Offensive notes: Michigan strikes the perfect balance in Columbus

Michigan football’s offensive style and production – or lack thereof in certain areas – has long been a talking point in the rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes. In Saturday’s 45-23 undoing of the Bucks in Columbus, eventually, everything worked.

The Wolverines had 530 yards of total offense on the afternoon without the team’s best player – junior running back Blake Corum – but finally found a way to chew some of the meat that had been left on the bone all season long. Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy had the game of his career, throwing for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Cornelius Johnson had 4 catches for 160 yards and touchdowns of 69 and 75 yards that helped break the game open for the Wolverines.

McCarthy’s accuracy has waned in recent weeks – he was 12-for-24 on Saturday – but his grit and execution on a day the Wolverines needed his best was impressive. And the win now makes him a Michigan legend and driving force behind snapping a 22-year drought without a victory in Columbus.

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And the Wolverines had 252 yards rushing when the day was all over. Sophomore Donovan Edwards had 160 of them on two long touchdown runs of 75 and 85 yards in the fourth quarter. When it was all said and done, Edwards had 22 carries for 216 yards and the 2 scores.

“I mean, we knew that we could make those kinds of plays,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game. “C.J. really got us started — Cornelius Johnson — with the catch and then broke the tackle, 75 yards. I think that the very next time we came back, if I’m not mistaken, one play, 75-yard touchdown.

“And we never got away from the running game. One good thing about the running game is it can wear on you and that’s when it’s usually better, as the game goes on. And love Donovan Edwards, man. When he gets free, don’t even think about it. It’s going to be a touchdown. Great to see those 75- and 85-yard runs. Those were huge events.”

McCarthy continued: “We had a full game plan ready for them. We’re the best second-half team in the country. We prove it every single week. It was just great to go out there and do it again.”

McCarthy’s star-making turn defines win

Harbaugh’s move to extend the quarterback competition into the regular season was controversial to some, but he could not shake a gut-feeling that McCarthy had something else to offer. But for much of the year, what he has brought to the table has been more about promise instead of results. In Saturday’s game, the Wolverines needed him to go out and win a football game.

He responded with some of the most consequential moments of his Michigan career.

“More excited that he’s got ‘it’. He’s just got that it-factor in every way,” Harbaugh said. “First-year starter. I don’t think there’s any first-year starter in the history of Michigan that’s won 12 games, 12-0. In their first game starting against Ohio State at Ohio State, play that great. Everybody on our team knows it.

“What can [this win] do for him? I mean, he already has it. He’s already got it. So just keep rolling with him.”

McCarthy’s evolution this season has been a slow burn, but every missed opportunity or criticism built a callus. And when the chips were down, McCarthy entered an environment where nothing surprised him. He was shaky early, but rewarded his team with a winning effort.

“It’s been happening,” Harbaugh said. “It has been happening a lot. And then, in the second half, ‘Hey, let’s run J.J.,’ and he was just on fire in every way. Running the ball, throwing the ball. Just so, so focused and determined. Like the rest of the team was. It was a team that was very focused and determined. You could really see it.”

McCarthy is a cool customer, and never once questioned his ability or Michigan’s to win the game.

“Once the nerves kind of calmed down and everything settled, I knew it was over from there,” he said. “It’s just like pipes bursting. We’re putting the pressure on, putting the pressure on. Then eventually it’s going to burst.”

“Never let it creep there. I was always gonna keep firing. I always had 100 percent trust in every single one of my guys and myself and just to be able to do it today, It was so special, it was really so special. And there’s still so many things that we need to do to work on and get better. But it was just, it was just great to finally see it come to fruition.”

Miscellaneous Michigan football offensive notes

– This was McCarthy’s fourth game this season with at least 3 touchdowns he was responsible for (Hawaii, at Indiana, Rutgers). His 4 total touchdowns in the game marked a career-high.

– McCarthy is now the first quarterback in Michigan history to start his career 11-0 as a starter (Cade McNamara started the opener gainst Colorado State this year), passing Dennis Franklin‘s 10-0 start in 1972.

– Michigan’s 15-play drive that ended in a Colston Loveland touchdown – the first of his career – took 7:51 off the game clock, making it the second-longest drive of the season. They had a 15-play, 9:26 drive in the 41-17 win over Penn State.

– Cornelius Johnson’s 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter was the longest catch of the year by a Wolverine until his 75-yard touchdown on the next drive. He leads the team with 6 touchdown receptions this season.

– Johnson’s 160 yards receiving marked one of the four highest single-game totals in program history versus Ohio State. Jeremy Gallon (175 yards, 2013), Braylon Edwards (172 yards, 2004) and Marquise Walker (160 yards, 2001) are the only Wolverines to match or surpass it.

– Michigan’s 530 yards of total offense and 45 points were the most OSU has allowed in a game this season.