Michigan Starts Slow, Finishes In Dominant Fashion
Early on, things looked a little dodgy for Michigan, but you'd never know it looking at that final score. The Wolverines are now 7-0 after blasting Indiana, 52-7. Throughout the day, especially after the first quarter, Jim Harbaugh's team fired on all cylinders. Once again, Jesse Minter's unit was incredibly stout giving up really just the one scoring drive over the course of 60 minutes and the offense proved to be extremely efficient once again. It wasn't perfect, but it was dominant.
Three Up
1. Mike "Johnny on the spot" Sainristil
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mike Sainristil is the most in-position player in the country. He just always seems to be in the right place at the right time, which results in him making a lot of plays. Today, he got his hand on a pass that popped into the air to be picked off by Rod Moore. It was early in the game, but Indiana was driving, and Sainristil's positioning and IQ singlehandedly halted the drive.
2. Tyler Morris should be the all-time punt returner
I'm not trying to be a Jake Thaw hater, but Morris is the better return man and if you definitely trust him to be back there, then he flat out should be back there. He's been dynamic on a couple of returns this year and I also like how he takes a little bit of a risk to save field position and try to make something out of nothing.
3. Semaj Morgan continues to impress
Once again, Morgan didn't play much, but he made the most of his opportunity. The diminutive freshman caught just one pass, but he caught it cleanly, immediately turned into a runner, made some terrific moves and showed that he plays bigger than he is on his way into the end zone. His statline isn't anything to write home about (1 catch, 7 yards, 1 touchdown) but he continues to show that he can be trusted and that he can make plays.
4. (Honorable Mention) JJ McCarthy Continues To Ball Out
At this point, I'm not sure we need to point out how good JJ McCarthy is playing, but I will anyways. Today, McCarthy finished 14-of-17 for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Per usual, No. 9 was extremely efficient, extremely accurate and locked in to his pre-snap reads and post-snap progressions. The dude is playing at a surgical level right now and if not for the hits he took today, it would be another picture perfect outing.
Three Down
1. Bad first quarter
It's a moot point now, and actually evolved into a positive, but Michigan was down 0-7 after the first quarter. Indiana had some successful runs and was able to move the ball through the air against soft coverage, but after the first 15 minutes, it was ALL Michigan. Obviously the Wolverines went on to score 52 unanswered points in three quarters, and none of the starters were involved in the fourth.
2. JJ McCarthy taking hits
McCarthy was just about perfect on the day, but he did take some uncommon hits. The junior signal caller was sacked four times and got hit pretty hard on a couple of scrambles/designed runs. In fact, he came up limping pretty heavily towards the end of the third quarter, which was the end of his day. He looked fine while celebrating with teammates later on in the game, but he'll be more sore tonight than after any other game this season.
