5 things we learned in Michigan football win over Purdue

Michigan football rolled Purdue by 28 points on Saturday night and here are five things we learned in the win for the Wolverines. 

You know that you’re playing good football when you win by 28 points and it feels like there was a lot of meat left on the bone.

That was the case for Michigan football on Saturday night against Purdue. The Wolverines notched a 41-13 win, but they might have played their worst game of Big Ten play.

Michigan football started fast and built a 17-0 nothing lead. The first two drives were impressive and it looked like Michigan might score 70.

Yet, the offensive stagnated and the run game struggled. A Semaj Morgan touchdown run in the third quarter got things going again. It was one of three second-half touchdowns.

This was all with the NCAA investigation hanging over the heads of the Wolverines. It was good to get back to football and here are five things we learned.

Michigan football has arrived at quarterback

There was talk on Saturday that J.J. McCarthy had an “off day.” Well, he completed 24-of-37 passes for 337 yards. There wasn’t a touchdown or an interception but if throwing for 337 yards is an “off day” then it’s a good time to be a Michigan football fan.

That’s the kind of quarterback we have dreaming about, basically forever. Jim Harbaugh isn’t overexaggerating when he says McCarthy is the best Michigan quarterback ever.

On a bad night, his team scored 41 points and he had 337 yards. I’ll take it and I’m just glad he got his bad outing out of the way before Penn State next week.

2. The running game has issues

Blake Corum scored three touchdowns last night, but he only got 44 yards on 15 attempts for an average of 2.9 per carry. Donovan Edwards got 21 yards and averaged 2.6.

If it wasn’t for the 44-yard run by Morgan, Michigan football would have only rushed for 66 yards. Purdue does have a solid defensive front, but at some point, this team has to start running the ball — even if it means running McCarthy which was key against Penn State and Ohio State a season ago.

Harbaugh said at the start of the season that he respected how Georgia was able to run the ball against anyone, in any situation. Michigan football was pretty close to that the past two seasons, but the Wolverines have taken a step back.

Part of it is the offensive line. Yet, at times, it seems like the running backs could be getting more too. All I know is that if Michigan football is one-dimensional against Penn State and Ohio State, it’s going to make beating those teams much more difficult.

3. Roman Wilson deserves more credit

There were some stellar moments by Roman Wilson during non-conference play. He also had the two-touchdown catch against Nebraska, but on Saturday, he looked like an All-Big Ten receiver.

Wilson basically carried the offense. Corum wasn’t doing much and every time Michigan football needed a play or just something positive, Wilson was the guy.

It was his first 100-yard game of the season. Wilson caught a season-high nine receptions for 143 yards and while he didn’t catch any touchdowns, it was his best game.

The way Sherrone Moore used motion to get him an advantage was deadly. He’s so fast and sure-handed that I expect him and McCarthy to connect a lot over the next three weeks.

His development has been huge too. People have criticized Michigan’s receivers and said that’s the weakness. Well, I don’t think that’s true. Wilson isn’t Marvin Harrison Jr. but with him, the two tight ends and Cornelius Johnson, as well as Tyler Morris and Semaj Morgan — McCarthy doesn’t lack playmakers.

In Wilson, he also has a true No. 1 in a way Michigan football hasn’t had since the days of Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins.

4. No signs, no problem

Despite the fact that everyone is saying Michigan football has been involved in some insane cheating scandal, incredibly, the Wolverines have been dominating just as much without Connor Stalions as with him.

It’s almost as if he barely made a difference, which is the reality for anyone who understands football or doesn’t have their brain warped by Michigan hatred or envy.

Michigan was winning its Big Ten games by an average of 37 points before the sign-stealing allegations came out. They have won by an average of 38 since they came out.

Purdue had six points with 15 seconds left in the game. Without a garbage time touchdown, they don’t even find the end zone. I respect Ryan Walters for saying what he said on the record. He also said Michigan has a really good team.

So maybe we should just let this season play out because Connor Stalions or not, Michigan football is head and shoulders above most of the competition.

The Wolverines will be tested against Penn State this week and Ohio State in the final game, but it’s clear it hasn’t made any difference having the signs or not.

Sign gate isn’t going anywhere

The signs, the signs, the signs. They were a constant topic of conversation on Saturday and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Just prepare yourself Michigan football fans. Despite all the dire warnings, the talk that Jim Harbaugh has coached his last game is “complete and utter bullshit” according to a source that was quoted by Josh Henschke of Rivals.

Isaiah Hole has also been dropping hints that Michigan isn’t going to take this lying down and that Wolverines fans will be happy about what comes next. That’s what he said on the “Locked On Wolverines” podcast Sunday morning at least.

The Big Ten is probably going to try and take some action it doesn’t have the authority to take and anything beyond the two-game sportsmanship suspension available to the Big Ten commissioner, anything else should require an investigation to determine actual facts, which hasn’t happened.

The NCAA hasn’t even given Michigan a notice of its investigation into this matter, let alone a notice of allegation. If there is overreach, I expect Jim Harbaugh to fight it in court, as he should.

Will he be coaching at Penn State next week? I’m going to say yes, but that it will take some fighting by Michigan in court, or behind the scenes to make it happen.