Blake Corum said Michigan offensive line, running backs motivated by Washington linebacker comment

The Michigan Wolverines are off to a roaring start in the 2021 season. After defeating Western Michigan 47-14 in their opener, Jim Harbaugh’s team took care of business against Washington last night, 31-10.

In their victory, the Wolverines relied mainly on their bruising rushing attack. After leading the way with 171 yards and three touchdowns, running back Blake Corum revealed his team’s motivation for the game.

“We’ve got to give it to the O-Line today,” Corum said following the game on the field in a post-game interview. “They made our job easier.  They let us come out here and dominate the run game.”

“In an interview a couple of days ago, one of the Washington linebackers said we wasn’t going to run the ball. So, that made the offensive line mad and that made me and [Hassan Haskins] mad and we proved them wrong.”

Perhaps Washington bit off more than they could chew, as Michigan ran for 343 yards against them. Moreover, Washington linebacker Jackson Sirmon was the culprit of the comments.

“We’re going to stop the run,” said Sirmon earlier this week. “They want to run the ball, and we’re going to stop the run. We’re excited to do that, they have some talented guys running the ball. It’s one of those things that one guy, one guy is going to get on the tackle and everyone is going to flock to them. We need to limit yards after contact.”

As a narrator would say, Washington did not stop the run against Michigan.

“You want to just keep going back to the well if that’s the case.”

Following the impressive performance of Blake Corum and his running backs, Harbaugh answered why Michigan didn’t change up their game plan. However, it was simple — if they can’t stop it, why overthink it?

“They were having a hard time tackling those running backs. Hassan and Blake, they’re tough to tackle,” Harbaugh said. “You want to just keep going back to the well if that’s the case. You’ve got to make your opponent stop what you’re doing.

“There were adjustments made. Wasn’t just re-running the same play. As they adjusted, we adjusted. We were right there with them. Offensive line did a great job of blocking the movement, blocking the adjustments.

“Fastball, curve within the running game. It was very good, very productive. Again, no turnovers, great stuff.”

Furthermore, instead of wondering why Michigan kept their game plan simple, praise should be bestowed for Harbaugh not overthinking things. Throughout the game, he stayed with what was working — not changing for the sake of change.

If Michigan can run the football the way they did last night, Harbaugh and the Wolverines could have their best season since he took over the program.