5 things we learned in Michigan Football win over Indiana
Michigan football won its sixth straight game to start the season and here are five things we learned about the Wolverines from their trip to Bloomington.
As we saw around the country, playing conference games on the road isn’t easy and Michigan football fans should be happy with a 21-point triumph over the Hoosiers.
It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means. In fact, it was probably the sloppiest game of the year for the Wolverines. J.J. McCarthy threw his first interception of the season and it was in the red zone as Michigan football was attempting to take a two-score lead.
The penalties were out of control. It seemed like U-M drew as many flags in this game as it has all season. Yet, the defense was dominant and put forth probably its best effort of 2022.
McCarthy also played a stellar second half, outside of the one mistake, and earned his first 300-yard game as a Wolverine. Next week is a top-10 showdown with Penn State, but here’s a look back at the five things we learned from the Indiana game.
The coaches need to trust McCarthy more
The interception was a bad decision. Outside of that, McCarthy was outstanding against the Hoosiers completing 28-of-36 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. He found Cornelius Johnson for a 29-yard touchdown that broke the tie and capped a 98-yard drive.
Luke Schoonmaker continues to be one of McCarthy’s favorite targets and he connected with him for a second touchdown before Johnson caught the third.
The question is why did Michigan coaches wait so long to unleash him? They talked about making the adjustment to put the game in his hands in the second half. Well, it should have happened earlier.
McCarthy isn’t Cade McNamara. He can do things that no other quarterback under Jim Harbaugh could do. It’s time to take advantage of that and when the Wolverines did in the second half, the offense took off.
Handing it off to Blake Corum is a great strategy but if defenses are overplaying him, Michigan football has way too much talent in McCarthy and his passing targets to play conservatively.
McCarthy proved in the second half he can handle it. He’ll sometimes make a poor decision or a bad throw, but it’s rare and that’s why he leads the nation in completion percentage and had a QBR of 82 in the win over Indiana.