Offense notes: How J.J. McCarthy reminds Jim Harbaugh of himself

Michigan football was never going to have an offensive party against the stingy Iowa Hawkeye defense. That said, the Wolverines did everything they could to quiet the Kinnick Stadium crowd early in their 27-14 win.

For the most part, mission accomplished.

Michigan came out swinging from the jump after Iowa won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Wolverines the ball. After the first drive, lasting 11 plays and covering 75 yards, the Wolverines held a 7-0 lead.

“Really good job mixing the run and the pass,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game. “We did a good job mixing up the plays, and that’s how you want to start a game. It was a very impressive drive. I thought the game was really impressive. I thought all around, all phases, very impressive.”

Tight end Luke Schoonmaker was productive again with 4 catches for 45 yards in the contest. He felt the air come out of Kinnick after the opening-drive touchdown.

“Right from the get-go, I knew we had the jump on them,” he said. “We silenced the stadium. I knew that we were going to come out fast and execute. They’re a great-coached defense, but we had a great game plan for them this week. That showed on the first drive.

“They handled so much great stuff. We expected them to throw a bunch of different looks at us. Those guys responded so well. I had no doubt we were going to be able to adjust to whatever they were going to bring. We were able to do that.”

McCarthy just what the doctor ordered to kill Kinnick curse

By all accounts, Saturday’s game was going to be sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy‘s biggest test to date. He has been a bit loose with the football this season and was making his first road start in one of the conference’s toughest environments.

He was not perfect, but he was efficient.

McCarthy finished the day 18-for-24 for 155 yards and a touchdown pass in the third quarter to sophomore back Donovan Edwards. There was still an errant deep throw and a costly fumble that put the offense behind schedule, but Harbaugh was happy with the performance.

“Play your game,” Harbaugh said. “There’s nobody that loves that game more than I do. He’s better than me, but he reminds me of a young Jimmy Harbaugh. Drops back, runs over to his left, circles back to his right, back to his left. Then runs it or throws it to an open guy. I just love it. Love it, love it, love it. I said if it comes up, let’s just have it come up one time maybe, or no more than two. Cause you’re playing against a defense that’s really, really disciplined.

“We talked about the importance, stressed the importance, of ball security. It’s a very good strategy. Field position, win the turnover battles, and they’re really tough to beat. Didn’t want to give them anything. We didn’t want to give them any of those type of gifts. We had one that came up, fortunately Donovan Edwards was heads-up and got on that loose ball back in our own end. 

“Thought he played a really good game. I dance a real fine line of not taking his talent and overcoaching it. I do not want him to be a victim of overcoaching. When it’s all said and done it’s just you do you, JJ. Play your game. It’s really good. Just protect the ball.”

Michigan offensive line shines

Michigan’s offensive line has not been poor this season, but it has left a bit to be desired. This was the best unit in the country last season. But so far in 2022, there have been injuries and inconsistencies while the group works to build chemistry and round itself into form.

Saturday was its best performance yet and one that Harbaugh hopes Michigan can hang its hat on.

“I think it’s improving,” Harbaugh said. “I really do. We had Hayes, Keegan, Olu, Zinter, Trente. That five in there today. That hasn’t always been that way through the first five ball games. But it’s allowed some other guys to step up like Gio and Karsen Barnhart. Think the chemistry is coming. We can get better. We can get better there, and in several areas. 

“It’s a great win to keep moving on and improve when you win. We can get better in all those things. Really good after a win, especially as a Big Ten win, especially against a team that really prides itself on a blue-collar mentality. Hard-working team, physical team, hustling team. 

“I’ve always been enamored with it. Always try to have our teams be about that, that blue-collar mentality. Even looked it up one time. The whole blue-collar thing started in Iowa. I can’t remember the town. Somewhere on the west side of the state. Maybe Des Moines, I think. Smaller town. Guys were wearing blue jumpsuits, working in a mine. Call them blue-collar workers, people that do manual labor, people that do work. 

“We respect that, we try to be about that, and when you’re playing a team that’s about that, it’s exciting and challenging to challenge yourselves against that kind of mentality. And I think our guys fared really well.”

Miscellaneous Michigan football offense notes

• Michigan’s 27 points scored are the most allowed by Iowa since the Wolverines scored 42 on them in the Big Ten Championship game last season. It is the most they have allowed in the regular season since a 27-7 loss at Wisconsin last year and most at Kinnick Stadium since a 28-17 loss to Wisconsin in 2018.

• Michigan ran for 172 yards on Saturday after a 211-yard output in last season’s Big Ten Championship game.

• Senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell scored his first-career rushing touchdown on a 16-yard scamper in the first quarter. It was the first rushing touchdown that the Iowa defense had allowed this season.

• Michigan’s opening-drive touchdown was only the second time in the last 10 Big Ten games that Iowa has allowed a rushing touchdown to start a game.

• U-M has tallied 31 rushing touchdowns over its last 9 games after 2 more on the ground Saturday.

• The Wolverines’ three first-half scoring drives were among the team’s five longest of the season (13 plays, 13 plays, 11 plays). The only drives to go longer were a pair of 14-play sequences in the season opener vs. Colorado State.

• Junior running back Blake Corum‘s 133-yard performance was the second 100-plus yard rusher yielded by Iowa this season, joining Iowa State’s Jihrel Brock (100 yards). It was the sixth time Corum has eclipsed 100 or more yards and second week in a row.

• Michigan’s 13 first-half points were the most that Iowa has allowed this season. None of its other opponents (South Dakota State, Iowa State, Nevada, Rutgers) reached double digits.