Michigan Football Finally Looked Like The Real Deal Against Purdue

In its first Big Ten game of the season, Michigan football finally started to look like a quality team against the Purdue Boilermakers.

“Keep Calm and Go Blue.”

The M-Den sells the T-shirt, but it has been Jim Harbaugh who has been a model of patience in calming worried fans predicting an end-of-the-world debacle when the sluggish Michigan offense came up against a legit Big Ten team.

Purdue was finally a worthy opponent, fresh off a victory over Missouri, and a team seemingly with momentum, an offense-minded team whose coach had announced before the game that he wanted to force Michigan to try to beat them with a passing game.

So they did.

There are many ways to evaluate good coaching, but the single best evidence is in seeing a team improve game-by-game, and Michigan’s improvement in almost every sector simply confirms what Wolverines fans have known all along.

Harbaugh is not only a great recruiting football coach, not only a masterful game coach, not only a coach able to inspire admiration and loyalty, but a coach sure enough of his ability and of the abilities of those around him to ignore the doubters and get on with the business of making his players better.

The world acknowledged that Michigan’s defensive line was rock solid, but suggested that a young and untested secondary might run into trouble with Purdue. The proof, as they say, is in the numbers.

Ten total yards allowed in the second half.

Zero third down conversions in 12 attempts

159 yards passing compared to Michigan’s 284

Overwhelming defense comes as no surprise, but the consistent play of the entire group is impressive. Yes, Bush roamed the field like a falcon looking for field mice (six tackles and a deflected pass), and Winovich had three sacks against the Purdue quarterbacks. But this defense plays as a unit. Purdue tried to claim the “blue collar” identity, but there was no doubt by the end that Michigan defense remained the true Blue.

There will be a lot of conversation about O’Korn and Speight; I’d let O’Korn’s performance in the second half speak for itself. And, by the way, his single interception was a deflection off Perry, an excellent receiver. What may matter most, however, was O’Korn’s fist pump directed toward the Purdue bench and a former coach. That’s a variety of fired up leadership that can be contagious and one that serves a team well through a long season.

An unremarked aspect of a potent offense in the second half has to do with the number of players getting the ball: Higdon, Evans, Isaac, Gentry, Perry, McKeon, Evans, Schoenle, Martin, Peoples-Jones, Poggi, Walker. That’s not just distribution, that’s a giant leap forward in offensive playmaking. The run-em-up-the-middle-go-for-a-bomb strategy has evolved quickly into a varied and balanced attack.

In the nick of time.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

So, coach, fans will keep calm, take a deep breath, and get ready to welcome the Spartans to the Big House on Oct. 7.

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