Michigan football: Wolverines rebound with drubbing of Rutgers

After the thumping received in Madison, Jim Harbaugh was in desperate need of a win for Michigan football. That’s exactly what Jim got at home against Rutgers.

Shea Patterson was the story of the day for Michigan football. The offensive prowess missed in previous weeks was delivered in droves by Shea, the receivers, and the return of all of the running backs.

In the first half, Patterson rarely missed, throwing 15 passes and completing 12 of them. One of the twelve ended up in the hands of Nico Collins near the sideline. With a little help from freshman Erick All, Collins snagged that pass and sprinted all the way to the endzone.

While there were several mistakes, they were mitigated for the most part. And the mistakes on the opposite side of the ball were far more egregious. Rutgers was charged with six penalties for 45 yards. Michigan was penalized four times for 25 yards.

The most impressive stat of the first half was the zero turnovers for the Wolverines. For the first time this year, the Wolverines left the first half without turning the ball over. Not fumbling can partially be attributed to the offensive line’s performance which was a complete turnaround from a week ago.

The defense was also a positive for Michigan. Rutgers managed one 11 play 70-yard drive that the Wolverines stymied on a fourth-down attempt at UM’s five-yard line.

The first half ended Michigan 24, Rutgers 0.

The second half

From the start of the second half, Rutgers was doomed. The kickoff ended with a fumble from Tre Avery, recovered by Wolverine Tyler Cochran. Michigan capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown bringing the score to 31-0.

The Scarlett Knights suffered a three and out and punted.

Shea and company were rolling down the field until disaster struck. Patterson hurled the ball to Nico Collins, but it was short. Cornerback Damon Hayes fought with Nico for the ball and won. That marks Shea’s second interception of the year and at least one interception in back-to-back games.

After another score by the Wolverines, we got to see now second-stringer Joe Milton.

Milton was afforded the opportunity to pass twice before the end of the third and completed one of them. The first was way off the mark and the second, a dart to Donovan Peoples-Jones for a third down.

With the game in hand, Hassan Haskins was elevated to lead rusher and he was excellent. Haskins had two 10+ yards rushes on the drive which culminated in a Joe Milton play-action roll-out rushing touchdown.

Joe was unstoppable for the rest of the half, throwing another touchdown to freshman Giles Jackson.

The Wolverines have officially rebounded from the Badger pounding with a statement win against Rutgers, 52-0.

Matt’s musings

The defense redeemed themselves aside from their absolute inability to defend the crossing route. Anytime Rutgers needed a few yards, they called a designed rub route and they executed it flawlessly.

Even though the crossing routes are kryptonite, the team appeared to have answered all of the questions from the Wisconsin thumping.

The surprise of the game is Daxton Hill. In limited action, Hill has been relatively unknown, but he made a name for himself against the Scarlett Knights.