Michigan football: 4 things to watch for against Middle Tennessee

Two quarterbacks?

Jim Harbaugh clearly isn’t a believer in the aphorism that “if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.” He’s stated an openness to playing both Patterson and backup Dylan McCaffrey this season.

Often, when teams play two quarterbacks, it’s for a change-of-pace — for example, a passing quarterback giving way to a running quarterback on third-and-short. With Patterson and McCaffrey, that dichotomy isn’t really there — you probably remember Patterson’s 81-yard keeper against Wisconsin last season, a game in which McCaffrey also had a 44-yard scamper to paydirt.

Size is the biggest difference between the two — Patterson, at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, is cut more from the Baker Mayfield mold than the 6-foot-5, 220-pound McCaffrey. That doesn’t change the fact that both have shown many of the same skills and style in their respective game action.

The likely truth is this: Patterson’s vastly more experienced, but McCaffrey is supremely talented and valuable in his own right, and not just because Patterson is lacking in some area. Harbaugh recognizes McCaffrey’s talent with his arm and his legs, and having him on the field for five to ten plays a game just adds another variable for teams to account for.

We’ll see both play Saturday — and maybe not just because the game will be over by halftime. And the question of how this usage might carry over to the rest of the season will remain, but with a bit more clarity than before.