Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from a strengthening road win at Iowa

For the first time since 2005 Michigan football confidently walked into Kinnick stadium and valiantly came away with their fifth win in as many tries.

Jim Harbaugh’s offense won the coin flip and took the opening kickoff 75 yards to the endzone. It was an efficient start capped off by a Ronnie Bell house call on the ground. There wasn’t much more to delve into after that in the first half. Jake Moody added a pair of field goals to go into the pink locker room with a 13-0 advantage over the Hawkeyes.

Mason Graham began the third quarter with the first sack of the game which led to a three and out for Iowa. The Wolverines regained possession of the football following the punt and scored on third down with J.J. McCarthy scrambling to find Donovan Edwards wide open for six. It stretched the lead to 20-0 midway through the third.

Iowa’s offense finally got on the board on the initial play of the fourth period. The maize and blue responded with a three-and-out of their own that gave the Hawkeyes hope. Iowa then drove the length of the field only to turn the ball over on downs with about six minutes left. Iowa got the ball back one last time and Michigan football’s pass rush arrived right on time to close it out.

The offense iced it away with a late touchdown by Blake Corum to put the bow on the Big Ten championship rematch victory. Michigan’s defense went into prevent mode and gave up a meaningless score. When the dust settled though Michigan football faced its toughest road test head-on, until Columbus, and passed with nothing but successful flying colors.

Here are the three takeaways.

1. The ball control offense worked effectively

The Wolverines controlled Iowa for three quarters until the Hawkeyes found some life and made it interesting in the fourth. The rushing attack was the focal point against a stingy Iowa defense. They ran it for more rushing yards than passing yards on the final stat sheet. It was a fairly balanced effort in both facets of the scheme, however.

Blake Corum had another stellar outing. He found paydirt late to break Iowa for good. In the afternoon he ran for 133 yards on 29 carries. That’s a testament to how hard he works on the field week in and week out, but most especially the job that the offensive line did again. They decimated Iowa’s defensive line with wide holes for Corum to run through.

Donovan Edwards returned to the lineup and caught a touchdown pass. He, J.J. McCarthy, and Ronnie Bell were the only other three guys who rushed the ball in the win. All three, along with Corum accounted for Michigan’s touchdowns, while Jake Moody made the rest with his award-winning leg.

2. The pass rush was existent when the outcome was on the line

When Iowa got the rock back down two scores with about two minutes left, the pass rush awakened emphatically. Iowa got pressured on all four downs and Michigan eventually came away with a pair of sacks to put Iowa in fourth and very long territory. Mike Morris, Taylor Upshaw, and Eyabi Okie got credited for the takedowns.

Leading up to that point Michigan football didn’t generate any pressure on Spencer Petras besides Mason Graham’s sack to kick off the third stanza. Michigan compiled four sacks to round out the contest, but none were as vital as those on that possession late in the fourth quarter. It officially thwarted Iowa’s chances for good.

Iowa’s offense is like a car stuck in neutral at most times, but to hold them to a goose egg for three quarters in their stadium is a job well done for Jesse Minter’s defense. They shut down Iowa’s running game and didn’t allow Petras to get into any rhythm until the fourth. Minter’s play-calling is making people forget about Mike MacDonald for the time being.

3. The refs made some controversial calls in Michigan’s favor

Iowa fans were screaming and yelling from the stands throughout because of a handful of questionable penalties. The cut block on Mason Graham, the holding calls on long gaining plays, and most loudly the unnecessary roughness against Mike Sainristil. They all made the home crowd go into a raucous frenzy because of it.

Usually, the home squad gets the benefit of the doubt, but that sure didn’t seem to be the case in this one. Executing in that kind of home-field advantage for a road school is hard enough, so Michigan has to feel somewhat generous that it caught some much-needed breaks to pull through in such a hostile venue.

With the Iowa road duel in the rearview mirror now, Michigan football moves on to Bloomington and will be another week away from the Big house. It lost there in 2020 because the Hoosiers had a once-in-a-lifetime type of group that gave Ohio State all they could handle in the race for the Big Ten east division.

They were defeated by Cincinnati and should respond with a victory in Lincoln when facing a lost Nebraska bunch searching for leadership.