down but converted on 4th down which moved the ball inside of Michigan’s 5-yard line.

The Knights eventually scored on a short touchdown pass, pushing Rutgers ahead 17-14 over the Wolverines. The Wolverines drove the ball down the field with little time left on the clock, yet another missed field goal maintained the Knights’ 17-14 lead at halftime. Yet again, Greg Schiano gave Michigan a scare.

Second half

Quarter 3

The second half opened with Rutgers receiving the football. Despite carrying momentum from a strong first half, the Knight’s first drive of the second half went backward and saw another punt back to the Wolverines.

Michigan football’s first-half offensive struggles seemed to die down to open the second half as the Wolverines drove down the field for a touchdown on its first possession of the third quarter. A few solid throws from JJ McCarthy got the Wolverines in scoring rage, which led to Donovan Edwards hauling in a 14-yard touchdown pass, giving Michigan football a 21-17 lead.

The story of this game seemed to follow a similar pattern as the Penn State game. Rutgers kept it close in the first half yet trailed in every major stat category by a wide margin. By the time the second half rolled around, the Wolverines managed to straighten out their game plan and run away with the ball game.

As Rutgers next drive started, it was clear that Michigan’s defense had made some crucial adjustments. Only a few plays into the Knights’ possession, Mike Barrett came up with a huge interception that gave Michigan the football deep in Rutgers territory.

Two plays later, Blake Corum scored his 16th touchdown of the season and gave Michigan a 28-17 lead.

Rutgers’ next drive was short: one play, a pick six, again intercepted by Mike Barrett. After a rocky first half, there was a clear momentum shift just minutes into the third quarter. After taking a 17-14 lead into halftime, the Knights quickly found themselves trailing, 35-17.

On the ensuing drive, Rutgers’ offense once again failed to get much of anything going. Taylor Upshaw, Mike Morris, and the Wolverines’ defense forced another punt, which gave Michigan the football back inside of its own 10-yard line. Michigan’s drive went nowhere and ended up in another punt. After scoring 21 unanswered points to open the third quarter, the Wolverines seemed to lose some steam.

For the third time in four drives, Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt threw an interception that gave Michigan great field position. Also, for the third time, Michigan football capitalized on the field position with a touchdown — a score that pushed the lead to 42-17. A 28-yard run from Blake Corum gave Michigan the ball inside the 10, which eventually led to a quick touchdown pass from JJ McCarthy to Cornelius Johnson.

Rutgers’ 17-14 lead at half quickly vanished as Michigan took a 42-17 lead into the fourth quarter.

Quarter 4

Rutgers started the final quarter of play the same way it ended the third quarter: the offense struggled and quickly gave the football back to the Wolverines.

As the Knights’ inevitable loss started to become a reality, Donovan Edwards ripped through Rutgers’ defensive front for a gain of 46. Once again, Michigan football was in scoring range and managed to capitalize.

Unsurprisingly, Michigan’s offense struggled in the Red Zone and was forced to kick a short field goal. Jake Moody’s kick was good and gave Michigan football a 45-17 lead. With the backups in the game, Michigan drained most of the clock and prevented Rutgers from moving the ball.

With just under 3:30 to play in the game, Michigan’s backups punched in another rushing touchdown which gave the Wolverines a 52-17 lead. The touchdown was run in by junior running back, Ian Gash — the first of his collegiate career.

The Wolverines sat on the ball for the remainder of the game, improving to 9-0 on the year and keeping its perfect season alive. Michigan will face Nebraska in Ann Arbor next weekend.