The Michigan Wolverines moved to 7-0 on the 2021 football season with a 33-7 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
Here is what outlets from the local and national media are saying after the Wolverines shook off some bye-week rust en route to a blowout victory.
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RELATED: Michigan Football 33, Northwestern 7: Notes, Quotes & Observations
What Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald Said After The Loss
'"They were exactly what we thought they’d be ... real physical on both sides of the ball, two backs that are as good as anybody in the country," Fitzgerald said. "I don’t think their quarterback [Cade McNamara] gets enough credit. I think he’s poised; I think he does a really good job taking what the defense gives him.
'I think the receivers can take the top off. The tight ends are long, can run. Their back end can fly around — I love the way their back end plays. They’re in unison. They've got really talented guys in the kick game.'
In short, Fitzgerald said, 'they were as advertised,' and he was the one who said earlier in the week the Wolverines would be the best team his had faced 'by far.' The Wolverines rushed for 294 yards on Saturday, led by Blake Corum's 19 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns and Hassan Haskins' 23 carries for 111 yards and two scores, and that proved to be the difference.
'They’re the best rushing offense in the country for a reason,' Fitzgerald said. 'They’ve got a great offensive line, really good tight ends, and they’ve got a two-headed monster at running back that’s as good or better than anybody in the country. They have great talent, great scheme, and they executed pretty darn well today.'"
Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com: Michigan Football 33, Northwestern 7: Notes, Quotes & Observations
"There were times, too, the receivers simply weren’t open or the quarterbacks missed them. Sophomore Mike Sainristil stopped running on a couple of deep routes, the ball sailing over his head, but he had no separation. McNamara threw short on a nice seam route to tight end Luke Schoonmaker, knocked away, and McCarthy missed two wide-open throws to the sidelines.
All told, U-M is beating average to poor teams by running the ball down their throats with two outstanding backs and a line that, despite having two guards out with injury in Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter, continues to create space, and a just-good-enough passing game.
U-M managed 294 yards rushing and 5.4 per carry Saturday, but a lot of the passes were checkdowns or underneath coverage. The longest catch was 18 yards, and everything seems labored — frankly, the way it looks for pedestrian offenses against Michigan’s fast-closing defense.
In the past, Michigan fans would be up in arms about the conservative game plan because there was high end talent all over the field at the quarterback and receiver positions. While McCarthy seems like the next Michigan NFL talent, he’s not there yet, and neither are the receivers. Nobody’s claiming McNamara is a ‘great quarterback’ or anything close at this point, but he’s won every game he’s started and finished in a Michigan uniform, and he’s gotten the Wolverines out of some tough spots."
John Borton, TheWolverine.com: Wolverine Watch: Setting Up The Big One
"Michigan and Michigan State last played in a legitimate undefeated showdown back in 1999. The Wolverines then dug enough of a hole in East Lansing that even the greatest quarterback in the history of the game couldn’t dig them out.
This time, forget the big names, insisted redshirt freshman defensive end David Ojabo. The Spartans might as well come in with athletic tape over their jersey ID.
“Personally, on behalf of the defense, we always preach a nameless, faceless opponent,” Ojabo said. “We just have to go out there and execute, do what we’ve got to do. We can’t start weighing games. We’ve just got to go out there and do our job.”
That’s fine, in theory. But it changes the moment the Spartans try to leave somebody faceless on the field. And this time, there’s a big pile of chips on the table.
Not to mention, there remains the pile of cow chips of which last year’s game in Ann Arbor consisted.
“We don’t really dwell on the past,” sophomore safety Daxton Hill said. “We just focus on what we control right now. That’s Michigan State, next week.”
Somebody’s going to control it, for sure. Whoever does becomes a national top-five challenger for all that college football can offer."
"The run-heavy strategy isn’t borne of stubbornness or desperation. It’s borne of the roster, and U-M's sturdy offensive line and stellar combination of running backs. Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins each topped 100 yards rushing again against Northwestern.
Will those running lanes be there against the Spartans?
Maybe. MSU is solid defensively but hardly a juggernaut.
The Spartans give up yards and first downs and tighten up near the end zone. Which is interesting, because the Wolverines gain yards and first downs and tighten up near the end zone, and did again Saturday, settling for a couple of field goals and fumbling near the goal line.
The truth is these teams are similar in skill and temperament — and chemistry, too. Watch their respective sidelines and joy is easy to spot.
That’ll happen when a team rises through soft expectations and doubters. That’ll happen when self-belief keeps leading to wins."
Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: Unbeaten Wolverines plow through another foe, but now it gets tough
"We get it. No one has shut down Michigan’s rushing attack for a full game, and the totals piled up Saturday, with Blake Corum (119 yards) and Hassan Haskins (110 yards) taking turns blasting through. But with all the toughest opponents ahead — 7-0 Michigan State next Saturday — some defense could stuff it, and if that happens, can the Wolverines throw their way out of trouble?
