Despite the coaching merry-go-round due to Jim Harbaugh’s absence, Michigan remained dominant with a 35-7 victory over non-conference foe UNLV in Week 2.
The soap opera of this early stint in the schedule, which will see the team without head coach Harbaugh for the first three games, presented a new pair of play callers for the Wolverines. In their first outing, things started off with defensive coordinator Jesse Minter running the show against East Carolina. This week, it was special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh (the eldest son of Jim) guiding the ship in the first half, and running backs coach Mike Hart taking the reins in the second.
Last week, Minter’s defense didn’t record a single sack against the Pirates in 55 defensive snaps. But with the Wolverines coordinator firmly planted back in his primary role, Michigan’s pass rush looked far more menacing in this Saturday’s affair, recording five sacks and seven tackles-for-loss in the first half against the Rebels. The escalation in pressure stymied any hopes of success in the run game for UNLV. After surrendering four yards per carry to East Carolina last week, the Rebels went into halftime with negative yardage on the ground. Senior defensive end Braiden McGregor and defensive lineman Kenneth Grant were standouts in the trenches – combining for nine tackles and four TFLs.
After going 26-of-30 for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns with no turnovers last week, JJ McCarthy was back for more in his second outing, posting a near identical stat line. He finished 22-of-25 for 278 passing yards and a pair of TDs – both of which, once again, went to Mr. #1, Roman Wilson. It’s fair to say that excitement around what’s yet to come for McCarthy and this offense is more than founded.
The Wolverines quarterback is playing with a confidence that’s notably evolved from where he was at the end of last season. Coming off the most productive and error-free outing ever recorded by a quarterback in the program’s long and illustrious history, McCarthy opened the matchup with UNLV by completing his first 13 attempts.
But, just like last week, it was a big run off the edge on the last play of the first quarter (last week it was the first play of the second) that began the Michigan avalanche. For those in the know, lets affectionately refer to this ongoing phenomenon as the ‘Max Bredeson Effect’. But, where last week it was Blake Corum serving as the benefactor for a 33-yard run, this time it was McCarthy galloping to the Rebels’ 2-yard line on a 17 yard designed QB run.
“With every rep, every practice, every game — I get more and more comfortable,” said McCarthy after the game. “There’s still a big gap for me to improve and I’m sure I’ll fill that gap as much as possible every day.”
Against ECU, one could have gone looking under the carpet for a designed run for McCarthy and come up with little more than lint, but success breeds confidence and added opportunities.
While Michigan will remain a tough side to pose any real threat to until they’re faced with an offensive interior, smothering pass rush, or talented skill players that can rival their own – this team is still just flirting with their potential. In game two, they cleaned up shortcomings from last week and brought back some wrinkles to the offense. Expect to see what’s continued growth when the Wolverines face off with Bowling Green next Saturday.
Michigan finished with 492 yards of total offense, posting 313 yards through the air and 179 on the ground for an 8.1 yard gain per play. The defense held UNLV to 229 yards, including just 68 rushing.
