So Fast, So Numb

Big Mood...Jake Moody. (Patrick Barron)

You're drinking raw adrenal, baby

And do-si-do, saddo

You're eating cartilage, shark-eyes, shark-heart, all present tense

And boy, your blood is running cold 

Listen! This is now, this is here this is me

This is what I wanted you to see

That was then, that was that that is gone, that is past

You cast yourself, cast passed by, thrown down fast

You say, you say that you hate it

You want to re-create it

--"So Fast, So Numb" by R.E.M. from their 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi

It was cold.  There were flurries that melted upon contact with the ground that retained much of its warmth from temperatures in the 60s all week.  It was the permagray that settles in over Michigan Stadium when November rolls in.  As Jane Coaston said:

Ah, the first Michigan home game after the time change, when it’s 30 degrees and God announces he hates you, personally

— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) November 12, 2022

All of this is to say that it is well within expectations that when your offense is getting nearly six yards a pop on any rush attempt without any real explosive plays, deciding to keep things on the ground and let your offensive line impose their will and let your Heisman-candidate running back do his thing.  There is nothing wrong with this!  Maybe this is years of training watching Big Ten football and flashing back to years of rooting for any kind of first down in the Novembers of the late RichRod and late Hoke years, but if the offense can do things and do them well, then yes, keep doing those things.

Yes, I would love to see Michigan's passing game show some signs of execution where they can use their talented wide receivers to mix things up so defenses cannot just stack eight in the box.  All of this is worried about the future, which I both understand and respect.  But for a day where Michigan could find a way to move to 10-0 for the first time since 2006, keep the ball on the ground, hold on to it, and take care of business on defense.

"Dull and boring football" was a common complaint about the Michigan football teams of the 1970s and yes, it was a vastly different world, both in the Big Ten and nationally, but I really think "wishing the passing game was more dynamic" is the sort of thing that falls under "these are the problems you want to have" kind of thing that crops up when the team you're rooting for is 22-2 in their last 24 games.

It was cold, it was boring, but it was a win, and I'm absolutely fine with that.

Notes from The Spreadsheet:

• Win 0986
• 34-3 win, the fourth time it's happened, most recently in...2006 at Indiana (to go to 11-0.)
• 110,192 attendance, 108th largest crowd in Michigan history.
• Michigan moves to 7-4-1 all-time against the Huskers.
• Michigan moves to 17-1-3 all-time on November 12.  (Do NOT think about the 1.  It will make you sad.)
• Michigan moves to 37-0 all-time when scoring exactly 34 points.
• Michigan moves to 47-2-3 all-time when opponents score exactly 3 points.