Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from the win over Rutgers

Michigan football struggled a little with Rutgers, but thanks to a stellar day by Shea Patterson and the defense, the Wolverines rolled 42-7.

As sharp and determined as the Michigan football team has been in recent weeks, the Wolverines didn’t get off to the greatest start, on the road against Rutgers Saturday.

The Wolverines gave up some big runs early and struggled to get their own ground game going. That led to a 7-7 score at the end of the first quarter. The score was still tied 7-7 when Michigan football faced a fourth-and-one in the second stanza. Karan Higdon got it and a few plays later Shea Patterson threw the first of three touchdown passes.

Later in the first half, Patterson hit a deep pass to Nico Collins, making the score 21-7 and giving the Wolverines some breathing room. Nothing seemed to come easy for UM, which was playing against a team that entered with a 0-6 record in Big Ten play.

A big key for Michigan was the fact that it went 9-of-14 on third downs. As well as Higdon has played all season, he didn’t break off any long runs Saturday and that forced the Wolverines into a bunch of third-down situations.

But when you have a good quarterback, you can function, even in that situation. Outside of one long run, the defense all did its job, although it didn’t get its shutout.

All in all, it was a solid performance for the Wolverines who won their ninth straight game and are now just a win over Ohio State away from playing for the Big Ten championship. With that said, here are three quick takeaways from the 42-7 win over Rutgers.