Michigan football: 3 key things to watch for against Rutgers
By Jacob Shames
Vertical passing game
If Michigan football had done all game what it did in the fourth quarter last Saturday, we’d all be having an entirely different discussion right now.
We’d probably be talking about how Harbaugh had finally broken through against elite teams on the road; how #SpeedInSpace was here to stay. The Wolverines would be 3-0.
Granted, Michigan’s offensive performance in the last 15 minutes was against a Badgers team that had taken its foot completely off the gas pedal. But the way the Wolverines accomplished it was encouraging nonetheless.
Michigan outgained Wisconsin, 122-53, in the final quarter. Shea Patterson delivered strikes to Nico Collins, Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones, the trio supposed to elevate a Stone Age offense to new heights. Collins, Black and Peoples-Jones had a combined eleven targets and combined for 123 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Prior to that, though, the trio was absent. Sophomore slot receiver Ronnie Bell had nine targets through the first three quarters. Collins, Black and Peoples-Jones had five.
With all due respect to the rapidly ascending Bell, that’s not how the Wolverines’ revamped offense should work. There’s far more money to be made on the outside, and the sooner Josh Gattis realizes this, the better.
Saturday, maybe Michigan will have learned something from what we saw at the bitter end a week ago.