Michigan 45, Nebraska 7 … Notes, quotes, and observations

Now this is the Michigan we expected.
The Wolverines dominated start to finish in a 45-7 win at Nebraska, never threatened. It looked like the 1970s games against Indiana or the like, when it only took a few series to realize the opponent was so outmanned it resembled the varsity vs. a neighboring J.V. team.

No, this is not your father’s — er, grandfather’s — Nebraska team. Yeah, this was the nation’s No. 1 team against the run because of a) the competition an b) teams’ ability to exploit them in the passing game. But Lincoln is still a tough(ish) place to play, the crowd into it from the get-go. They play hard under Matt Rhule and will improve (if their recruiting does), and to be fair, they were down three of their better defensive players when safety DeShon Singleton went down early.

But they weren’t going to win without scoring, and … they weren’t going to score on this Michigan defense. Not enough to win, anyway. The Wolverines owned the line of scrimmage, and while the option can be tricky, neither that nor any other offense is going to move the ball if they can’t create some room up front.

The Wolverines’ front seven was dominant enough, but you know things are good when your 350-pound plus defensive tackle [Michigan sophomore Kenneth Grant] picks off a pass to set up a touchdown, and when you start to clear out another team’s stadium at halftime … and in J.J. McCarthy’s case, getting a kiss from your girlfriend at the end of the third quarter while you watch your teammates play it out with a 35-0 lead.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was damn close. Head coach Jim Harbaugh admitted it ranked “pretty darn high” against the most complete games he’d coached at Michigan.

“The guys did a tremendous job, just so focused on their football. It was an important task — critical — we come in here on the road and play good football,” Harbaugh said. “I thought our guys did that and then some, in all phases.

“Every guy walking out of that locker room right now, even though they’re walking out with humble hearts because we’ve got to go on the road again next week, feels really good about themselves and the way they played. Every single guy. No penalties … no turnovers. For the most part, they really played their assignments, were locked in on their football.”

As true team wins go … well, this was that. It wasn’t one guy carrying them — no 100-yard rushing game for any of the backs, and McCarthy only threw for 156 yards in two and a half quarters. But they talk at Michigan about playing complementary football and making it easier for the other side of the ball, and that’s what we saw from the Wolverines in Lincoln. Former Boise State and Washington coach Chris Petersen, now an analyst at Fox, put it best — “they know who they are,” he said in marveling at their identity. “Tough as nails and super-efficient.”

That’s what Harbaugh teams have been everywhere he’s coached, and yeah, it still works. There are fancier offenses that will win in track meets (see: USC today at Colorado in a 48-41 win), but physical football on both sides, fundamentally sound — that’s going to win a lot of games. That’s especially true when you’ve got athletes all over the field and a next-level quarterback, even more so when complemented by some elite playmakers on offense.

Senior running back Blake Corum hasn’t played his best ball yet, but he’s getting closer. Michigan senior Roman Wilson, though, is playing the best ball of his career, healthy and becoming the difference maker many thought he could be. His first touchdown was a highlight reel grab, of course, but the second was just as impressive. Once again, he adjusted his route to help his quarterback when a play broke down and all but put the game away at 28-0 just before the first half ended. McCarthy made it happen by escaping a blown pass protection.

“J.J. was making big-time throws. Those were tight-window, 20-yard crossing routes,” Harbaugh praised. “Those deep in cuts, putting them right on the money. It was good to see [Michigan sophomore receiver] Darrius Clemons make a couple of those, and Tyler Morris … so many guys. Those aren’t easy throws. Those aren’t wide-open guys.

“Just throwing that seed right in there allows you to pick up the first down, move on to the next set of downs and continue into your play book and call those plays that are on the play sheet.”

And Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore has really shown his ability there. Early last week he talked about a game plan “telling a story,” and that’s exactly what we saw in the design. Nebraska had no idea what was coming or when, and the defense — on its heels anyway after being pushed around up front — had to deal with play action, different backs capable of different things, and some absolute dimes from McCarthy.

It was a clinic, and on both sides of the ball. The Cornhuskers moved the ball a bit between the 30s a few times — the secondary will need to tighten some things up against better teams (if we ever seen any – it might be a while) — but Jesse Minter’s group just doesn’t break, at least not until the fourth quarter when they’re down the depth chart.

Most importantly, they showed the improvement we’ve come to expect of a Harbaugh team and exactly what we hoped to see in a fifth game (but, keep in mind, only the second with Harbaugh on the sideline). As Harbaugh would say, “that looked like Michigan football” … in other words, like championship football.

