The Michigan Wolverines put their undefeated record on the line against Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday, and the Wolverines emerged with a 32-23 win. Michigan badly wanted to get revenge for last year's loss to the Spartans, and got that in a resounding way. Here are three things we learned about Michigan from the game:
3) The offense is better than we think
Michigan's defense gets a large bulk of the credit for Michigan's 8-0 start this season, but the offense showed they're as dominant as any unit in the country in this one. All but one of Michigan's meaningful drives in this game ended in points (that one was because quarterback Wilton Speight made a rare bad decision on an interception), and the punter did not make an appearance in this game until the fourth quarter (when the game was already decided), and that has become a common theme for this team. When the only thing that can stop an offense is themselves, you know you're doing something right.
2) Michigan's weapons are underrated
One of the biggest questions around the Wolverines has been how explosive they are at the skill positions. There's no question about their dominance in the physical run game, but could they stretch the field? Well, the answer against Michigan State was a resounding yes. Speight averaged nearly 10 yards per pass attempt, and Michigan's receivers combined to average 15.3 yards per catch.
In particular, Amara Darboh showed his ability to stretch the field with eight catches for 165 yards - including a pair of one-handed catches. As their downfield passing attack becomes more and more reliable, Michigan's offense is going to be virtually impossible to stop.
1) Overcoming adversity isn't a problem
Now, the Wolverines haven't been met with much resistance this season, but when Michigan State easily drove down the field and scored on the first drive of the game - something that had only happened in the Colorado game - it looked like this game might be a struggle for Michigan. However, instead of being stunned, all the Wolverines did was raise their level of play on both sides of the ball, leading to this blowout win. That's something only championship teams are able to do.
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