Skip to main content
michigan logo

Best and worst from Michigan's win over Bowling Green

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•09/17/23•

CSayf23

kris jenkins
(Photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Michigan Wolverines football beat Bowling Green, 31-6, Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Here are the best and worst from the game.

RELATED
• Offense notes: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy’s night ‘just didn’t go well’ in Bowling Green win
• Michigan 31, Bowling Green 6:  Notes, quotes, and observations

Worst performance of J.J. McCarthy’s Michigan career

Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy was nearly flawless in the Wolverines’ first two games of the season, completing 48 of his 55 passes for 558 yards and 5 touchdowns, but he did a 180-degree turn in a win over Bowling Green. McCarthy was just 8-of-13 passing with 3 interceptions (and 2 touchdowns), each pick worse than the one before. McCarthy was “unflappable” last season, per head coach Jim Harbaugh, but the mistakes seemed to get to him in this one. He also missed on a couple other throws.

McCarthy threw 2 interceptions in the entire regular season last year, fewer than he had Saturday versus the Falcons.

Big man interception

Michigan senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins clearly watches film and listens in meetings. He completely sniffed out a third-quarter screen pass, waiting for Bowling Green quarterback Hayden Timosciek to toss it his way. Thanks to heavy pressure applied by senior edge Jaylen Harrell, Timosciek threw it right to Jenkins, who returned it to the Bowling Green 2-yard line.

Jenkins said after the game that he was “too fat” to finish the play with a score, to which senior running back Blake Corum, sitting next to him at the press conference, chimed in, “I appreciate it.” Corum, of course, scored on the Wolverines’ first play of the next drive.

Most dominant stretch

Jenkins’ interception kicked off a strong stretch for the Michigan defense, which took matters into its own hands in the third quarter with the offense struggling. Bowling Green got the ball back after Corum’s touchdown, and Harrell came up with another huge play. He got pressure again and jarred the ball loose from the quarterback, with graduate linebacker Michael Barrett recovering. Michigan got a field goal out of its ensuing drive.

Before halftime, too, graduate safety Quinten Johnson had a nifty interception along the sideline, the first of his career. All told, Michigan forced 3 turnovers for the first time since last year’s Fiesta Bowl, a 51-45 loss to TCU.

Butterfingers

Michigan had issues with ball security, from McCarthy’s 3 interceptions to a lost fumble by junior tight end Max Bredeson on a return of a pooch kick by Bowling Green. The Falcons went back to the well, popping up their next kickoff, and senior edge Braiden McGregor also coughed it up, but the Wolverines recovered. Michigan adjusted by going with a ‘hands team’ after that.

Best tweet

Michigan legend and 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson had the tweet of the night. The Wolverines — 40.5-point favorites pregame — came out with an uninspired first half and led only 14-6 at halftime. Playing off Colorado coach Deion Sanders taking Colorado State head man Jay Norvell‘s comments about the former wearing his hat and sunglasses during his press conferences “personal,” Woodson pointed out how Michigan needed to wake up and have more pride. The Wolverines, to their credit, were much better in the second half.

Oddest stat

Michigan ran just 44 plays, the fewest it’s run in the Harbaugh era (since 2015) and since a 34-10 win over Western Michigan in 2011 … in a game that was called after the third quarter due to weather (39 plays).

There was hardly any flow to the game early on due to McCarthy’s first pick and Bredeson’s fumble. Because of those two plays, the Wolverines went 10:58 between possessions. Five plays after they finally got the ball back, McCarthy threw another interception, marking 3 straight turnovers for the Maize and Blue.

Fastest start

Michigan wanted to get the run game going in this game, and it did so right away, starting with a bang. On Michigan’s first play from scrimmage, Corum found a cutback lane on a power play and ran 54 yards for a chunk gain, before finishing the drive off with a touchdown three plays later. The Wolverines struck quickly, just 4:16 into the game.

He’s back

Michigan has its head coach back. Harbaugh will return to the sidelines next Saturday against Rutgers, the Wolverines’ Big Ten-opening game.

The Maize and Blue went 3-0 without Harbaugh, who was suspended for the last three game days by the school stemming from an alleged NCAA violation, and the record is all that matters in the end. But the Maize and Blue could certainly have benefitted from him being present and leading the way.

Some concern has crept in among the fan base heading into Michigan’s game against the Scarlet Knights, who are also 3-0 and just beat Virginia Tech, 35-16, but some of that is eased due to Harbaugh’s return.

On a separate note, offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore, serving as Michigan’s interim head coach for the evening, gave a nod to Harbaugh in his postgame interview.

You may also like