Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from alarming win over Rutgers
By Nick Popio
The rushing attack was neutralized.
Michigan’s offense started out hot with a run-heavy first drive on the Rutgers defense. Hassan Haskins found paydirt on the initial two drives and things were progressing smoothly for Josh Gattis and company. The Wolverines eventually scored on four of the five possessions to take a 20-3 lead into the locker room with under 100 yards on the ground at the break.
It looked like it was going to be the same result as the previous three weeks in the opening half. That changed drastically in the final 20 minutes of play as Rutgers stacked the box to make Michigan’s offense handicapped. The Wolverines couldn’t open up any holes and thus became stagnant with the ball in their grasp.
They didn’t gain a first down until their second to last drive of the contest. They finished with a mere 112 yards rushing, nowhere near to what they have been averaging in the three wins.
Rutgers has now put the film in place for future teams on how to gameplan for what was the most potent running game in the country coming into this one.