What they're saying after Michigan football's win over UNLV
The Michigan Wolverines moved to 2-0 on the season after a 35-7 win over UNLV on Saturday afternoon with safeties coach/special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and running backs coach Mike Hart running the show.
It was another clinical effort from the Wolverines, led by J.J. McCarthy and the passing game once again. After the dust settled on Week 2, the local and national media weighed in on Michigan’s performance.
RELATED:
• Wolverine TV podcast: Postgame reactions to the win over UNLV
• Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 35-7 win over UNLV
Chris Balas, The Wolverine
Michigan 35, UNLV 7: Notes, quotes, and observations
Another week, another Michigan blowout of an overmatched opponent … this time, a 35-7 win over UNLV. The Wolverines’ defense dominated from start to finish minus two of its stars again in sophomore cornerback Will Johnson and junior safety Rod Moore (though Johnson played a few snaps in the first half). The Rebels were overmatched on that side of the ball, managing only 72 yards of offense against the first team U-M defense in just under three quarters, and were never a threat.
On the other side, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy once again put on a clinic, having raised his game to another level. He’s been elite in two games now. Granted, he’s done it against vastly overmatched opponents — several Michigan quarterbacks over the years have looked great against poor teams — but you can still glean plenty in these games when it comes to quarterback play. We’ve seen enough of McCarthy to know he’s throwing the ball better and playing with more confidence than he ever has, and to understand that the old “pass to open up the run” cliché might not be so far-fetched for the Michigan offense going forward.
That’s two-fold, of course. Elite quarterback play demands it, but when the running game isn’t quite what you expected it to be (at least not yet), it forces you to go in a different direction. And that might be a blessing for this team given how good we think McCarthy is.
Again — better defenses will provide bigger tests. Heck, we’re anxious to see him against Rutgers, hardly the measuring stick but still a team that’s given Michigan fits at times the last two years. But there’s no doubting how well he’s throwing the ball, especially when it comes to ball placement.
John Borton, The Wolverine
Michigan football’s J.J. McCarthy is a difference maker
This Michigan team is going to be a load … they’ve got a lot of talent and all that, but they’ve got a leader who can win them a game when they have to win it.
— CBS analyst Gary Danielson
Michigan IS a load, and it has nothing to do with dominating UNLV, East Carolina, or Bowling For Dollars in a non-conference scrimmage slate. It’s also not all about junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy. But every U-M fan in The Big House and beyond is glad he wears their team’s colors.
McCarthy did it again Saturday, before an adoring crowd and against an opponent with survival chances of an ice cube on Arizona asphalt. The Michigan QB went 22-for-25 for 278 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 35-7 foregone-conclusion rout of the Rebels. For you scoring at home, that’s 48-for-55 for 558 yards and five TDs in U-M’s opening two games.
Ryan Van Bergen, The Wolverine Postgame Show
Wolverine TV podcast: Postgame reactions to the win over UNLV
“You have to kind of take a step back and look at where we were a year ago when we’re having this debate of Cade McNamara or JJ McCarthy. I have nothing against Cade McNamara. I wish him well in his career moving forward at Iowa. I’m not one of those fans who harbors any resentment that he left. I don’t think you put Cade McNamara in [in these first two games] and he comes away with the same stat line that you’ve seen McCarthy be able to produce, and he does seem to have the entire offense on a string.
“He understands everything. There are so many times where he’s throwing to Blake Corum or Donovan Edwards in the flat, and there’s a higher risk throw. But Roman Wilson has got leverage on a guy one-on-one deep. And if J.J. puts the ball away from the defender, it might be a touchdown. Now the checkdowns there, and it’s probably the right call to throw to that back, but there are so many times where he could uncork it and maybe make a big play, but he’s making the smart play. And I think that’s what we expect from him. And I think that there will be more downfield throws in the offense as we develop and get into the tougher part of our schedule.
“He is so tuned in and he’s so on time, his throws are so well positioned his placement of making sure the defender doesn’t have an opportunity for it. You really can’t ask for more out of the quarterback position. And I feel like this is the most set Michigan has been at the quarterback position, maybe as far back as when we had Chad Henne.”
Austin Meek, The Athletic
Michigan-UNLV first thoughts: As J.J. McCarthy starts fast, what to make of running game?
