Michigan 35, Rutgers 14
The first of many touchdowns, one hopes. [Patrick Barron]
Welcome to the future.
After four drives for each team, Michigan found itself deadlocked at seven with lowly Rutgers in front of a listless homecoming crowd. Embattled quarterback John O'Korn had completed 3/6 passes for 13 yards with an interception and two dropped snaps. On what turned out to be his final snap of the afternoon, he passed up multiple open receivers to roll out of a clean pocket and throw in the direction of a very well-covered Donovan Peoples-Jones.
When the defense booted Rutgers off the field with 7:01 to play in the first half, ballyhooed redshirt freshman Brandon Peters entered in O'Korn's stead.
"They just told me to get warmed up," said Peters. "When we got the ball I was just standing there next to Harbaugh and he said let's go, you're in."
The crowd instantly came to life. So did the offense. Two Karan Higdon runs picked up 20 yards to open the drive, then Peters got going, connecting on passes to Ty Wheatley Jr., Henry Poggi, and Nico Collins for first downs before Higdon capped the drive with a ten-yard touchdown.
"I wasn't that nervous," said Peters. "Honestly it was a great opportunity to get out there. I was more excited and confident than nervous."
Peters didn't seem nervous. When Michigan got the ball at midfield with 1:49 to go in the half, he marched the team right into the red zone. He had a freshman moment, nearly throwing an interception on a slant to Grant Perry, but that didn't rattle him one bit. On the very next snap, he tossed a near-perfect* lob to Chris Evans on a wheel route for a 20-yard score. With one change in personnel, Michigan went being in a dogfight at home against Rutgers to blowing them out.
"I saw man coverage, one-on-one with Chris," said Peters. "I wanted to give him a chance to make a play and he made a great play on the ball."
The wheel route remains undefeated. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
Michigan had already made needed improvements elsewhere, and the insertion of Peters served to accentuate them. The offensive line had been opening holes in the running game, which featured a diverse array of powers, counters, outside zones, and crack sweeps. With opposition safeties finally forced to respect the pass, the backs found ample room to run. Higdon (158 yards on 18 carries) and Ty Isaac (109 on 14) both cracked the century mark; Michigan averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
The pass protection also looked vastly improved. O'Korn and Peters both consistently operated out of clean pockets; Peters did a better job of standing in and delivering. Michigan didn't take a sack.
Most importantly, Peters continued dealing. He finished 10/14 for 124 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers. He didn't lock on to a favorite target; ten different receivers caught passes for the Wolverines today. While Peters's stat line may not blow anyone away, he made it obvious he's the best option to run this team right now. His coach agreed.
"He really aquitted himself well," said Jim Harbaugh. "Moved the football team. Played very, very well. He did a lot. From the first time he went in there, just feeling the deep zone, feeling the linebackers drop, taking that extra half second to take a breath, take a checkdown. it was good ball. It was good."
Harbaugh probably didn't need to declare Peters the starter for next week's game against Minnesota, but he did so anyway.
Mo Hurst spearheaded another dominant defensive performance. [Campredon]
The defense needed no such fixing. Outside of a long Janarion Grant touchdown out of the wildcat and one drive in which Rutgers QB Giovanni Rescigno uncharacteristically connected on a couple NFL-level throws, they effectively held the Scarlet Knights to nothing. Rescigno dropped back to pass 21 times; he threw for 101 and took five sacks. Rutgers's pair of running backs combined for a mere 45 yards on 18 carries. Rutgers simply couldn't block Maurice Hurst, Rashan Gary, and Chase Winovich, and freshman DT Aubrey Solomon didn't look out of place on that line while getting the most extended playing time of his young career.
Higdon opened the fourth quarter with a 49-yard touchdown jaunt on a perfectly blocked power play to put Michigan up 35-14. A game that had already flown by didn't take long to wrap up from there. Rutgers wanted to get home. Michigan, one would like to think, was champing at the bit to get the Peters Era underway in earnest when he gets his first career start under the lights against Minnesota.
"It was time," said Harbaugh.
*Nitpickers will note it was a little short. Most Michigan fans, however, saw the skies part and heard angels sing.
October 28th, 2017 at 6:16 PM ^
We may if Walker's and Isaac's injuries are serious. But, if his RS was already burned against Purdue, then that obviously didn't factor into the coach's decision. For a guy that is so athletic like Samuel's, and may just need some time to get used to college ball because he played in a state that isn't know for it's HS football, it's a shame. I think he could be really good and it would be nice to have him for a 5th year.
