Michigan conquered its first major challenge in the Big Ten on Saturday, but things will get tougher moving forward as it will play the Spartans next week and face off against Penn State and Ohio State in its final two games of the regular season.
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Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called Michigan State a “tremendous opponent”. If Michigan wins, all the crazies are coming out.
After struggling against Purdue last week, they struggled again against Rutgers on Saturday.
The Wildcats (5-1, 1-1) were giving up a nation-low seven points a game and gave that up in the first 13 seconds.
However, not only have they proven to be one of, if not the best, defenses in the country.
Michigan (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) has won five straight since its opening loss at Utah under Harbaugh, building momentum going into a showdown at home next week against No. 4 Michigan State.
“What was most meaningful is that all phases were good”, Harbaugh said.
But unlike last season’s rout, Fitzgerald saw a few decent resolve from his team, even if it didn’t result in any points.
Michigan has posted consecutive shutouts for the first time in nearly 15 years.
It is what Harbaugh did very quickly while molding under-utilized talent with NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, and ultimately at Stanford. NU was just two-for-eight on third down in the first half, including an avoidable Thorson interception on a 3rd-and-9 that was returned for a touchdown.
With a homecoming crowd already fired up, Chesson kept them buzzing when he raced across the field and up the sideline untouched for a score that seemed to stun the Wildcats.
When it comes to returns, sophomore defensive back Jabrill Peppers has yet to take a punt for a touchdown – though he has almost broken one or two – but his consistent hands and fearlessness in fair-catch situations has saved Michigan crucial yardage. Quarterback Jake Rudock leads the Wolverines, who are now ranked number eighteen in the nation. Jourdan Lewis picked off a pass, snatching the ball away from the intended target late in the second quarter and returning it 37 yards for a touchdown. But Coach Pat Fitzgerald elected to try a 42-yard field goal on fourth-and-1, and Jack Mitchell was unable to connect. Michigan padded the cushion with Derrick Green’s 4-yard TD run that ended a 12-play possession that took 7-plus minutes off the clock.
Rudock completed 17 of 23 passes for 179 yards without a turnover.
While Michigan’s performance was almost ideal Saturday, there was one negative in the third quarter, as linebacker James Ross was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game after a hit on Northwestern fullback Dan Vitale.
UM running back De’Veon Smith considered the weight of such a streak by the defense. Though they got Jim Harbaugh to come in as head coach, they were going through way too much change to imagine them doing so well this season. Northwesterns Justin Jackson has run for 100-plus yards in three straight weeks, four times this season and 10 during his short career.
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The Wildcats, who came in averaging a Big Ten-best 248.8 yards on the ground, were held to 38. Like I said after the (Minnesota) game, it’s like getting into the weight room and putting more weight on the bar each week. With that being the case, I trust the Wolverines’ defense more to keep the Wildcats out of the endzone, which may end up being the difference in this game.
