Michigan Football: Anything can happen in November

Michigan football has won two straight and looks back on track and with three games to play, there is still a lot that can happen.

Michigan is nine games into the 2017 season and it has got a 7-2 record going into next Saturday’s game against Maryland, and you’d think everything would finally be coming into focus right about now with this Michigan football team and this season.

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And of course you would be wrong.

Back in August, which now seems like a long time ago, I remember thinking that there were a lot more questions than answers with this team. Only five starters were returning, after all, and there were a bunch of freshman and sophomores who hadn’t seen the field much with all of that NFL talent ahead of them.

We would need to see Michigan football  play a few games, I thought, to find out what sort of team this would be. But after that satisfying 33-10 win over Minnesota, I have to say that I still have more questions than answers.

Only three games to go in the regular season, and things are still not clear. But they’re definitely trending in the right direction.

Just when I was about to write off Michigan’s offense after the debacle at Penn State, our guys came back and beat both Rutgers and Minnesota convincingly. Minnesota, unlike Rutgers, actually has a decent defense, but the Golden Gophers looked terrible Saturday night in Ann Arbor, giving up several long runs, missing a bunch of tackles, and playing at times like they didn’t belong in the Big Ten.

Michigan Wolverines Football

To break this down a little more, six of the team’s starters on offense were out Saturday with injuries, including quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. Those are some key positions to replace heading into the last month of the season, while at the same time getting better.

By my count, starters Wilton Speight, Ty Isaac, Grant Perry, Tarik Black, Tyrone Wheatley, and Michael Onwenu were all out, and Michigan would be starting its third-string quarterback. And yet – this is amazing when you think about it – the offense had one of its most exciting games of the season. (The defense was pretty good too, I know, but let’s stay with the offense here.)

Two running backs nearly made it into the Michigan football record books by gaining 200 yards apiece. Chris Evans fell just short of the record with 191 yards, while Karan Higdon reached 200 for the game. Overall, though, the running backs averaged 10 yards per carry.

Even the offensive line did a thoroughly commendable job. After the game, head coach Jim Harbaugh, not known for gushing to reporters, said, “That was a game for the ages if you’re an offensive lineman.” Agreed. Even the offensive line looks as though it is coming together as we head to the Ohio State game on November 25.

So, what is it? Is it the coaching? Are Harbaugh, Tim Drevno, and Pep Hamilton finally getting it together on offense? Possibly.

Or do we finally have the right guys on the field?

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I’m thinking that it’s a combination of things, but we definitely have found a core of players who can score points. There’s still nothing flashy about this offense, but Michigan football has never been all that flashy.