Observations on the first half with Rutgers, 14-13

Michigan scored 14 points in two red zone trips; Rutgers scored 3 points in one red zone opportunity. Neither team turned the ball over.

Offense gained 233 total yards with 11 first downs, and were 3 of 5 in 3rd down conversions; they could only come up with 49 yards on the ground. Tommy Carr hit 12 of 15 passes for 177 yards and a TD; he ran 3 times for -1 yards after a sack. J.J. Buchanan caught 2 passes for 36 yards and a TD. Andrew Marsh caught 5 passes for 40 yards. Savion Hiter ran 6 times for 25 yards. Salesi Moa set up the first score with a 44 yard reception to put us in the red zone. Mason Bonner caught a 27 yarder. Jordan Marshall ran 4 times for 2 yards and a TD, and caught a 15 yard pass. Bryson Kuzdzal ran 3 times for 23 yards, and caught a 3 yard pass. Hogan Hansen caught a 12 yarder. Michigan held a 1:36 time of possession advantage that resulted in 8 more offensive plays. J.J. Conyers made 7 tackles for the Scarlett Knights.

Defense allowed Rutgers 162 yards with 123 in the air, and 7 first downs; they were 2 of 6 in 3rd down conversions. A.J. Sorace hit 3 of 7 for 123 yards and a TD. Jourdin Houston caught an 80 yard TD pass as Smith Snowden lost his balance and was beat. The Wolverines gifted Rutgers 5 penalties for 60 yards. Antwan Raymon ran 9 times for 32 yards, and he caught a 32 yard pass. Defense was led by Chris Bracy with 6 tackles including a sack.

Special Teams was won by Rutgers. They hit both field goals while Butkowski missed another. Michigan punted once for 50 yards, and Rutgers was forced into two punts with one downed inside the 20.

We are making a lousy Rutgers team look good by giving up big plays. We should be ahead in this game by 20 points; instead, we are ahead by one. We need to take the second half kickoff in for a TD and force second half turnovers. We need to run the ball and stop the stupid penalties, and pound them in the second half. Go Blue!