5 things we learned from Michigan football win over Rutgers

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Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh talks with quarterback J.J. McCarthy during the second half of Michigan’s 31-7 win on Saturday, Sept. 23 2023, in Ann Arbor. /

2. Nothing to worry about with McCarthy

J.J. McCarthy missed his first two passes of the game against Rutgers, but he then proceeded to complete 15-of-19 passes and finished with 214 yards passing and a touchdown to go along with seven rushes for 51 yards.

I’ve been begging for the staff to run McCarthy more and they did on Saturday in some key short-yardage situations, including a fourth-and-one with Kalel Mullings in the game. Everyone was guessing a power run and McCarthy took it to the sideline for an easy first down.

Last week was uncharacteristic for McCarthy and he showed the Bowling Green game was a one-off performance. The ball was never in jeopardy on Saturday and his touchdown pass to Semaj Morgan was a thing of beauty.

McCarthy is the best quarterback in the Big Ten for my money and the accuracy, as well as the playmaking ability he showed against Rutgers, is the reason why. Still, it was good to see a bounce-back game from J.J., plus it was good to see his confidence hasn’t waivered at all.

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