Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from the win over Rutgers

Without a dominant running game, Patterson carried the day offensively

Maybe the most surprising stat of the game was that at the end, Michigan football and Rutgers both rushed for 193 yards. But what it meant for the Wolverines was that more of the offensive load had to be put on the shoulders of Patterson.

Higdon only ran the ball 15 times for 42 yards and the first-down run game simply wasn’t as good as it has been. Michigan also had to convert a lot more third downs than usual. They attempted 14 total and converted nine of them, many thanks to Patterson extending plays or just making great throws.

He finished the game 18-of-27 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t run the ball at all, however, he did avoid the pass rush and some negative plays. He also bought time to allow receivers to get open downfield.

With the run game stymied somewhat, Patterson hit Donovan Peoples-Jones, Collins, Zach Gentry and Oliver Martin three times or more. Martin caught one touchdown pass and Collins caught two. Mostly, it was just good to see that if Michigan needs Patterson to carry the load, he can.