For whatever reason, Rutgers has given Michigan all it can handle the past two years, and the first half indicated the Wolverines would have their hands full for a third straight season.
The Wolverines made their share of uncharacteristic mistakes on Saturday night. Jake Moody missed two field goals. Brad Robbins had a punt blocked and returned for a Rutgers touchdown. The maize and blue secondary allowed some 50/50 balls to be caught by the Scarlet Knights receivers. Everything added up to Michigan entering halftime trailing for the first time this season, 17-14.
Michigan was in a dog fight with a 4-4 team on the road.
Until the second half happened and then it was no longer a dog fight. It turned into Michigan dominating the football game. The Wolverines outscored Rutgers 28-0 in the third quarter, and Michigan cruised to a 52-17 victory.
Michigan is now outscoring its opponents in the third quarter, a staggering, 84-6 this season. The Wolverines are arguably the best team in the country at making second-half adjustments and the Michigan players respond extremely well to the adjustments made.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has earned every penny of his contract this season with the ability to make those adjustments after the first half. Rutgers had 57 total yards in the second half and 13 rushing yards. So what did Minter tell the defense at halftime? Michael Barrett said their coach told them to remain calm and play their game.
“Just that we’re good,” said Barrett. “Just continue to play our ball, they made a couple of plays in the first half. A couple of deep balls they capitalized on, but he just kind of told us that we’re good, you know, just stay calm, collected, and just play defense.”
It’s been sensational what Michigan has done defensively in the second half. Against Rutgers, the Wolverines held the Scarlet Knights to one first down and Michigan forced Gavin Wimsatt to throw three interceptions. The Michigan linebacker told the media that the team does a great job of motivating each other and they get a chance to sit down to regroup.
“I mean, just once we get that chance to come together as a whole team as a whole defense and just sit down, kind of calm everyone down,” said Barrett. “Let everybody know we’re good. And just like that, while we’re in there, like everybody is motivating everybody like everybody sends out. We got to do this, we got to do that. Like we’re good. Just come out, play your ball. Like I feel like once we come out after the second half, get that, that breath of just, we good like, I feel like we just at that point, we’re ready to come out.”
Mike Morris continued his stellar season on Saturday night. The edge defender recorded 1.5 sacks. He has seven sacks for the season. Morris gives credit to the defensive coaches for their play in the second half of the games. He said they put together a good game plan that is easy for the players to go out there and accomplish.
“We have really good in-game adjustments you know we get in the second half and coach Minter, coach, Clink, coach Elston, and all the coaches come together,” said Morris. “They put up a game plan and what we’re getting beat at what we’re missing, and they just put it so intricately together, and set it up. So easy for us that all we have to do is just go out there and do what they tell us. And the rest is history.”
Michigan entered the game with eight takeaways on defense. The Wolverines kept preaching that turnovers would happen sooner than later. The maize and blue intercepted Rutgers three times on Saturday night. Will Johnson recorded one of them in his first career start and linebacker Michael Barrett had two — one was returned for a touchdown.
Blake Corum said the team needed a game changer in the second half and he gave Barrett credit. He said Barrett having interceptions on back-to-back drives really got the team going.
“Yeah, I mean, game changers, right,” said Corum. “That we knew it would come into halftime that’s what we need, we need a game changer and Mike B. (Barrett) getting it back-to-back series, you know, with the pick and the pick-six. You know, is unbelievable. It gets us going, you know, gets the team going. So you need plays like that. You need players like that. And he came through.”
Barrett said he was talking to the team at halftime that someone needed to step up and make a play. It so happened to be himself that made the plays and that happened in key moments to get the Wolverines rolling. Barrett dropped an interception last week against Michigan State, but he didn’t make that mistake twice in a row — in fact he got his hands on the ball twice.
“Definitely,” said Barrett. “That’s kind of what all I was kind of preaching during halftime, like, you know, they made — they capitalize on a couple plays. And now we have to come out and make some ourselves. I mean, like, we all as a defense, we always say we shouldn’t have to depend on the offense. Like if they can get three points on the board then we should win. If they don’t score, we should win. And so like, other than that, I just said, like, somebody’s got to come out and make a play. Like we got to get the ball back to our offense, put them in a position to score better positions. And that’s kind of what we were preaching.”
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