[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s the Michigan Wolverines have caught fire the last month winning four straight games, along with it has come a bit of criticism against their streak.
Whether it’s playing a team that has to travel across the country or an opponent headed by a high school coach or a bad Maryland team that just fired its head coach.
This past weekend they were set for a barometer test against a top 15 foe in No. 13 Northwestern, who possessed the best defense in the nation.
The No. 18 Wolverines silenced all that with authority, as they laid a 38-0 bomb on the Wildcats at Michigan Stadium in from of a crowd of over 110,000.
With the shutout, the Wolverines defense became the first FBS school since Kansas State in 1995 to hold three straight opponents scoreless. It’s also the first time for the program in 35 years.
“There’s still room for improvement,” safety Jabrill Peppers said. “We come in time and time out with a great game plan, we just have to execute. We’re not going to pat ourselves on the back, it’s time to go now and we are getting into the gut of our schedule and we still have to improve on a lot.”
Heading into this season, there was the notion that U-M were a long way from being a threat and head coach Jim Harbaugh had his work cut out for him.
But after putting a thumping down on the top defense and 13th best team in the nation sends a definitive statement.
In the same fashion they did with their last win against a ranked opponent in BYU, Michigan caught fire early and cruised the rest of the game.
Jehu Chesson opened the contest with a bang, breaking down the right sideline for a 96-yard touchdown on first kickoff to give U-M a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a 3 and out on the Wildcats first drive, U-M drove downfield and capped a 7-play, 59-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Drake Johnson to put the Wolverines up 14-0 with 10:20 left in the first quarter.
U-M opened the game with balance on both sides of the ball, as Jake Rudock went 5-for-5 for 79 yards in the first quarter.
After Northwestern failed opportunity to get on the scoreboard on a missed 43-yard field goal attempt, U-M went up 21-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Rudock and thus finishing of the Wildcats 13 minutes into the contest.
That third score equaled the total Northwestern had given up on the season thru its first five games.
After Jabrill Peppers dropped a 2nd down interception, Jourdan Lewis wrestled the ball away from a receiver for a 36-yard interception return for the touchdown to put the Wolverines up 28-0 with three minutes to play in the first half.
A 47-yard field goal put Michigan up 31-0 with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter. Derrick Green would put the nail in the coffin on a 4-yd touchdown run or the final score of the contest.
The victory was full of irony in a sense for the Wildcats though. Entering the matchup, Northwestern was averaging almost 249 yards on the ground and were held to just 38. They also were averaging 391 yards and finished with just 168 total yards.
In the three shutouts, the Wolverines have scored 97 unanswered points.
“This is what we expect to do,” Lewis said. “When we’re out there, we are just doing what we are supposed to do and playing to the best of our ability.”
As much as anyone would want to shut out the opposition, it’s not something they have expected to do.
“We don’t really think about shutouts when we’re out there,” Peppers said. “We just tried to limit them as much as possible. We don’t want to give them anything and if a shutout is a bi-product of that then so be it. But we just focus on constant three and outs.”
As for the offense, Rudock played clean and efficient as completing 17-of-23 passes for 179 yards and a rushing touchdown.
De’Veon Smith led the ground game with 8 carries for 59 yards.
“I’m just really pleased with our team in all three phases,” Harbaugh said.
Next week against No. 4 Michigan State will be as great a test as the Wolverines will get for the next six weeks.
Even after the victory against Northwestern, U-M expects no drop off with the Spartans heading to town for another chapter in the storied rivalry.
“Tremendous opponent, going to demand we’re at our very best,” Harbaugh said. “That’s going to mean a great week of preparation and practices in store for us. Move on more quickly than usual because it is such a good worthy opponent next week. And we’ll be looking forward to it.”
The Wolverines will play the first half of that game without linebacker James Ross, who was ejected for targeting in Saturday’s third quarter.
