Michigan Monday: Vegas Vacation

Let’s just start out by saying that people don’t thank me enough for watching Michigan play non-conference games so that they don’t have to. Because this is not easy.

The Wolverines busted UNLV 35-7 on Saturday, and it was nearly as underwhelming as Ohio State’s own 35-7 win this weekend, but at least Michigan technically did it against an FBS team.

The Wolverines led 14-0 late in the second quarter before a touchdown made it 21-0 with under 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Michigan would go on to score two more touchdowns in the third quarter before finally shutting it down in the fourth quarter.

The defense is playing well, though they should be with this schedule. Quarterback JJ McCarthy has been almost perfect. The running game isn’t clicking yet, however, and it seems to be throwing cracker crumbs on the sheets of Michigan’s offense.

The good news is that they can continue making cracker angels in bed for the next two months because they won’t see a ranked opponent until they go to Penn State two months from today.

The Wolverines should be double-digit favorites every week until that one. And that is when their season will finally begin.

When Michigan Was On Offense

If you believe that this team is going to go as far as the running game takes it, it’s a good thing there is still plenty of time to get better. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards combined for 21 carries for 89 yards, with a long rush of 19 yards.

Corum was 15 of those carries and 80 of those yards. He also scored three touchdowns. Edwards carried the ball six times for nine yards, which now gives him 46 yards rushing on 18 carries this season (2.6 ypc).

Corum and Edwards aren’t even averaging 100 yards rushing between them right now, let alone separately. The good news is that they weren’t too far ahead of that number last year after two games, but things turned out just fine.

Edwards ineffectiveness right now isn’t nothing. I don’t think it’s a concern yet, but it is interesting. The only thing you can learn from Michigan’s early-season schedule is what they can’t do, and so far Edwards can’t run.

His .277 success rate on runs (50% of yards needed on first down, 70% of yards needed on second down, 100% of yards needed on third/fourth downs) this year is much lower than expected. Basically, only a quarter of his rushes this season (5 of 18) can be considered successful.

Corum’s success rate is .560 so far, with 14 of his 25 carries reaching the desired number target. Together, America’s favorite running back tandem has a .444 success rate.

The offensive line is still coming together. They started six linemen on Saturday, putting Trente Jones on the end of the left side as an extra lineman.

After discussing lineup movements at offensive tackle, the Wolverines started Karsen Barnhart and Myles Hinton once again at left and right tackle, respectively. It looks like they may stick with those two and hope the running game improves as the offensive line gains cohesiveness.

Through it all, JJ McCarthy has been excellent. He completed his first 13 passes, going 17-of-18 in the first half. He finished the game 22-of-25 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He currently leads the nation with a completion percentage of 87.3%.

At this point, he is looking like the most complete quarterback in Michigan football history. He’s as confident as any Wolverine has ever been, except his confidence actually has merit.

If McCarthy isn’t in New York for the Heisman ceremony, I’ll be pretty surprised.

At receiver, Roman Wilson had another multi-touchdown game. After opening with three touchdowns in week one, he scored twice on four catches this week. His five touchdowns are two more than all of the Ohio State receivers have combined so far this season.

If Wilson stays ahead of the Buckeyes all season long, then McCarthy can hand him the Heisman when they’re in New York together.

McCarthy is still throwing to wide open receivers at this point. They are not being tested coverage-wise. When they finally are, he’ll still be able to create time and they’ll hit big shots via the scramble drill.

I think the Michigan passing game is reaching the point where opponents will have to start hoping for mistakes.

When Michigan Was On Defense

Michigan held UNLV to 61 yards rushing on 31 carries, and that’s while allowing rushes of 20 and 21 yards. The other 29 carries netted just 20 yards. The quarterbacks completed 15-of-26 passes for 168 yards while getting sacked five times.

The bad news for Michigan is that UNLV actually threw the ball better on the Wolverines than they did the week before against Bryant. The good news is that Bryant might be pretty decent?

In all seriousness, the Wolverines were fine against the pass, especially without starting safeties Rod Moore and Makari Paige, and still without starting cornerback Will Johnson.

Everyone in the secondary was helped by Michigan’s pass rush. Edge rushers Jaylen Harrell (1.5) and Derrick Moore (1.0) combined for 2.5 sacks, and defensive tackle Kenneth Grant added 1.5 of his own.

After impressing in a handful of moments against East Carolina to open the season, Grant continued his strong play this week. There were times when UNLV had no answer for him. Grant pushed his way to the front of the line like the UNLV backfield was his favorite band. He’s just been too big and strong for anybody to handle for an entire game. Will that change in the Big Ten?

This was also a more noticeable game from defensive end Braiden McGregor.

The Wolverines played a ton of guys defensively because why not. The varsity letters are already paid for, after all.

There’s really nothing else to say about the Michigan defense that wasn’t already said last week and won’t also be said next week.

The Michigan Special Teams

About the most notable thing with the special teams is Jake Thaw’s 19-yard punt return. Or Tommy Doman’s kickoff out of bounds. The Wolverines did give up a 22-yard punt return.

What Does It All Mean?

It means that Michigan finally stopped Ricky White!

Three years ago as a receiver for Michigan State, White inexplicably lit the Wolverines up for eight catches for 196 yards. (He caught 10 total passes that season.)

White left East Lansing, but his legend lived on. He transferred to UNLV after the 2021 season, and for the first time since that day, Michigan was finally able to exact its revenge. The Wolverines held White to just two catches for 31 yards, exorcising a demon that nobody was ever actually possessed by.

Michigan’s revenge tour never truly rests.

It also means that even the Wolverines hate their non-conference schedule. They don’t want to be fed, they want to hunt.

Of course, they’re happy to be playing and every game is a blessing, but I’d like to see what this team looks like when they are pressed to play their best. Because it might be really good.

Right now, they should be winning by more than they have been. The fact that the passing game isn’t opening the running game is notable.

Maybe the passing game is doing so well because of the concern over the running game.

With this schedule right now, conclusions should only be drawn in pencil.

I can’t believe I’m looking forward to Michigan finally getting to a game against Rutgers.

This is the point where examining certain life choices becomes more and more difficult to stifle.

The Road To The Game

Sept 2 – Michigan 30 – East Carolina 3
Sept 9 – Michigan 35 – UNLV 7
Sept 16 – Bowling Green
Sept 23 – Rutgers
Sept 30 – at Nebraska
Oct 7 – at Minnesota
Oct 14 – Indiana
Oct 21 – at Michigan State
Oct 28 OPEN
Nov 4 – Purdue
Nov 11 – at Penn State
Nov 18 – at Maryland
Nov 25 – Ohio State

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