Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from a swell win over UNLV

For the first time since 1986, a Michigan football game was being broadcast on CBS a week after being on an exclusive streaming service only.

The offense capitalized on three of four drives in the first half with scores. J.J. McCarthy was one completion short of a perfect 18-18 in the first 30 minutes of play. The only incompletion was either an underthrow by him or the receiver wasn’t on the same page as McCarthy.

Michigan football had seven different pass catchers, while UNLV’s quarterback Doug Brumfield had seven completions in the opening half alone.

The Rebels couldn’t run the ball for any forward progress either. They had negative 16 yards at the break. Blake Corum scored twice, while McCarthy and Roman Wilson connected for their fourth combined touchdown pass in six quarters. Besides a turnover on downs in the red zone, Michigan football was clicking on all cylinders in the opening stanza.

After the intermission, McCarthy and Wilson hooked up again. This time for a 47-yard crossing route that Wilson took to the house. Corum hit the trifecta by visiting the endzone again in the third period. He continues to rise up the ranks of most touchdowns scored by a running back, as he is now in sixth place by himself.

The backups played a lot, mostly in the fourth quarter. Jack Tuttle came in for McCarthy and took a late shot out of bounds on a quarterback option run and landed on his arm. He never returned and Davis Warren got in and threw Michigan’s first interception of the season. Jayden Denegal finished out the afternoon victory afterward.

Here are the three takeaways from the four-touchdown win.

1.  J.J. McCarthy is off to the best statistical start in school history

The running game may not quite be what we expected yet, but J.J. McCarthy is surpassing all of our expectations. For the second consecutive week, he was in rhythm as he started the affair 13-13 before throwing an incompletion. He connected with Roman Wilson again for two more scores and out of Wilson’s 10 receptions in two wins, half of them are for touchdowns.

McCarthy’s completion percentage is in uncharted territories for a Michigan football quarterback. The competition is not on par with a national contender, but McCarthy is taking the next step forward in his maturation process. Michigan may have to win a game or two down the line without its potent rushing attack to lean on.

He’s fourth best on the list for completion percentage since 2000 with a minimum of 50 attempts. He has a 199 passer efficiency rating, without playing every snap at quarterback so far this year. He is proving that he is more than a game manager and a sure-fire first-round talent, but there’s still a long way to go this season.

2. The bench players are leaving a lot left to be desired

As expected Michigan’s second and third-teamers would play a meaningful role in its first two contests. Three quarterbacks have seen the field in McCarthy’s absence. Jack Tuttle had an impressive run before he exited on Saturday. Jayden Denegal hit Semaj Morgan downfield for a 35-yard pickup and Davis Warren threw a pick in mop-up duty.

Some of the freshmen receivers have gotten in with the ones. Trente Jones has also come in on jumbo packages for max protection or runs.

On the defensive side, the secondary is basically all the twos. Will Johnson played very sparingly Saturday and they’ve only given up the lowest point total in two games since 20 years ago.

There are still plenty of things to nitpick on though. Keeping Tuttle healthy for the remainder of the schedule is just as important as McCarthy is.

The defensive backfield needs time to gel with all the starters. So far Keon Sabb and Keshaun Harris are benefiting the most with Rod Moore and Makari Paige both out. That’s the main reason why the defense is ahead of where the offense currently stands with its reserves.

3. The pass rush arrived a week later than wanted

Derrick Moore got the party started with the initial sack of the season. More followed after that moment happened. Jaylen Harrell and Kenneth Grant each notched a sack and a half. Grant might grade out as the maize and blue’s top defensive player this week when the official numbers come out represented by pro football focus.

The defensive tackles, especially, had themselves a monstrous day. Kris Jenkins led the team in tackles, while Grant kept getting his name called by the announcers on a consistent basis.

In all, 25 defenders secured at least a tackle and 10 were for tackles for loss, which is six more than the Wolverines had a week ago. Five sacks, compared to none in the East Carolina win, is a massive step in the right direction, while still searching for its breakout star.

The secondary has been the story throughout the two victories, however. They have only allowed 300 yards in the two wins and are building much-needed depth.

Michigan’s defense is about three minutes or so away from two shutouts. Thus far they are only allowing 5 points per game and 232 yards on the ground and air.