Report Card: Grading Michigan football in a 41-13 thrashing of Purdue
Grading Michigan football in all facets of a 41-13 win over Purdue. The Wolverines got off to a great start but struggled in the second quarter to allow the Boilermakers to hang around a bit. They turned it on in the second half of the third and in the fourth quarter to win going away. The grades:
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Michigan rushing offense: D
It is what it is at this point — not very good. Even before junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy took a 22-yard sack to end the first half, Michigan had only 2 yards rushing in the second quarter, unable to get anything going. Left tackle LaDarius Henderson got beat across his face on a fourth-and-1 that gave Purdue the ball back at the U-M 34, and a receiver was asked to block a defensive end. No gain for junior back Kalel Mullings.
The end result — 144 gross yards, including only 15 carries for 44 yards for senior Blake Corum. The numbers (4.6 per carry not including sack yardage) were inflated by a 44-yard jet sweep touchdown by frosh Semaj Morgan. Is this going to be the Achilles’ heel that prevents Michigan from winning it all?
Passing offense: B+
McCarthy started quickly but was off in the second quarter, missing on a number of throws. Grad Cornelius Johnson let a touchdown slip through his fingers on a high throw he should have had. And while McCarthy wasn’t sharp after the first quarter, he also had a handful of drops that hindered the effort.
But he picked it up, and on an “off” night finished 24-of-37 passing for 335 yards. The Wolverines averaged 14 yards per completion, and five receivers had a catch of more than 20 yards (two over 30). This is the best part of this offense.
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Michigan rushing defense: B
The Wolverines didn’t totally shut down the Purdue run game. There were a couple bigger runs of 24 and 21 yards on a 125-yard day, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. averaged 5.5 yards on 11 carries, finishing with 61. Six of his runs went for 4 yards or more. Only 5 of explosive back Devin Mockobee’s 13 carries did, though — he averaged 2.9 yards per carry with a long of 10. More solid runs than usual, though, against the Michigan front seven.
Passing defense: A-
Minus two plays, a 43-yard pass down the right sideline to Mershawn Rice over Michigan frosh DJ Waller, and a late, meaningless, 24-yard score on fourth down to Deion Burks, the U-M pass defense was very good. The secondary got a huge assist from a defensive line that continues to get to quarterbacks and disrupt throws when not getting home. Quarterback Hudson Card completed only 12 of 28 passes for 144 yards and the one score, and sophomore corner Will Johnson picked him off once and could have had another. The Purdue receivers were smothered most of the game.
Michigan special teams: B
On the plus side, kicker James Turner made two short field goals in the first half and has been very good. Junior punter Tommy Doman had 4 nice punts inside the 12-yard-line, too, and he was an absolute weapon. Return man Jake Thaw brought a punt back 32 yards in the third quarter to set up a touchdown.
A muffed punt on which the blockers weren’t aware changed the game in the second quarter. Instead of a chance to go up 27-0, the Wolverines gave up a field goal, and Purdue would eventually cut the deficit to 14 at the break. Coverage teams were very good.
