Highlights, gut reactions as J.J. McCarthy leads Michigan football past Indiana

Michigan football struggled in the first quarter against Indiana, but the Wolverines cruised to a blowout win. Here are the highlights and gut reactions. 

The Wolverines played one of the worst first quarters they have in a long time under Jim Harbaugh Saturday against Indiana and it still didn’t matter.

Michigan football once again looked like one of the best teams in the country and J.J. McCarthy looked like one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Maybe the best.

There was the flip to Donovan Edwards that had people comparing McCarthy to Patrick Mahomes. However, McCarthy was elite throughout the day, at least after the first two drives.

Indiana had three sacks on the first two possessions. The Hoosiers also scored a long passing touchdown on a trick play.

After that, J.J. McCarthy started throwing darts, including a big one on a third down to Colston Loveland. Blake Corum finished off the drive to tie the score.

McCarthy found Roman Wilson for another touchdown on a fourth-and-goal, putting the Wolverines in front 14-7 before McCarthy threw some passes to Donovan Edwards and others to set up a second Blake Corum touchdown, the 43rd of his career.

Leading 21-7 at the half, Michigan football put the game away early in the third when McCarthy found Loveland for a 54-yard touchdown pass.

Semaj Morgan added a touchdown later, on J.J’s third touchdown pass of the day, willing his way into the end zone for the second time this season.

McCarthy who finished 14-of-17 for 222 yards and three touchdowns, saw his day end early after a hard hit on a drive where Michigan kicked a field goal. But he wasn’t needed anyway.

The Wolverines added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Donovan Edwards finally found the end zone. Karmelo English hauled in a touchdown pass from Tack Tuttle and the Wolverines easily covered the spread once again with a 31-0 second half.

Here are the gut reactions.

Gut reactions from Michigan football win over Indiana

• J.J. McCarthy is as good as any quarterback in the country. That includes Caleb Williams. If he played for USC, you can only imagine what his numbers would be. He should and probably will be a top-five pick.
• That first quarter was terrible. Good thing it was against Indiana.
• The big plays persist. Indiana was the fourth straight team to score a touchdown of more than 35 yards. Seven points allowed is seven points. The defense was elite, but they need to clean that up.
• Indiana was competitive. Michigan ran for under 200 yards and I thought they would run all day against the Hoosiers.
• I’m glad Donovan Edwards got a touchdown. I’d still love to see him break a long run. I can’t quite put my finger on the issue but 20 yards on nine carries isn’t great. His two receptions were important though.
• Mike Sainristil’s tip that led to Rod Moore’s interception was such a good play. That dude is like a magnet for the football.
• Keon Sabb is a ball-hawk.
• Mason Graham is an animal.
• It’s hard to beat 52 straight points in a Big Ten day.
• Enjoy your Saturday and Go Blue!