Gut reactions to Michigan football win over Rutgers

Michigan football was a little sluggish in the win over Rutgers and here are the gut reactions.

Rutgers always finds a way to make things tough against Michigan football and that was true once again on Saturday.

Despite the final score, the win for the Wolverines over the Scarlet Knights was anything but easy. Rutgers scored on the opening series and hung around for most of the game.

Michigan football couldn’t separate itself until Mike Sainristil’s incredible interception return for a touchdown.  That made it 24-7 before Blake Corum’s second rushing touchdown put the Wolverines up 24.

J.J. McCarthy wasn’t perfect. But he was pretty darn impressive.  His usage in the running game was a game-changer in the second half and led to the touchdown drive that put the game away.

Instead of running right into the pile, Michigan football was more inventive, and that involved letting McCarthy run more which proved to be essential in putting the win on ice.

Here’s a look at our gut reactions from the Wolverines 31-7 win.

Gut reactions to Michigan football win Rutgers

• That was a big bounce-back game for McCarthy. It wasn’t an all-time performance but it was gutsy and most importantly, mistake-free.
• Blake Corum continues to look better and better. Rutgers has a solid run defense but he was able to make headway. Kudos to the offensive line too. They battled it out and got the job done. It wasn’t pretty but the running game was as effective as it needed to be. 201 yards against that defense was impressive.
• The pass rush is a concern. Michigan football didn’t have any on Saturday and just one turnover again.
• Michigan’s run defense was spectacular. That was essential to winning the game and the Wolverines held the top rushing offense in the Big Ten coming in to just 77 yards.
• The refs are bad. But also, it was great to have Jim Harbaugh back on the sidelines. It wasn’t perfect but it was a positive step.