October 29th, 2017 at 2:02 AM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 1:57 AM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 4:53 PM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 1:44 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
Peters' first TD pass looked so good at first. On replay, not quite as good, but still a TD, so yay! His decisiveness was more encouraging than his throws, which if they were off, weren't off enough not to be completions (mostly). Definitely a big energy boost when he came in, then 3 TD drives to break the game open. Looking forward to seeing more from him.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:04 PM ^
To that end, patience out of all of the fan base is now going to be important. Peters is young, going to make some mistakes, but he is the best option going forward. He’s got some brutal games upcoming at the end, but he’s in a good position for now.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:39 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 6:42 PM ^
I don't think peter performance can be overstated. The insertion of peter is often times a pretty important moment.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:19 PM ^
like a sieve right now.... we've got a fighters chance !
YAY...GO BLUE !!!
October 29th, 2017 at 7:51 AM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:20 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
The great thing is that Peters is young so you would expect him to get better as he sees more. I know there will be some struggles but he ball came out on time today. You didn't need to be a coach to see the difference. It reminded me more of our offense last year. He can make a throw on 3rd and 6 to get you a first down. I had just given up on JOK to convert with his arm.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:30 PM ^
hit passes easily to open receivers and convert 3rd downs again! It was getting really depressing to see O'Korn struggle series after series. But, Peters rejuvenated the offense and the whole team today. It felt great again to walk out of the stadium at the end of the day.
October 28th, 2017 at 7:37 PM ^
Walk out of the stadium after a game, generally that's a sign of bad things. Just sayin'.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:37 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 5:51 PM ^
That usually happens when the backup QB gets a shot. The cool thing today was that he played well enough to keep the crowd fired up for awhile.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:44 PM ^
seemed to play better with Peters in the game.
October 28th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
It was definitely a morale boost to the team.
October 28th, 2017 at 5:55 PM ^
The reality is that Peters was as ready as any of the other QBs when the season opened. All this hedging and giving the coaches the benefit of the doubt falls somewhere between silly and pathetic. That Speight and O'Korn were allowed to struggle and hamstring this team as they did is-simply put, a coaching error. It was reasonable to go through the progressions (personnel) they did but the time they took and the poor play they allowed was unfair to the team and the individual players involved.
October 28th, 2017 at 6:15 PM ^
2. We thought the same when JOK came into the Purdue game, had tons success, and turned it completely. We see how that played out.
3. And that was just Purdue & this was just Rutgers. Hope to hell we see Peters continue to perform in coming weeks, but remains to be seen. (Advantage Peters is Maryland D is not MSU’s & hopefully not in a monsoon.
In any case, way too much unknown to make such a strong claim that coaches should’ve been starting Peters from beginning
October 28th, 2017 at 6:18 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:35 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 9:11 PM ^
I know. When we have all you whipper-snappers who couldn't assess talent if it bit you where the sun don't shine. The kid looked to be a player all along...no way of knowing for sure or to what extent until he got live time on the field. Sometimes even great coaches can't see what is right in front of their face. How did Brady get on the field? And who was that sad-sack coach who did not know how goodhe was??? This is not a total rip on Harbaugh-assessing a QB is about as difficult as playing the position. Nevertheless, I will rip him for his time-line here. I think it is close to inexcusable how long it took him to pull the trigger here-even if Peters turns out to not be the answer.
October 28th, 2017 at 9:23 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 9:33 PM ^
You think Harbaugh is wrong if he's wrong,
and you think Harbaugh is wrong if he's right.
Probably get back into your box
October 29th, 2017 at 2:29 AM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
"The kid looked to be a player all along...no way of knowing for sure or to what extent until he got live time on the field."
If you were actually aware of the above statement, you'd still be with the team or whatever it is the staff does at this time of day after a home game.
Harbaugh put him in exactly when he thought was the right time to go in. in fact, with the game going as it was it was the perfect time instead of waiting for the second half, which was probaby the original plan, although unlike you I am speculating. in this way the young man was allowed two chances, and they turned out to be damn good chances prior to going in the locker at the half. The coaches, no one else, are with these players all week long, every week and they know what is asked of the players and what is not and they won't put them in unti they answer correctly on enough of the questions, obviously. Just as he aways makes his RBs get a taste of nasty playing with the second team line prior to upward movement, he has a plan for his qbs. He, the qbs and OCs are probably the only people who really know when the next QB is ready. You, sir, do not.
October 28th, 2017 at 11:49 PM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 8:58 AM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 8:12 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 9:28 PM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 2:24 AM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 6:15 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:20 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:24 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:44 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:45 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 7:49 PM ^
How happy and amazed we are with Peters shows 1. how bad jok was and 2. how quick fans change their expectations.
October 28th, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 8:11 PM ^
October 28th, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 7:23 AM ^
October 29th, 2017 at 2:44 AM ^
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