Offense notes: Jim Harbaugh's gut feeling at QB pays off in a huge way

Michigan football emerged victorious from Week 2 in the form of a 56-10 blowout win over the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Lightning and rain attempted to derail the quasi-coronation of sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but this was a night to remember for the second-year passer.

Following head coach Jim Harbaugh’s bold call to start two different quarterbacks the first two weeks, McCarthy rewarded his mentor’s faith in him. He was always primed for a big night against Hawai’i, arguably the worst team in the FBS through three games so far this season. McCarthy was impeccable when given his opportunity, finishing the game 11-for-12 passing for 229 yards, 3 touchdowns and a rush for 16 yards. His lone incompletion came via a drop from fifth-year wideout Ronnie Bell.

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Senior Cade McNamara – coming off a 9-for-18 performance for 136 yards in the opener – went 4-for-6 for 26 yards and an interception. Things seemed decisive in favor of the challenger.

“He was prepared, ready to go,” Bell said. “Everything we talked about, he was rolling.”

Junior running back Blake Corum added: “He controlled the game, he controlled the whole game. He was confident. Everything that he does in practice transferred over here to Main Street. I expected nothing less.”

It was decisive enough for Harbaugh to declare McCarthy his starter for Week 3 vs. UConn, and likely beyond barring an injury or self-destruction.

Michigan quarterback situation similar to Harbaugh’s NFL coaching stint

This is not the first time Harbaugh has had to make a tough call about his quarterback situation. During his time with the San Francisco 49ers, he famously benched an accomplished Alex Smith in favor of Colin Kaepernick, a dual-threat weapon with the skill set to help raise the team’s ceiling. Michigan has reached that point with McNamara and McCarthy, and Harbaugh sees it too.

“It’s very similar to that with Alex and Colin because they are both playing great at one point in the season.” Harbaugh said after the game. “We were 6-2 and playing great ball with Alex Smith, who had led us to the NFC championship the year before. Colin got his start on a Monday night against Chicago, and he lit it up. It’s not a matter of somebody losing it, as I’ve been saying, we’ve got two really good quarterbacks, two starting quarterbacks, two championship quarterbacks. A lot like that Monday night game against the Bears, that looked a lot like what J.J. was able to do out there tonight. 

“Playing the position, it’s hard to do that in practice, hit guys in stride 45, 50 yards downfield. Definitely in the zone. It was great to see. I wouldn’t hold any quarterback to that standard, 100 percent completion percentage every night, let alone somebody making their first start. But he really played well. They both have. They both can stretch the field. I’ve said it. They’ve both got the arm talent to make all those throws.”

Teams like Hawai’i would be desperate for one starting-caliber option. Michigan has two. While others take sides in the derby debate, Harbaugh is thrilled with the depth at the position.

“I continue to just be happy about it. That’s our job as coaches to develop guys. Never looked at it as a problem. Definitely rather have really good quarterbacks, three really good quarterbacks, keep developing guys, and let them go at it.”

Ronnie Bell revels in first touchdown in over a year

Bell had 6 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown against Hawai’i, the first time he found the end zone since last season’s opener vs. Western Michigan. Not long after, he would tear his ACL and miss the rest of the season.

It has been a long road back for the fifth-year wideout. And a moment that he did not take for granted.

“I think somebody asked me, I don’t know if it was during camp or something, what I would do when I scored, and I never really knew,” he said after the game. “I don’t even know what I did; I just remember wanting to hug everybody. It was an emotional moment, man, just a big weight off the shoulders, and a lot of stuff waiting to be back out there again. To score and be out there playing and playing well, it’s just an emotional thing, I guess, with how much … I ain’t have a leg, man. It’s really weird, man, for a long time, and just to be on the other side of that tunnel is emotional when I think about it.”

McCarthy put the ball right where it needed to go and zipped it in confidently. It was exactly the way Michigan drew it up.

“I think it was just like a little post route or whatever, and with the DB widened out the way he was, it opened up the window,” Bell said. “It gave J.J. the confidence to see it, see the window, and then he just put a good ball right on the money. All I had to do was hold on to it. It was a good play all around.”

Why freshman back C.J. Stokes has a bright future

Freshman running back C.J. Stokes had a strong showing for the second week in a row, finishing with 61 yards on 8 carries (7.1 average) and a touchdown. For as much consternation as there was this offseason about the No. 3 RB job, he seems to have grabbed on with no sign of letting go.

Stokes’ Michigan career is just getting going, but one of his peers sees a bright future beyond his strong start.

“He’s going to be one of the greatest,” Corum, who finished with a touchdown and 88 yards on 9 carries, said. “As long as he keeps working, keeps his head down, I see some stuff in him that’s like, ‘Wow.’ I think he’s going to be a great player, and I think you guys can see. He works his tail off, a good person. He’s going to be great, man. I don’t know what else to say. He’s going to be a great player, and I think he’s going to be one of the greatest, for sure.”

Stokes looks the part and has made an impact in both the run and passing game. His role this season is likely relegated to RB3 duties, barring injury. But Michigan looks like it has another future fixture at running back.

Miscellaneous Michigan football offense notes

• Michigan’s 42 points in the first half are its most since posting 43 in the first half against Rutgers on Oct. 8, 2016 (a 78-0 win). That was also the last time U-M had five different ball carriers score touchdowns.

• Only Tate Forcier (12-for-12, Sept. 25, 2010 vs. Bowling Green) and Devin Gardner (13-for-14, Aug. 30, 2014) had higher single-game completion percentages than McCarthy with at least 10 passing attempts in program history.

• Michigan’s 410 yards of total offense in the first half marked the most since 2012 when it recorded 425 against UMass. Saturday’s first-half output was good for fifth-most in program history. The 606 total yards are the most since last season’s win over Northern Illinois (Sept. 18, 2021) and the fourth-highest total of the Harbaugh era.

• Six Wolverines made their team debut on offense on Saturday: Tight end Noah Howes, offensive lineman Connor Jones, tight end Marlin Klein, wide receiver Zach Peterson, wide receiver Jake Thaw and quarterback Davis Warren.

• Eleven different Wolverines caught at least one pass against Hawai’i, headlined by the first-career reception from freshman Tyler Morris. The others were Bell, wide receiver Cornelius Johnson, tight end Max Bredeson, wide receiver Roman Wilson, running back Donovan Edwards, tight ends Erick All, Colston Loveland, Luke Schoonmaker and Matthew Hibner and Corum.

• Ten Michigan players had rushing attempts Saturday, adjusting for sacks: Corum, Stokes, Isaiah Gash, Edwards, Wilson, McCarthy, Warren and running backs Tavierre Dunlap, Danny Hughes and Leon Franklin.