Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from the win over Rutgers

Rutgers runs for 193 yards and shows a potential weakness

Heading into the Rutgers game, you would have never thought that the Scarlet Knights would rush for as many yards as the Wolverines. Michigan also averaged 4.8 yards per rushing attempt, while the Scarlet Knights averaged 5.8.

That has to be a little worrisome for the Wolverines. Obviously, 80 yards of those yards came on one run, an 80-yard touchdown in the first quarter by Isaih Pacheco. Of all the Rutgers players, Pacheco was the most impressive and he had some holes, especially on misdirection plays.

At times, the Michigan defense gets hurt by its over-aggressive play. The touchdown came with Pacheco lined up in the wildcat — he faked a handoff and then was off to the races. Quarterbacks that can run, misdirections and screens are things that Michigan has trouble with and hopefully, Rutgers didn’t show a blueprint for getting big plays.

Ohio State also doesn’t have a mobile quarterback so that should help and that’s the team you worry about the most. Yet, after the 80-yard run, Rutgers got just 113 yards on 33 carries. The Rutgers quarterbacks also completed just 9-of-20 passes for 59 yards. The Wolverines also forced an interception. UM only allowed 252 yards and seven points, so the fact that’s an average day at the office is incredible.