Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from a scrappy win over Iowa
By Nick Popio
2. Cornelius Johnson almost single-handedly outgained Michigan’s rushing attack
Very quietly Cornelius Johnson had nine catches in the championship game. It was his biggest output of the year and most meaningful since the 2022 Ohio State win. He had a career-high in yardage that day and secured a record-high nine grabs in his final visit to Indy.
As a team, Michigan football ran for 66 yards, and Johnson got 64 by himself. That never happens for a Jim Harbaugh-coached team. Iowa’s defense focused on Blake Corum and rightfully so. Johnson just kept beating his man on sideline out catches for around 10 yards and not much more. No one else had more than four receptions in the win.
Cornelius Johnson creates some of the most separation on his routes that i’ve ever seen in cfb
— Jackman Raps 〽️ (@Jackmanraps) December 2, 2023
Colston Loveland unfamiliarly dropped a few passes that would have padded his stats. As for J.J. McCarthy, he missed eight targets and had about as many yards passing as Iowa did offensively altogether. Neither offense had a play for over 20 yards.