Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 27-14 win at Iowa
Grading Michigan football in all aspects of a 27-14 win at Iowa. The Wolverines improved to 5-0 with their first victory at Kinnick Stadium since 2005.
RELATED: Michigan 27, Iowa 14: Notes, quotes, and observations
Michigan rushing offense: A-
Junior running back Blake Corum had another workmanlike game, racking up 133 yards on 29 carries. He’s being used more and more like Hassan Haskins was last year, and he’s proving more than capable of handling the role. Before a 20-yard touchdown run to cap the Michigan scoring, his long run was only 11 yards. That’s Iowa’s M.O., though, and U-M countered with a dominant performance from the men up front.
The Wolverines took the fight to the Hawkeyes with the power game early. They used some outside zone late to spring Corum when Iowa adjusted. There were struggles between the mid-third and mid-fourth quarters — seven of eight runs by the backs of three yards or less, six of two or less — but three rushes for 28 yards by Corum iced the game late in the fourth.
Passing offense: B
Sophomore J.J. McCarthy wasn’t asked to win the game, nor should he have been. The only way the Wolverines were going to lose Saturday was with key mistakes, and the running game was working extremely well. He still completed 18-of-24 passes for 155 yards and a score — most importantly, he managed the game well and got the win.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want him to scramble too much, he said — just enough. He compared McCarthy to a young Jim Harbaugh in that sense. But his scramble away from pressure to buy time and find sophomore back Donovan Edwards for a touchdown was what they need from him. He was in control, and he kept a play alive with his feet.
Michigan rushing defense: A
Iowa’s biggest running plays were called back by penalties — a couple questionable ones, honestly — but Harbaugh cited senior Mazi Smith and junior Kris Jenkins’ play as critical in slowing the Hawkeyes’ running game. The defensive tackles were hugely responsible for limiting Iowa backs Leshon Williams and Kaleb Johnson to 66 yards on 20 carries. Twenty-one of their yards came on two carries.
The absence of a run game made the task much easier, eliminating a lot of the play-action Iowa likes to do with the tight end. With sack yardage included, the Hawkeyes managed only 35 net yards and 1.5 yards per carry.
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Passing defense: C+
The corners were good when tested early, but the tight ends were too involved between the linebackers and the safeties. Had Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras been better, he would have had even more than his 246 yards passing and 1 touchdown. He missed a scoring pass early and overthrew his tight end to the middle of the field at least twice.
The pass rush wasn’t good enough until the end, when veteran ends Mike Morris and Eyabi Okie dominated on the key possession of the game. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of blitzing, either. That allowed Petras to complete 21 passes, including big ones of 26, 19, 28 and 34 yards in each of the four quarters.
The Wolverines allowed him to get out of too many long down-and-distance situations, even though Iowa finished only 4-of-11 on third down.
Michigan special teams: A-
Grad student Brad Robbins didn’t have his best game. He still averaged 43 yards per punt, including a pair of 50-yarders, but his mis-hit at the end of the third quarter led to a short field and Iowa’s first touchdown.
Jake Moody remains outstanding on the road. The grad student kicker hit from 35 and 44 yards on his two attempts. And the coverage teams were once again stellar. Teams just don’t return kicks against Jay Harbaugh’s special teams. There was one punt return for 1 yard, one kick return for 13.
U-M’s return teams were held at bay. We’d like to see a bit more from that group.
