The Michigan Wolverines got exactly what they needed on Saturday’s against the Central Michigan Chippewas: a complete reset. From start to finish, the Wolverines did whatever they wanted on either side of the ball in what will likely be the most dominating performance of the season.
Against a MAC team, that’s what the expectation should be. But after a lackluster performance against the Oklahoma Sooners, there were some doubts about how explosive Michigan’s offense can be. Those doubts were squashed
with a 600+ yard performance from Chip Lindsey and company.
In a game like this one, it’s difficult to take large assumptions away about the expectations for the rest of the season and beyond. However, there were some smaller things that stood out from specific players that could make things interesting moving forward.
Bryce Underwood must have the freedom to run the ball
One of the major qualms from Michigan’s loss to Oklahoma was the lack of called run plays for Underwood. Not at the fault of the true freshman quarterback, but from a conservative play calling approach from the coaching staff. Sherrone Moore and his staff were asked about it all week as fans and the media watched Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer run up and down the field against Michigan’s defense a week prior.
Moore’s answers to that question cause some stir this week saying, “(If) you run your quarterback, you better have two… J.J. (McCarthy) wanted to run every game. And I was like, ‘No, you’re gonna get hit, you’re gonna get hurt.’”
Rightfully, fans were fearful about what that could mean for the offense and unlocking Underwood’s full potential, especially given his freakish athleticism. Saturday was the perfect balance of not letting your quarterback take too many hits while also allowing him some wiggle room to take it and run. Lindsey even fired up a few play calls that were designed quarterback runs, something we hadn’t really seen leading into the third game of the season.
The result? Underwood led the team in rushing yards with 114 and scored on the ground twice on just nine carries. Every drop back, there was a significant threat for him to tuck the ball and run, and it paid off with some big plays.
Adding this element to Underwood’s game makes a player who has already flashed greatness even more dangerous. Nebraska now has it on film for what could be another element to the Michigan offense, and maybe something that is even expanded upon throughout the season if needed.
This was a really important get right game for the Michigan offense and for Underwood in the final game before Big Ten play, and both received an A grade.
Jaishawn Barham can be a lethal edge rusher
This offseason, there was a lot of talk about linebacker Jaishawn Barham’s evolution in Wink Martindale’s defense. But a bogus targeting penalty in the opening week of the season left him missing two of the first four halves of football heading into today’s contest. Because of that, we haven’t really seen his full potential in this new role.
It felt like Saturday was the first time we got to see Barham settle into his role of dancing around the defense in different spots, and he looked dominant.
The play above was one of two sacks for Barham in this game, both coming off the edge. For most of the game, he looked like a man among boys. Now, in essentially two games this season — and arguably three halves, hardly playing in the second half against CMU — Barham is tied for the team lead in sacks (2) and looks like he could be on his way to having a special season.
It was mentioned on the broadcasts of both the New Mexico and Oklahoma games how key missing Barham was for the first half of that contest against the Sooners. But I think his performance really showed the impact he can have and what was truly missed in Norman last weekend.
