Observations on the win over Rutgers, 28-21
Michigan scored 28 points in 5 red zone trips; Rutgers scored 11 points in two red zone opportunities. Neither team turned the ball over.
Offense gained 427 total yards with 23 first downs, and were 12 of 16 in 3rd down conversions; they ran for 161 yards on the ground. Tommy Carr hit 22 of 27 passes for 266 yards and a TD; he ran 12 times for 54 yards and 2 TDs. Offense is much improved with Carr's leadership. J.J. Buchanan caught 5 passes for 63 yards and a TD. Andrew Marsh caught 7 passes for 51 yards. Savion Hiter ran 20 times for 76 yards, and caught a 4 yard pass. 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 5 times for 0 yards and a TD, and caught a 15 yard pass. Bryson Kuzdzal ran 6 times for 37 yards, and caught a 3 yard pass. Hogan Hansen caught 3 passes for 42 yards. Jalen Hoffman caught 2 passes for 17 yards. Michigan dominated time of possession by 15 minutes, and it resulted in 34 more offensive plays. J.J. Conyers and Moses Walker led the Scarlett Knights with 9 tackles each.
Defense allowed Rutgers 249 yards with 123 in the air, and 9 first downs; they were 3 of 10 in 3rd down conversions. A.J. Sorace hit 3 of 12 for 123 yards and a TD; he completed no passes in the second half, and the Scarlett Knights could only muster 2 first downs. Jourdin Houston caught an 80 yard TD pass as Smith Snowden lost his balance and was beat. Snowden also dropped an interception as did Mason Curtis, and Curtis let up the 54 yard run by overpursuing. The Wolverines gifted Rutgers 7 penalties for 90 yards. Antwan Raymon ran 11 times for 85 yards including a 54 yarder to set up a red zone, and he caught a 32 yard pass. Defense was led Benny Patterson with 7 tackles. Defense only made 33 tackles in the game while Rutgers made 79 tackles since we possessed the ball so much.
Special Teams was won by Rutgers, 8-0. They hit both field goals while Butkowski missed another. Rutgers also made their 2 point conversion. There were no punt or kickoff returns. Michigan punted twice for a 46.5 yard average, and Rutgers was forced into 5 punts with one downed inside the 20. The call on the fumbled punt return was completely stupid; he called for a fair catch, and never secured the ball after he touched it so it should have been ruled a fumble that we recovered. There was no punt return interference. Logan Forbes recovered the fumble.
Our defense let a lousy Rutgers offensive team look good by giving up big plays, and keeping them in the game. We should have won this game by 40 points; instead, we won by 7. We'll be lucky to beat Michigan State, and be bowl eligible with 6 wins because this team will not beat Oregon, UCLA or Ohio State. Let's face facts about this team, our players are not getting the job done. The announcers including former Wolverine, Jake Butt, were very emphatic about the constant problems with miscues, penalties and other mental mistakes. We are simply not a good football team. Coach Whittingham will not be fired after one season; it is complete nonsense to believe that this will happen. Once Whittingham has another recruiting year with transfer portal additions, this program will be right back on track. Go Blue!