“It’s critical at this time we win and improve,” the Michigan coach said. “About everything I asked them to do, they did as well as you can expect, even a greedy coach like me that wants to keep getting better and better.

“It’s a team that gets it done, and they got it done today. We’ll go back and prepare a little bit, rest, but be ready to go on the road again at Minnesota and get it done. Get it done. We’ll take this victory home and feel good about it.”

And feel really good about the prospects going forward with a team that appears to be hitting its stride.

The nitpicking negatives after a 45-7 Michigan win …

No, we don’t care about the late touchdown run against the fourth-string defense, a Josh Fleeks 74-yard run with 4:17 remaining. Yes, it’s annoying, but if that’s the major gripe after a Big Ten road game, you’re doing something right. It kept Nebraska’s non-shutout streak alive — one that dated back to 1996 — and good for them. Given the program’s proud tradition we doubt they take much solace in it.

But there did seem to be a few holes in the Michigan zone defense and a lack of concentration in the secondary at times, especially on a 56-yard Heinrich Haarberg to Marcus Washington 56-yard pass to start the second half. The last thing you want it to give a team hope coming out of the half, even when they’re down 4 scores, but that’s what happened.

There were a few more slants, too, that were close to going to distance. Washington might have scored in the third quarter if Michigan safety Quinten Johnson didn’t get his finger on one (to his credit, he made the play). But when it mattered — and as usual — the defense stiffened on its side of the field. Still, that’s something you want to see cleaned up.

Haarberg did say the Michigan defense did play to take away the edges and pretty much eliminate the read option, so maybe that was part of it. They didn’t think he’d beat them with his arm, and they didn’t. In fact, the Wolverines probably expected some turnover help from him, and he obliged on the first series with a ball batted by Michigan senior edge Braiden McGregor and picked off by Grant.

Another — pass protection from the tackles. When it’s been Myles Hinton at right (he was out today, listed as questionable coming in and didn’t play with a knee injury), there’s been leakage. LaDarius Henderson is moving people in the run game, but he gave up at least a few pressures at left tackle when he was beaten badly. One resulted in McCarthy getting planted by a 330-pounder.

Finally, punt return … we love Michigan sophomore Tyler Morris, but perhaps now people will understand why Jake Thaw has been deep. With U-M up 21-0, Morris was fortunate to have a muffed punt bounce right back to him deep in his own territory. He made a nice return out of it, but a giveaway there could have changed momentum.

We’ll see how that plays out, but the sure-handed Thaw … there’s a role for him.

Observations following a blowout in Lincoln

• Michigan senior Kalel Mullings as the short-yardage back — we’re liking it. We mentioned earlier this week that they wanted to reward him and get him a few more carries, and now we know why. He followed up his impressive fourth-quarter performance in a win over Rutgers with 43 yards on 5 carries, including a 20-yard touchdown on third and one in which he broke a couple tackles. He runs hard.

“He’s just really putting it all together, putting the leg cycle together, putting the downhill running together,” Harbaugh said of Mullings. “He’s able to lower his pads at the line of scrimmage, keep the legs going. As well as you can run through arm tackles, it didn’t even look like the arm tackles were there on the 20-yard run, but there were probably four to eight arms that he ran through on that run. Like an arrow through snow is what it looked like to me.

“He’s just really hitting it. He’s really running good. I think his confidence is right there. He can write the book on what a big back can be. He’s striking while the iron’s hot … I’m all about it. I saw it coming the last few weeks, and now it’s here, so it bodes well for us.

While Donovan Edwards seemed to get some of the tougher yards he’s struggled to rack up this year, he still managed only 48 yards on 14 carries (3.4 YPC) with a long of 9. Now, we’re not suggesting less reps for Edwards. There are other ways to get him involved, and he should get more reps as a receiving back, maybe in the slot, whatever.

But this is a meritocracy, right? And it’s about production. Right now, Edwards is the third best between-the-tackles back on this team. We know what he can do, though, and we hope to see him return to form.

• McGregor was credited with only one tackle, but that doesn’t begin to describe his impact. He was critical on a fourth and one stop at the 12 with Nebraska only down 14-0, getting penetration and allowing his teammates to clean it up. His batted ball was huge, of course, and he notched his first sack, one of a few pressures.

There was a time we weren’t sure how much he’d contribute at Michigan. Watching the local(ish) product grow has been fun, and he’s still got more to give. Sometimes, guys just mature later.

The post Michigan 45, Nebraska 7 … Notes, quotes, and observations appeared first on On3.