Michigan football: Grades, game balls from win over Minnesota

Special teams: A

There wasn’t anything special about the special teams this week, yet there was some improvement, especially with Jake Thaw. He’s had some issues fielding punts, but didn’t make any mistakes on Saturday which was progress.

Minnesota didn’t have any punt returns and Tommy Doman did pin a punt inside the 20. James Turner made his only field goal and all seven extra points.

All in all, it was a solid day for the Wolverines kicking game which has some of the best coverage units in college football.

Coaching: A

I’m going to withhold the A+ because Jesse Minter used the wrong defense before the end of the first half. It’s a lesson to learn, but the Wolverines have allowed some big plays in recent weeks and that does need to get cleaned up.

Outside of that, you can’t complain about much of anything. The staff is doing a great job with the running backs. I know plenty of people are talking about Kalel Mullings overtaking Donovan Edwards, but that’s an overreaction.

Edwards isn’t going anywhere. Mullings will get his chances though and he’s really improved. The way the staff relied on the pass though was spectacular and they are letting McCarthy be the best player on the team.

Beyond that, it’s good to see the team improving on a week-to-week basis. In three Big Ten games, Michigan is outscoring its opponents 128-24, which is why people are talking about the Wolverines being the best team in college football.