After startling fans with close calls against Akron and Connecticut, the Michigan Wolverines steadied the ship Saturday with a strong 42-13 win against Minnesota.
On September 14th, following a big win over rival Notre Dame in Ann Arbor, Michigan needed a goal line stand in the final seconds to top the lowly Akron Zips, who have finished each of the last three seasons with a 1-11 record. A week later the Wolverines travelled to Hartford, Connecticut and overcame a 21-7 second-half deficit to beat a Husky team that had already lost to FCS opponent Towson this year.
Needless to say, Brady Hoke relished the opportunity to work with his team during a timely bye week. But things weren't necessarily smooth in the first half.
After scoring on its first possession, Michigan struggled to stop the Golden Gophers on third down and allowed a touchdown drive that lasted just under 10 minutes. The Wolverines scored just 
before the half and led by only seven at the break in what was looking like a third-straight ugly performance.
But in the second half, Michigan was able to correct many of the problems that have haunted the team early this year.
Most notably, the offensive line finally created some running lanes for Fitzgerald Toussaint to work with. In the first four games, the running back was forced to bounce to the outside on almost every successful run and was starting to show a reluctance to stay between the tackles.
Against the Gophers, Toussaint and freshman Derrick Green had some success running in the trenches, as a shakeup in the offensive line reaped exactly the benefits Offensive Coordinator Al Borges had in mind. Struggling center Jack Miller was removed from the starting lineup and Graham Glasgow moved over to take his place. Chris Bryant was inserted into the starting unit to fill Glasgow's vacant left guard position.
The result was a strong left side that allowed the Maize and Blue to take advantage of star left tackle Taylor Lewan's dominance. Problems from the absent running game had been previously magnified as quarterback Devin Gardner continued to turn the ball over. After Toussaint's performance in week six, the offense appears to be stabilized.
Nobody is happier to hear that than Gardner.
The first-year starter looked comfortable for the first time in three weeks after turning the ball over a total of seven times in his two previous games. Gardner snapped his streak of nine straight games with an interception on Saturday by completing 13 0f 17 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan's ground attack was Gardner's best friend, as the opposing defense was finally forced to respect the run and couldn't drop as many players back in coverage. Gardner 
took advantage of matchup nightmare Devin Funchess and looked more like the player that tore apart the Fighting Irish on September 7th.
Funchess recorded seven catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were career highs. Minnesota couldn't defend the 6'5 sophomore over the middle or along the sideline as he and Gardner shredded the secondary. Play action passes were opened up by the success of the running game and the beneficiary was Funchess.
Gardner's return to form steadied a turbulent offense and led Michigan to a 29-point victory.
Defensively, there didn't appear to be many changes. Blake Countess scored a touchdown off of his fourth interception of the season and Minnesota was held under 300 yards on the day. The defensive line, however, is still failing to get pressure and quarterback Mitch Leidner was able to stand in the pocket and wait for tight end Maxx Williams to break open all game.
Michigan was only able to sack Leidner once as undisturbed backfields continue to be a trend for the defense in 2013. Both Akron and Connecticut were able to control the line of scrimmage 
against a much more talented Wolverines team and the result was a tendency for the secondary to give up big plays over the top.
Cornerback Ramon Taylor was removed from the starting lineup in favor of Courtney Avery, and the move paid off as Michigan kept the Gopher receivers in front of them all day. But the reason for Taylor's struggles may have stemmed from the lack of pressure on the quarterback. The young cornerback had to stay in coverage way too long during the first four games.
Though Avery was able to overcome it, the problem still existed against Minnesota and will prove much more costly against talented quarterbacks like Taylor Martinez, Trevor Siemian and Braxton Miller later in the season. If upper-level Big Ten gunslingers are permitted to sit comfortably in the pocket, they will pick apart the secondary no matter how strong the coverage is.
Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison will have to make some adjustments before the grueling five-game stretch to end the season hits Michigan with full force.
Despite the defensive concerns, the performances of Gardner and Toussaint overshadowed any negative trends against Minnesota. Michigan needed a stabilizing win before the road test in Happy Valley, and the second half effort in the Big Ten opener provided just that.
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