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Michigan Football: 3 Reasons the Rutgers win is important

By Jacob Bruetsch

PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 05: Michael Barrett #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates the first of his two interceptions with Mike Morris #90 against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the third quarter of a game at SHI Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan defeated Rutgers 52-17. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 05: Michael Barrett #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates the first of his two interceptions with Mike Morris #90 against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the third quarter of a game at SHI Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan defeated Rutgers 52-17. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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If before the game you had told me Michigan would win 52-17, I would’ve thought that this was a smooth victory. That wasn’t entirely the case, with Michigan trailing 17-14 at halftime, but a monstrous 3rd quarter put Michigan in the driver’s seat, a seat they didn’t relinquish.

Believe it or not, this win was big for Michigan. A win is a win of course, especially on a day where a number of top teams lost. Even past that, here are three reasons the win is important for Michigan football.

1. Michigan has a Red zone Offense

Six red zone opportunities, and six touchdowns. They weren’t all pretty, and Michigan’s play calling could afford to be more creative, but it worked last night. At the very least, they found ways to get more than just Corum involved close to the goal line; while he had two of their five touchdowns, J.J. McCarthy got a score down close on the ground and found Cornelius Johnson through the air, then walk-on running back Isaiah Gash found the end zone late in the game.

After last week’s game against Michigan State, scoring touchdowns in the red zone became a glaring issue for this team to address. They hadn’t been perfect all year, but Michigan really struggled against the Spartans, kicking three red zone field goals (and one more just outside of it) to just two touchdowns. The Wolverines needed to improve, so last night’s game was a huge step forward. We’ll see if it carries over into the future, but their performance was certainly a good sign.

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