[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3gzhz7qrm49z6q player_id=none image=https://rutgerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Count Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh among those who like the job being done at Rutgers by head coach Greg Schiano. There was a lot of praise from Harbaugh for the Scarlet Knights in all three phases of the game.
On Saturday, Rutgers plays at Michigan in the first Big Ten action of the season for both teams. Michigan comes in flying off a 63-10 win over Northern Illinois this past weekend, their 3-0 record landing them at No. 19 in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
Rutgers is also 3-0 after beating FCS program Delaware this past Saturday.
“They score points, they average about 27 points a game,” Harbaugh told reporters on Monday via WolverinesWire.
“[They’re] playing real salty defense. Really good special teams. They’re playing good football.”
To Harbaugh’s point, Rutgers leads the nation in turnover margin at + 3.5.
In one of the best games in college football last season, Rutgers lost at home to Michigan in triple overtime.
A major reason why the Wolverines beat the Scarlet Knights last season was the emergence of quarterback Cade McNamara. The backup quarterback threw four touchdown passes and had a completion percentage of 75 percent off the bench to spark the win.
Harbaugh didn’t single in on any one area where McNamara has improved in 2021. The junior quarterback has thrown for 371 yards this year with three touchdown passes.
“In all areas, but he’s just been consistently good since he’s played in games. I think the ability to drive the team for points, that’s getting really impressive,” Harbaugh said.
“I don’t know exactly what that percentage is, but it’s gotta be pretty high. He’s just, overall — confidence, ability, time on task, reps — just like anybody, when you play in a game and you realize: ‘I can do this!’ It’s not as hard as it seems and you get better at football by playing football.”