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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — You may or may not be happy with the way Michigan football won on Saturday, but it doesn’t really matter, at least not to Jim Harbaugh.
The Wolverines ran repeatedly, up and down the field, down Washington’s throat with impunity. Knowing what was coming, the Huskies could do nothing about it, allowing 352 yards on 56 carries — an astounding 6.1 yards-per-carry despite the volume. But there’s consternation in some sects of the fanbase due to the method of the 31-10 win, because they’d like to see Michigan use the vertical passing game a bit more.
After the game on Saturday night, Harbaugh said that Michigan can pass, but this was the plan for this game. And Harbaugh reiterated on Monday that the Wolverines have that capability in their arsenal, but this is how the maize and blue chose to get the job done this particular week.
Nonetheless, Harbaugh has heard the outside criticism and he notes: ‘there’s a lot of ways to travel.’
“Yeah, all those things are at our disposal,” Harbaugh said. “Heard a little bit of noise about it. ‘Why so much running? You gotta throw more!’ That kind of thing. There’s a lot of ways to travel. Some people choose to travel on the ground, some people by air. George Patton was able to get his job done on the ground. Neil Armstrong through the air. Last Saturday night, we chose to grind it out on the ground. And were also able to get our mission accomplished.”
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As for Cade McNamara, though his percentages when he did pass don’t look stellar — he was 7-for-15 for 44 yards and no touchdowns — Harbaugh felt he looked good doing what he was asked to do.
Michigan only passed downfield twice, with the sole completion being a perfectly placed 33-yard strike to Cornelius Johnson to extend the drive. But Harbaugh also likes what he’s seen from McNamara in terms of managing the game and seeing things on the field the same way coaches do.
“He’s really become the coach on the field,” Harbaugh said. “He does a tremendous job. He executed pretty darn well. A couple things: nobody plays a perfect game. You strive for it, but there’s more things to coach — also a good thing. Offense, defense and special teams. I thought he turned in another real solid performance.”
Michigan’s next opponent, Northern Illinois (1-1), enters the game with the 45th-rated pass defense, having allowed 204 yards to Wyoming last week and 156 to Georgia Tech in Week 1. While fans might want to see McNamara and J.J. McCarthy pass the ball — and assuredly there will be more attempts — NIU has the 120th-rated run defense in the country, having surrendered 273 yards on the ground in Week 1 and 191 yards last week.
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