Three Up/Three Down: Michigan Runs Away From Rutgers, Moves To 9-0

Michigan didn't blow Rutgers away at first, but a dominant second half moved the Wolverines to 9-0.

Michigan was supposed to win by a whole bunch against Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights had different plans — at first. The Wolverines were down by 3 at the half but absolutely took over in the second half winning 52-17. The big second-half rally looked more like it, and now U-M is firmly in the top four in the country. It certainly wasn't all pretty, but it wasn't all bad either. Here's what stuck out...

Three Up

Blake Corum...again

Here we are again...another broken record week. Corum carries it a lot, churns out yards and scores a couple touchdowns. It literally happens week after week after week. Against Rutgers, it was 20 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Sure, he had to work really hard for a couple of short scores in the first half, but he still got in there and still went over 100 yards again. 

Corum is the Heisman hopeful, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Donovan Edwards. The sophomore back was also outstanding as he toted it 15 times for 109 of his own yards. He also had three catches for another 52 yards and a score. The one-two punch of Corum and Edwards is getting going and peaking at just the right time of the season.

Red Zone touchdowns

After struggling mightily in the Red Zone against Michigan State, at least when it came to scoring touchdowns, Michigan figured some things out against Rutgers. The Wolverines scored four touchdowns on four tries in the Red Zone in the first half and finished the game 6-for-6 overall with five TDs. Some of the scores were quite laborious, as it took Corum about eight cracks to get into the end zone from the one-yard line on two early drives, but if the march ends in six points, it really doesn't matter how many tries it takes.

Mike Barrett

What a day for the Michigan linebacker! Barrett, who has been around for a while, has switched positions, been in and out of the lineup and done some nice things while also trying to figure out how to be an every-down player. Against Rutgers, he looked like one of the best defensive players on the field. The 6-0, 227-pounder got his first interception as a Wolverine and then just a few plays later, got another one that he returned 31 yards for a touchdown. He also had four tackles on the night. As a versatile dual-threat quarterback in high school, Barrett did it all. Tonight in Piscataway, he got back to his roots.

Three Down

First half play calling

The offensive approach in the first half was pretty maddening and it led to a 3-point deficit at the break. Even though two of the first half drives ended in touchdowns, it took eight tries from about the one-yard line for Corum to break the plane. That just shouldn't happen against Rutgers and came across as extremely unimaginative and frankly, ineffective. It's the reason Michigan had to kick field goals from the Red Zone so many times last week.

Faith in JJ McCarthy?

The second half was pretty different as evidenced by the throws into the end zone and more attempts in general, but in the first half it looked like the coaching staff had zero faith in JJ McCarthy. Several times on third and intermediate, the staff opted to run the ball, unsuccessfully. A guy like McCarthy needs to be a weapon in those situations because of his arm talent and athleticism as a runner. Instead, he's essentially just a managing hand off distributor. It's not all the time, but it feels like it's too much.

Special Teams

These are specific instances and also from the first half (notice a trend here?), but they were really big when they happened. Obviously the blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown gave Rutgers the lead and a lot of confidence in the first half. Mike Barrett, who was otherwise outstanding, missed a block and allowed Brad Robbins to get bum rushed, resulting in a special teams score for the Scarlet Knights. 

Then, in just as unlikely fashion, Jake Moody missed two field goals. Yes, they were both from 50+ yards, but we're just all so accustomed to Moody knocking through every attempt. He missed wide right on the first one and wide left on the second one, both from exactly 50 yards out. Moody connected on a 29-yarder later, but will certainly be kicking himself for missing the long ones...no pun intended.