Undertow

The buffs look good on Barrett.  Oh, hey, Denard! (Michigan Athletics)

I know what I wanted
I know what I wanted
I know how I wanted this to be

You go down to the water
Drink down of the water
Walk up off the water, leave it be

This is not my time, sister
It is cold in heaven
And I'm not sprouting wings

I'm drowning
Me
I'm drowning
Me, yeah

"Undertow" by R.E.M. from the band's 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi 

OK, this one's on me.  I picked the white #23 jersey to wear for this game.  A 2003 vintage Chris Perry, it's one of my newer additions to the collection, but I thought getting "Perry with the carry" vibes would be good against Rutgers, which, if it can do anything (beyond make things exceedingly annoying for other teams with their "hard hitting" and "Schiano manning") it is defending the run.  And things felt pedestrian when Michigan moved the ball down the field with relative ease on the first drive, though the red zone struggles seemed to be rearing their head again until Blake Corum's fourth try to get over the goal line to go up 7-0.  It's just...Michigan has punted so little over the last few weeks that Michael Barrett might have forgotten that he is Brad Robbins' personal protector and Michigan had a rare special teams mistake under Jay Harbaugh. Suddenly, it was 7-7.  Thanks to a short field from a Rutgers' surprise onside kick, Michigan used a short field to drive down the field thanks to a quick 43-yard run by Corum, but again, stalling inside the one-yard line but finally getting JJ over the goal line to make it 14-7 Michigan. 

The second quarter was utterly forgettable, like so many second quarters of recent vintage, including seeing Jake Moody miss two fifty-yard field goal attempts thanks to some tricky winds in the warm New Jersey evening.  So yeah, bad vibes going into the locker room for a third straight week.  But Michigan has been a second half team the last few weeks, so perhaps things would right themselves.  That's when I swapped out the #23 for a 2004 vintage #1 Braylon Edwards; you've got to change up the vibes.

Anyway, after ten minutes of the third quarter, Michigan's current #23 Michael Barrett had two picks, including his first-ever pick six at any level, and had a 35-17 lead.  They never looked back.  Will Johnson got his first career pick two series later, Michigan cashed in another touchdown on it, Jake Moody got a field goal that helped remind folks he's money. One more touchdown from the backups and the 52-17 scoreline looks like what was expected, though not the method of arrival.

Rutgers games are always annoying, especially the last three, but in the end, coming out of each with a different kind of win.  A comeback in triple OT in 2020, a hold on for dear life second half in 2021, and now this slow start, fast finish.  Rutgers can do some things well.  They might continue to get better, especially if the Big Ten moves away from divisions and they no longer have to face all of the top teams in the league every year.  But for now, it isn't enough.

The last time Michigan was 9-0, it was on the literal exact same calendar date in 2016.   Every game date, including the bye week, lines up.  Which would make me a little nervous if we were off to Iowa next week.  But instead, Nebraska comes to town as a massive underdog, so hopefully, Michigan can keep handling its business and take advantage of the chaos that happened elsewhere in college football yesterday at the top.

Michigan Spreadsheet Notes
Win 0985
52-17 score, not a Scoragami.  2nd time, previously against Minnesota in 1995.

Attendance 51,117, which is interesting because it exactly matches the attendance at Michigan Stadium on November 16, 1968, when Michigan was also AP #4.  (Oh, and that's the Ron Johnson single-game rushing record game, 347 yards on 31 carries, or 11.2 yards per carry, and 5 TDs.)

Michigan's all-time record against Rutgers moves to 9-1 (9 straight wins).

Michigan moves to 15-3 on November 5th, all-time.  The previous 11/5 game was 59-3 win over Maryland in 2016.
Michigan moves to 11-0 when scoring exactly 52 points.

Michigan moves to 35-16-2 when allowing their opponent exactly 17 points.