It would be hard for a quarterback to play better than J.J. McCarthy has in Michigan’s first two games. After going 22-for-25 for 278 yards against UNLV, McCarthy has completed 48-of-55 passes (87.2 percent) for 558 yards and five touchdowns so far this season. Saturday’s success wasn’t merely a case of UNLV selling out to stop the run. McCarthy zipped the ball in some tight windows and found Roman Wilson twice for touchdowns, further cementing Wilson’s status as a big-play threat.
“It’s something we’ve been working on and focused on a lot more this year, especially with J.J. having a full offseason,” said Wilson, who has five touchdown receptions in two games. “Building that chemistry and that off-field connection, it’s something we’ve been working on. It finally started to click towards the end of camp.”
Michigan’s emphasis on the play-action passing game continues to produce results. The Wolverines used a heavy dose of play-action again this week, and McCarthy executed it masterfully.
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic
Auerbach’s Top 10: Texas soars in, Alabama falls out altogether after exciting Week 2
The Wolverines are two-thirds of their way through the school’s self-imposed three-game suspension for Jim Harbaugh, and the most interesting part of the day on Saturday was the discovery that Harbaugh spent his Saturday serving as part of the chain gang for his 10-year-old son’s football game. There were very few sweeping judgments to be made about his college-aged roster in yet another blowout win. Michigan took care of business against UNLV with a 35-7 win, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy operated so smoothly again it looked like he was on cruise control. He’s completed more than 87 percent of his passes so far this season (albeit against weak competition) and continued to develop his terrific chemistry with wide receiver Roman Wilson, who caught another two touchdown passes on Saturday.
The one concern I have about Michigan right now is the uncertain role of Donovan Edwards. The rushing attack hasn’t exactly been the electrifying duo like it was last year through two games. Blake Corum continues to work his way back from injury, with 15 carries for 80 yards and three scores, but Edwards was barely involved in the game. One week after he had 12 carries for just 37 yards, he finished with six carries for nine yards. And he’s supposed to be the lightning part of the thunder and lightning!
Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News
Wojo: J.J. McCarthy’s lethal passing gives Wolverines a dimension they need
All facets were on display again in another straightforward hammering, 35-7 over UNLV. These weren’t the old-school UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, and these aren’t the old-school Waltzing Wolverines. The strangest thing happened after Michigan ran over opponents a year ago while going 13-1. Teams actually noticed. Even lesser teams like UNLV and East Carolina, who played almost exactly the same way the past two weeks.
Both opted to focus on stopping Michigan’s touted running tandem of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. Both left gaping holes in the secondary. Both scored their only points in the closing minutes to spoil shutouts. Neither got close enough to McCarthy to ask him what he was doing.
Well, what is the junior quarterback doing? With all the usual caveats about the weak opposition, McCarthy is posting ungodly gaudy numbers. He was 22-for-25 for 278 yards and two touchdowns to Roman Wilson. In two games, McCarthy has been nearly perfect, 48-for-55, a tidy 87%. No interceptions, no sacks. No lack of confidence.
Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press
Michigan football’s front seven redeems itself by turning UNLV QB into ‘human piñata’
Saturday, the Wolverines repeatedly invaded UNLV’s backfield and turned quarterback Doug Brumfield into a human piñata. Within the Rebels’ first 20 plays, Brumfield was sacked five times. The pressure was applied from everywhere, as a mix of blitzes from the second and third levels freed up the defensive line to do some damage. Under duress, Brumfield tried to escape but often ran right into the maw of Michigan’s front. After imploring the team’s interior tackles to become more active pass rushers throughout this offseason, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter must have been pleased with the contributions of Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham and Kris Jenkins. They had a hand in three of the sacks during a first half when the Wolverines repeatedly dented Brumfield’s pocket and toppled UNLV’s quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com
ESPN 2023 college football Power Rankings after Week 2
Wolverines’ quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, completing 22 of 25 passes against UNLV. Through two games, McCarthy owns the second- and third-highest one-game completion percentage by a Michigan quarterback (88% this week and 86.7 last week). He’s the first Big Ten quarterback in the past 25 years to post an 85% completion percentage or higher in consecutive games. Running back Blake Corum put points on the board, as well, running for three touchdowns. The Wolverines defense gave up just seven points to UNLV after holding East Carolina to three points. Despite losing some pieces along the defensive line from last season, they have been dominant through two weeks.
Chip Patterson, CBS Sports
Two different head coaches here for Michigan as Jim Harbaugh worked the chain gang elsewhere, but there was never a doubt as Michigan’s defense dominated the line of scrimmage and the Wolverines cruised to a 35-7 win against UNLV.
