What they're saying after Michigan's 31-6 win over BGSU
The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines moved to 3-0 on the season after a 31-6 win over Bowling Green on Saturday, but it was a sloppy performance that drew plenty of takes on both sides of the spectrum.
After the dust settled on Week 3, the local and national media weighed in on Michigan’s performance.
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• Postgame reactions to Michigan’s 31-6 win over Bowling Green
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Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com
Michigan 31, Bowling Green 6: Notes, quotes, and observations
First things first — no, a sloppy and ugly 31-6 Michigan win over a middling MAC team isn’t some huge red flag, or indicative of how the Wolverines will play the rest of the year — not even an uninspired performance against a third-string quarterback. U-M came out ready to play and moved the ball well on its first two series, getting a stop in between, and seemed ready to coast to another blowout win before blowing a tire.
Concentration wasn’t at a high level in some areas — mistakes by the same tight end cost the Wolverines at least 7 points, maybe 11 — but that’s to be expected at times when you’re a 40-point favorite. That was the theme across college football today, in fact, with many good teams struggling with patsies (minus No. 8 Washington, which mopped the floor with Michigan State in East Lansing, along with a couple others).
But that doesn’t excuse the shoddy play, either. The Wolverines clearly weren’t expecting to be challenged — their comments in the pregame press conferences indicated that — and their response when Bowling Green picked off a J.J. McCarthy first quarter pass in the end zone to keep the game 7-0 was disappointing. Coach Scot Loeffler’s well-coached group played inspired ball, controlled play for a while, and at least made it interesting.
John Borton, TheWolverine.com
Michigan stumbles, still stuffs Bowling Green
A pair of uncharacteristic interceptions by McCarthy — one in Bowling Green’s end zone — took a potential two more first-half touchdowns off the board. A third throw could have found senior wideout Roman Wilson streaking wide open for the end zone. But the high hard one wasn’t high enough, and too hard. It sailed harmlessly over a Roman roamin’ alone.
Toss in a fumble on a kickoff return, and Michigan turned what could have been a 28-0 sort of half into a 14-6 struggle. Instead of sitting back to enjoy another lights-out performance by the home team, the crowd of 109,955 witnessed the bright lights hone in on a team that remains vulnerable, despite all the talent and expectations in the world.
“I’m going to take all those on the chin,” said McCarthy, who went 8-for-13 with 143 passing yards and more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two). “Put them all on me. There’s a lot of stuff that obviously didn’t go my way, or the offense’s way. I just can’t wait to watch the tape and see the mistakes that were made and get better from it, honestly. But I’m going to take all those on the chin. They were on me.
“No matter what — whether it’s a great throw or an interception — I’m going to move on and stay in the present moment, no matter what it is. You know, it just didn’t go well after the first one. I’ve just got to watch the film and see what I can do better.”
Ryan Van Bergen, TheWolverine.com Postgame Show
Postgame reactions to Michigan’s 31-6 win over Bowling Green
I think we got out schemed. I think their coaches put more time into the game plan and that showed up on the field. Michigan got a little outplayed when it came to what we did offensively. Defensively, we looked solid considering we’re still missing some guys. It was a good thing that McCarthy was challenged and that he turned the ball over in this setting and this environment before it mattered more. I hope we can get some really good film and that it’s going to be a long Sunday in the film room. They got the job done and got a W. There are things to be happy about, but things to be concerned about heading into the Big Ten schedule.
David Hale, ESPN.com
College football Week 3 highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways
Life without Harbaugh has gone more or less as expected. The Wolverines beat Bowling Green Falcons 31-6 on Saturday, and they have outscored their opposition 96-16 so far. Like a nice pair of khakis, it’s been entirely effective and without a semblance of excitement.
Playoff contender? Sure, but they’ve got Rutgers on deck, and that’s where the real work begins.
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
College football winners, losers: Alabama offense continues to spiral, top contenders underwhelm in Week 3
The top four teams in the AP Top 25 played on Saturday. None showed anything positive. No. 1 Georgia trailed by 11 points at the half against South Carolina. No. 2 Michigan only led by one score against Bowling Green until the third quarter. No. 3 Florida State allowed Boston College to mount a late comeback and nearly win the game. No. 4 Texas was in a 10-10 game against Wyoming until the fourth quarter. In total, the top four teams underperformed their respective lines by 65 points.
Granted, the issues are not centralized at the top. No. 7 Penn State let Illinois stick around far too long in a 30-13 victory. Alabama laid the clunker against South Florida. No. 11 Tennessee fell in embarrassing fashion. Looking at the top of the game, no one looks unimpeachable. Could that lead to a truly unpredictable season?
Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports
Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today: Washington impresses, Tennessee gets Swamp’d ahead of new college football rankings
2. Michigan (2): Michigan continued its early-season trend of playing at seemingly three-quarter speed against Bowling Green. It was only a 14-6 game at halftime, but the Wolverines scored 17 points in the third quarter to wrap things up quickly. Still, there’s plenty to nitpick in the performance. J.J. McCarthy threw three interceptions during the regular season in 2022. He matched that total in this game alone.
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic
Auerbach’s Top 10: What Week 3’s ugly wins, upset scares taught us about Playoff hopefuls
The Wolverines navigated a weird first half and a turnover-heavy game to remain undefeated with a 31-6 win against Bowling Green. They’ve survived their three nonconference games against inferior competition without suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh, and four different assistants got some head-coaching experience. That’s all well and good. But Saturday’s win was not nearly as straightforward as the score would indicate and does not project the vibe Michigan wants heading into conference play.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy had basically been perfect through the first two games, but he threw three picks against the Falcons. That’s the same number of interceptions he had through 13 games last year. Of course, that didn’t doom the Wolverines, and McCarthy had two nice touchdown throws as well. Plus, running back Blake Corum looked good, with 12 carries for 101 yards — and he finally broke off a long one, a 54-yard score on his first touch. Donovan Edwards got a few more carries than he had a week ago and posted his best yards per carry average of the season so far (5.6).
On a day when hardly any of the best teams lived up to the billing, Michigan survived and advanced. The season gets tougher from here, and the Wolverines know they’ll need to play much better than what they showed on Saturday to reach their goals this year.
Richard Johnson, SI.com
CFB Week 3 Takeaways: Florida Plays Keep-Away to Topple Tennessee
Blame first-half turnovers for the reason the Wolverines didn’t drop the hammer down on Bowling Green until late in their 31–6 win. The Jim Harbaugh suspension comes to an end without incident on the field as the Wolverines managed to get past three overmatched opponents in his absence.
