Michigan Football got the change it needed from Brandon Peters

Something has to change with Michigan football and it turns out what was needed, was a move to Brandon Peters at quarterback.

I don’t know if Michigan football has turned the corner, if the Blue are ready to blow through the rest of the schedule, prepared to whomp Wisconsin and embarrass Ohio State, but I do know that something happened on Saturday, something that went beyond stats and score.

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Michigan football came into the Rutgers game tied with Maryland and Rutgers for next to last in the Big 10 East, and rumbling of all sorts had begun to shake the Wolverines faithful.  My fear was that we had lost our confidence, our swagger, and my crouching in sadness for the first quarter of the Rutgers was evidence of how my confidence had fallen.

With very low expectations a low bar had been set; I only hoped to see the defense look like the defense we put on the field in the first six games. We got a great defensive start to the game as Maurice Hurst pasted Rutgers’ QB with an authoritative sack in their first possession. During the course of the game Devin Bush would create havoc, as he did, racking up 11 tackles.  Yes, the defense was back, and I hoped the offense would show up as well.

And then, the usual offensive malaise.  Tie game.  Nothing.  Turn Over.  Nothing.  Fumble.

About half way through the second quarter of the Rutgers game, I was in my accustomed place, hiding in a corner of the couch waiting for the next fumble, the next interception, the next penalty.  I hadn’t realized how defeated I had become over the course of the last few weeks.

Conversations with friends had become defensive after the lumpy win at Purdue and the travesty that was the loss to Michigan State.  An equally lumpy win at Indiana at least provided some overtime dramatics, but was much, much closer than it ought to have been.

Something had to change . And it did.

The drive that started with about seven minutes left in the second quarter was electrifying, but the sparks had already started to fall as Brandon Peters came on the field.  Without beating all the dead horses, there was something about this quarterback that spoke to the crowd.  I’m not going to play the charisma card; perhaps the stars were aligned, the football god appeased, but for whatever reason, the Big House came to life.

That’s what had been missing, and the rest of the game brought the true Michigan football pride.  We saw it in the offensive line, we saw it in the receivers.  The beleaguered O line allowed no sacks, none!  Evans had sure hands coming out of the backfield, Walker showed flashes of brilliance, and Higdon and Isaac proved themselves the real deal.

Michigan Wolverines Football

For the first time this season, Michigan’s game was balanced.  Offense and defense, pass and run.

Two Wolverines ended up with more than a hundred yards, Ty Isaac with 107 yards, Karan Higdon with 156 yards and two touchdowns. Khalil Hill powered to a score, and Chris Evans picked up a touchdown as a receiver coming out if the backfield.

Peters was 10 of 14 with 124 yards and a touchdown. Great play by all mentioned, but the most heartening improvement came from the offensive line, which helped propel the Wolverines to 334 yards rushing and gave Peters good protection throughout the second half.  Mason Cole, Ben Bredeson, and Patrick Kugler were more than solid, but this was the game in which Michael Onwenu showed that he had a bright future on the line.

On defense, Hurst, Gary, and Bush have taken their place as among the best Michigan has put on the field; let’s just remember that Hurst has 40 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss.  Chase Winovich also flew into the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss.  Oh, and try to keep an eye on Devin Bush as a play develops.  It’s not easy; he’s everywhere.

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I skulked away from the Penn State game ranting and bounced away from the Rutgers game raving.  The tide seems to have turned, but this week’s game brings a good Minnesota team to Ann Arbor, ready to fight for the Little Brown Jug and bragging rights.  It’s a great opportunity to build on last week’s successes and a fine time for the Wolverines to chow down on some Minnesota gophers.