Jim Harbaugh on second half for Michigan: 'We have some adjustments we'll make'

After Michigan entered the second half against Rutgers trailing, 17-14 in Piscataway, Big Ten Network sideline reporter Rick Pizzo caught up with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and asked what needed to change in the second half.

For one, Michigan wasn’t winning at the point of the attack like usual during the first half, and had a fair share of miscues. Pizzo asked Harbaugh about what slowed up the Wolverines in the first 30 minutes.

“He said he’s been really impressed by Rutgers’ physicality. Called it ‘a dead even game.’ I asked if that meant offensive adjustments in the second half. He said ‘absolutely,'” Pizzo relayed.

However, Harbaugh was coy about what those adjustments might actually be, despite Pizzo’s best reporting efforts.

“I asked him to specify if Michigan would maybe try to spread it out and go wide instead of pounding it inside the tackles,” Pizzo said. “He simply looked at me and winked and said, ‘As I said, we have some adjustments we’ll make in the second half.'”

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano knew handling the Michigan run game was key

Nobody has been able to slow down, much less stop the Michigan running game and Heisman candidate running back Blake Corum. Up next to try their luck is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, led by head coach Greg Schiano. During a recent press conference, Schiano broke down the challenges of stopping Michigan’s running game.

“Well, it’s hard. I mean, why do they have a good running game? They have a very good offensive line,” said Schiano. “They have two really good backs; probably more, but two that play a lot. And a quarterback that can run and pass. So you have to defend the pass, defend his run, the offensive line is doing a good job blocking, and they got two upper-echelon running back.

“So, it’s one of the better outfits in America on offense. That’s why you look at where they’re ranked in all those statistical categories, they’re up in the top. Have we played against people like that? Yeah, we have.”