Michigan Football: Offensive Review vs. Oregon State Beavers

Sep 12, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Jake Rudock (15) passes the ball in the first quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Rudock looked terrible in his debut for the Wolverines last week. Some of the turnover problems weren’t necessarily his fault, but it was a huge disappointment for those who expected Rudock to be an experienced quarterback that Harbaugh could easily plug in and play without problem. There were a variety of problems in the Utah game, but Rudock needed to play better.

This week, Rudock played better. It was certainly a blessing that the running game was effective and there was much less pressure on him to sustain drives. He completed 18 of his 26 passes for 180 yards. He threw no touchdowns and one interception.

Those stats might not seem very good, but they were enough to get the team a win. Rudock did enough to pick up the yards for first downs and set up the scoring opportunities for his running backs. Most of his passes were short to take small chunks of yardage, and outside of a few exceptions he barely went for long balls. He was a serviceable starter this time around.

There were times Rudock overthrew his receivers badly, and he had an ugly interception late in the game where he targeted Jake Butt too late. By that point Oregon State was pretty dead in the water, so his mistakes had little impact on the outcome of the game. Rudock also had a fumble that ended the team’s first drive, but the offensive line was more at fault there for failing to pick up a blitz.

Wilton Speight was the quarterback to close the game instead of backup Shane Morris, but that was to preserve Morris’ redshirt and not because Speight has surpassed Morris.

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