Michigan came back from the bye week and took home a trap game win against the Purdue Boilermakers. Though the team looked rusty at times, the 41-13 final score was telling of the talent gap between teams.
In most blowout victories, it is tough to assign a singular MVP. Saturday’s win once again came in dominant fashion, but unlike past weeks, this one came with a clear-cut MVP candidate.
That, of course, would be Roman Wilson.
The speedy senior receiver switched from No. 14 to 1 right before the season started, donning the jersey number of Michigan legends such as Anthony Carter and Braylon Edwards. Wilson was making a statement with the number change, and so far, he has lived up to the expectations.
Throughout the season, Wilson has been a touchdown machine. He had 10 touchdowns through the air heading into the bye and was competing weekly to lead the nation in receiving touchdowns. He continued his dominance Saturday, but this time he was moving the chains consistently.
Wilson totaled 9 catches for 143 yards, averaging almost 16 yards per catch. He converted a number of big third downs and was a matchup nightmare all game. Purdue ran a lot of deep safety looks on defense (20-plus yards off the ball) as a way to limit the explosiveness of the Michigan passing game, but the Wolverines adjusted perfectly. Michigan exposed the fact that Purdue was removing a player from the short and intermediate section of the field and played 11-on-10 football for most of the game. Wilson was able to work open over the middle of the field on crossers, using his speed to dust DBs in man coverage.
Roman has emerged as a terrific receiving threat this season, but next week he will face his toughest test yet in Michigan native Kalen King. The Penn State cornerback is a likely first round pick, and might be used to cover Wilson one-on-one. King has battled Marvin Harrison Jr. twice and looked good doing so. If Wilson can have a productive game, it will speak volumes to his ability as a receiver.