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Newsstand: Cade McNamara weighs in on Michigan's QB situation

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•09/04/22•

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Michigan football is letting its quarterback battle play out into the regular season, which has drawn criticism from some. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is playing two different guys in the first two weeks of the season, which caught the incumbent starter off guard, admittedly.

“I would definitely say it’s pretty unusual,” senior quarterback Cade McNamara said. “It was kind of a thing that I wasn’t expecting,” said McNamara. “By the end of camp, I thought I had my best camp. I thought I’d put myself in a good position. That was just the decision coach went with.”

McNamara’s turn in the rotation was less than expected as a senior captain. He finished the game 9-of-18 for 136 yards and a touchdown. The scoring throw was a bubble screen to junior wide receiver Roman Wilson. The Wolverines had issues on offense, but still gave up only one sack and grinded out a balanced and thorough performance.

“It was a clean game,” “We had one penalty, we had no turnovers. There was some stuff that didn’t go our way, but I thought we handled it pretty well. Building off of this, I think it was kind of first-game stuff. I missed a couple of targets, we had a couple of drops. It just looked like a first game, I felt like, on the offensive side of the ball. So, we definitely have to clean that up, and I’m going to be a part of that.”

McCarthy is locked in battle with sophomore JJ McCarthy for the job. McCarthy was 4-for-4 for 30 yards with 3 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown in his 2022 debut. He gets the start next week for the Wolverines with Harbaugh and company making a final decision potentially in Week 3.

The Wolverines will host Hawaii in Week 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. McCarthy gets the start at quarterback with the staff set to make a further determination ahead of Week 3 versus UConn.

Tweets of the day


Michigan football quote of the day

“The thing that strikes me the most is the opener is when you usually get the most blown coverages or muffed punts, quarterback center exchange, turnovers. Really, nothing. There was one penalty on the offense, no turnovers. No communication issues. No delay of games, both on the headsets of the defense, the offense, special teams. Just a real tip of the cap to the coaches and players for the preparation coming into this game.”

– Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on team’s opening-game performance

Headlines of the day

Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 51-7 win over CSU

Offense notes: Michigan’s attack still a work in progress, Harbaugh reviews QB play

Defense/ST notes: With ‘a chip on our shoulder,’ Michigan dominates Colorado State in debut

Michigan 51, CSU 7: Notes, quotes, and observations

Wolverine Watch: McNamara takes some hits, despite rout

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