Position Grades From Michigan Football’s Narrow Win At Rutgers

True to form, Michigan made things interesting, but still got the win 28-21 over Rutgers on Saturday. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but here’s a look at how each position group graded out in the victory.

Quarterback – A-

After a less-than-stellar debut as the starting quarterback last week, Tommy Carr looked really good against Rutgers. Granted, it was against a defense that isn’t scaring anyone (even on Halloween), but Carr went 22-of-27 for 266 yards and one touchdown. He also added 54 yards on the ground (82 excluding sacks) with two scores.

The ground game was where Carr made his biggest impact, with his fourth-quarter touchdown deciding the game. He also extended several plays that he wasn’t well-protected and ended up being able to make something out of nothing through the air. He’ll get to make his first start in a rivalry game next week against Michigan State.

Running Back – C

Once again, the run game wasn’t impressive, with fault falling on both the offensive line and the running backs. Jordan Marshall wasn’t featured past the start of the game and had five carries for zero yards, despite scoring a two-yard touchdown. Savion Hiter was the featured back and had a decent performance with 20 carries for 76 yards. Bryson Kuzdzal was pretty efficient with 37 yards on just six carries.

Had the run game been better, this one probably wouldn’t have been nearly as close.

Wide Receiver – B

With Carr looking more comfortable, the pass game got going a bit more than we’ve seen recently. Andrew Marsh was Michigan’s leading receiver with seven receptions for 51 yards while also getting interfered with on what would’ve been a deep touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

JJ Buchanan had another solid performance with five receptions for 63 yards, including an impressive touchdown grab on which he was interfered with and still made the play. Salesi Moa also continues to get involved and had a 44-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive of the game.

Blocking on the perimeter was rough, but the receivers did their primary job of getting open a lot more.

Tight End – B-

Carr was able to spread the ball around a bit, leading to the tight ends being much more involved. Hogan Hansen reeled in three passes for 42 yards, continuing to be a nice safety valve in the short passing game. Mason Bonner also made his first reception of the season with a 27-yard grab in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Jalen Hoffman had two receptions for 17 yards. Continuing to get this group involved can be really helpful in making the offense more productive down the stretch,

Offensive Line – D+

Michigan got right tackle Blake Frazier back in the starting lineup and rolled with Brady Norton and Nathan Efobi as the starting guards. Going up against one of the worst defensive fronts in the conference, Michigan’s offensive line still wasn’t able to put anything promising together, struggling in both the run and pass games.

Of note, Norton did go down with an injury in the third quarter, while center Jake Guarnera, who’s been Michigan’s best offensive lineman all season, also came up hobbled in the fourth quarter. Both their statuses will be worth monitoring heading into next week.

Defensive Line – C+

Michigan’s defense struggled on Saturday, giving up its highest point total of the season. The issues started up front with the defensive line, which failed to take advantage of a bad Rutgers offensive line. The pass rush was pretty quiet all day, but the run game was a bit more stout, holding Rutgers to 126 yards on the ground with just 54 of those coming on one run by Antwan Raymond.

On the bright side, sophomore Benny Patterson broke out with the best day of any Wolverine defensive lineman, leading the team in tackles with seven.

Linebacker – B-

It’s not saying much, but the linebackers were the best defensive position group against Rutgers. They did a nice job keeping Rutgers’ run game in check (save for the Raymond run) and generating some modest pressure on quarterback A.J. Surace. The lone major blemish came in coverage when Nathaniel Staehling got burned in coverage by Raymond for a 32-yard gain in the second quarter. Overall though, there wasn’t nearly as much havoc as we’ve seen from the linebackers in previous games.

Secondary – D

Michigan’s secondary had a rough afternoon, making a handful of mistakes that played a role in making this a close game. Jyaire Hill, Smith Snowden and Zeke Berry were all tagged for penalties to help Rutgers get downfield, even with its backup quarterback throwing the ball up for grabs much of the time. There was also a blown coverage in the second quarter on which Snowden fell down, allowing Jourdin Houston to score on an 80-yard play. There were also dropped interceptions by Snowden and Mason Curtis.

The secondary has been in the good graces of fans for much of the year, so hopefully this performance doesn’t become a trend.

Special Teams – D+

The special teams continued to be pretty bad. Kicker Trey Butkowski once again missed two field goals, coming from 38 and 45 yards out. Additionally, the Wolverines were flagged on a confusing kick-catch interference that negated a muffed punt, which would’ve set Michigan’s offense up with an instant red zone opportunity. The blunders didn’t cost the Wolverines in this game, but things have been trending downward in the third phase of the game for a few weeks now.

Coaching – D

Michigan accomplished probably its two biggest goals of the week in getting the win and making its offense more functional. But the fact this game was close at all is still an indictment of those at the top of the program. Michigan pretty much sleepwalked through this game and showed to be pretty undisciplined once again with seven penalties for 90 yards, but avoided what would’ve been its worst loss to date.

Next week, Michigan will get to take on a Michigan State team that will surely be ready to play. Let’s see how Kyle Whittingham can prepare his team for a rivalry game that will draw plenty of attention despite down years for both teams.