Jim Harbaugh doesn’t have a conundrum, not yet. Why would you mess with the quarterback of an unbeaten team who completes 63% of his passes and has one interception in 217 collegiate attempts? McNamara was 20-for-27 for 129 yards, firing passes to the outside and short over the middle. When he tried a couple deep tosses, Northwestern was ready with its safeties back, and one was nearly intercepted.
On the other hand, McCarthy is a five-star recruit who’s much more dangerous on the run and has arm strength that fascinates and intoxicates. You’ve seen it a couple times, then you don’t see it again. He ran twice Saturday, swerving and swiveling for 36 yards. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 34 yards and deep shots weren’t needed, or available."
"By my count, none of McNamara’s 20 completions traveled more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. Heading into the game, McNamara was completing 65.4 percent of those throws, which ranked No. 88 among FBS quarterbacks. Against Northwestern, I had him at 20-for-23 (86.9 percent) on short throws for 129 yards, an average of 5.6 yards per attempt.
Harbaugh didn’t mind all the short throws against a defense that was taking away the deep stuff. In fact, his only critique of Michigan’s offense was that the Wolverines forced a couple of downfield shots that weren’t there.
“The deep passing game, we probably forced that a little bit today,” Harbaugh said.
This was McNamara’s answer when he was asked about forcing downfield throws:
“I think there was only one ball I forced today,” McNamara said. “It was an intermediate (throw) on a play action. I think I was not forcing anything downfield. I saw one-on-one opportunities, and I took them. Those are plays that we need in our offense. They were called, and I did my best to execute them. There’s no problem with me taking shots down the field when we have one-on-one coverage.”
Here’s my read: A lot of the questions McNamara gets are about what Michigan isn’t doing through the air. I would imagine that gets old after a while, especially when the team is 7-0. The questions are fair, but that doesn’t mean they’re fun to answer."
Jared Greenspan, The Michigan Daily: This is Michigan’s offense, for better or worse
"With McNamara, Michigan’s offense is at its best when it plays through its running backs. Even with a banged-up offensive line — sophomore guard Zak Zinter and junior guard Trevor Keegan each did not start due to injury — the Wolverines racked up a whopping 294 rushing yards.
That’s not to say that the Wolverines should simply ignore their deficiencies in other aspects of the offense, which they appear to recognize. After the game, Harbaugh lamented the red-zone execution; McNamara faulted himself for a few of the errant deep balls; Corum in part blamed the first half struggles on a variety of new Northwestern blitz packages.
So, despite the outside clamors for a quarterback swap, the changes are likely going to reside in those areas, on more of a micro-level.
Upon entering Saturday’s game, McCarthy officially expended his redshirt, meaning he cannot use this season to gain an extra year of eligibility. He remains a contributor — in the third quarter, he dazzled with a 23-yard and 13-yard run, each of which induced a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.
After the 13-yard dash, he again returned to the sideline.
“Everybody on this team, they’re all on a mission,” Harbaugh said when asked to explain the decision process of playing McNamara or McCarthy. “Whatever helps us win.”
For now, Michigan seems to believe that McNamara does that best."
ESPN.com College Football Power Rankings After Week 8
"The Wolverines avoided any chance of a loss looking ahead to its game against Michigan State and handled Northwestern in a 33-7 win. Minus a few fumbles, it was a relatively uneventful game that saw Michigan finish with 294 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The defense held Northwestern to 233 total yards of offense and had a fumble recovery and an interception, with a blocked punt on special teams, as well. Michigan moves to 7-0 as it now prepares for the short trip to East Lansing to take on the Spartans. -- Tom VanHaaren"
CBS Sports' Chip Patterson Ranks Michigan No. 6 After Northwestern Win
"Beating up opponents on the ground is the preferred method of dispatching opponents for the 2021 Wolverines, and even a well-coached defense like Northwestern wasn't able to withstand four quarters of punishment from this group in a 33-7 Michigan win."
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde Ranks Michigan No. 2, Michigan State No. 3 Ahead Of Next Weekend
The Wolverines were in a scrap for a half against the Wildcats, then pitched a 23–0 shutout after intermission. This was exactly who Michigan is: slamming the ball at Northwestern on the ground, with both Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins gaining 100 yards; the defense keeping the Wildcats out of the end zone other than a 75-yard run in the second quarter; special teams chipping in a blocked punt. Michigan still doesn’t have much juice in the passing game, throwing for 163 yards with just 5.1 yards per attempt and no completions longer than 18 yards. Even at 7–0, the Wolverines have improving to do to win their division.
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Even after an open date, the Spartans remain the only Power 5 team in the country that is 4–0 on the road. Their big-play offense stalled last week against the Hoosiers, producing just 241 yards and 3.89 yards per snap. They’ll need to rediscover some pop by Saturday when the Wolverines come to town. Defensively, Michigan State is one of just two teams to not allow more than 21 points in a game this season. (Georgia is the other.)
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