ECU coach Mike Houston on Michigan, J.J. McCarthy — ‘really good’
Michigan struggled to move the ball on the ground against ECU’s run defense, one designed to make the Wolverines throw. Head coach Mike Houston and his group essentially dared J.J. McCarthy to beat them, running downhill at the snap on many occasions.
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McCarthy showed why Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh called him a “generational” quarterback, responding with 280 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of play. He was on target with this throws and showed poise in the pocket, proving why most think he’s the best quarterback in the Big Ten.
“He’s really good,” Houston said of the Michigan signal caller. “I think they have some really good receivers. We had some mistakes in secondary — had a couple of times we’d have a coverage called that should have allowed us to be a highly contested throw, or possibly a turnover — and we did not execute. So, we’ve got some things we could execute better within the secondary.”
At the same time, the Wolverines executed as you’d expect of a team that came into the game No. 2 in the country. The run game was disappointing, but Michigan junior Tommy Doman only punted twice. The Pirates had to pick their poison, and they often chose senior receiver Roman Wilson. He took advantage of his matchups.
“I thought he was just precise,” Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, filling in as head coach for Harbaugh, said. “We talk about precision execution on offense. He ran really precise routes.
“Some of the things they were doing was allowing one on one matchups in our slot a lot of times on their safeties. The design was really good, Roman was executing at a high level, being where he needed to be. He was really good, and of course, J.J. putting the ball where he needed to put it allowed for those guys having a big day.”
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McCarthy appeared to be over the line of scrimmage on his first touchdown pass to Wilson. But rules state that any part of the body can be behind the line, and the reviewers determined McCarthy still had a foot behind the line.
“Me and the officials on our side thought that he was [over the line],” Houston said, “But I guess his back right toenail was still behind the line. … [But] congratulations to Michigan on a solid win today. That’s a very good football program, very good football team … very talented, old, experienced. They look like what their preseason ranking. I thought Jesse did a good job in the interim today. I thought they had a really good plan defensively. Obviously, they were the better team today.
“I felt good about the way our kids competed most of the day. I was a little disappointed in the lull we had in the third quarter. But from a competing and physicality standpoint, we held our own at times.”
They avoided a shutout with a late field goal to boos from the Michigan Stadium crowd. Houston didn’t count that — or anything else — as a moral victory.
“We got beat 30-3,” Houston said. “I don’t know how much solace I can take, you know?”
