Jim Harbaugh ordered up a pass on Michigan's first offensive play of the game Saturday against Northern Illinois.
A mind trick?
A Jedi move?
A master troll?
Of course not. Harbaugh liked his passing game versus the NIU defense. That’s all. Though he also liked the way his team threw the ball during practice last week, especially the deep ball.
The pass from Cade McNamara to Daylen Baldwin was completed, by the way. The play went for 14 yards. The crowd cheered, perhaps a bit surprised.
Or simply grateful.
That we are here, three weeks into the season, dissecting the pass game of a team that's steamrolled its opponents, reminds us of how fragile the Michigan fan base can be. In fairness to the fan base, it also reminds of where Harbaugh and his program have been lately.
U-M walloped NIU, 63-10, Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines scored touchdowns on its first nine possessions. True, eight of those were scored on runs. Still, McNamara and J.J. McCarthy combined for 233 yards.
Happy?
No?
Well, you should be, at least a little, for while the Huskies were overmatched in almost every way, it had been a while since U-M played so crisply. Yes, watching McNamara pick apart NIU’s secondary doesn’t reveal as much as we’d like.
But the timing and the route-running and the pocket presence looked better than in the first two games. As for the deep ball to Cornelius Johnson that went for 87 yards and touchdown?
“Threw a perfect pass,” said Harbaugh, who loved his quarterback’s overall comportment Saturday. “I was just really, really happy.”
Again, U-M has much to prove as it enters Big Ten play against Rutgers next week, followed by trips to Wisconsin and Nebraska. Ask almost anyone on the team and they will say as much.
Yet the progression — and potential ascension — isn't just about the passing game. Obviously, McNamara will have to convert high-leverage third downs in order for the Wolverines to beat the better teams on the schedule.
But those high-leverage moments will be a lot more manageable behind this offensive line and in conjunction with the defense. That unit, by the way, held one of the better backs in the country to 34 yards on 12 carries, and closeted Rocky Lombardi all afternoon, the same quarterback who lit up the Wolverines last season for Michigan State.
So, yeah, the defense is looking more promising by week. The offensive line continues to mash and gouge. The receivers show speed, especially Johnson and A.J. Henning, who looked slippery as the punt returner.
It’s relative, of course. Just remember that Michigan hasn’t made these kinds of games seem like a formality, lately.
Also remember the running backs, arguably the most explosive group on the team. They dominated again this week, again led by Blake Corum, who’s also led the team in positive, postgame quotables.
Where is this team headed, he was asked?
“I can’t wait to see,” he said, “... it’s just going to keep building every week.”
Corum has also said his team hadn’t accomplished anything. Football players say that sometimes. Often they don’t mean it. Corum actually does. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes when he speaks.
“A special player,” said Harbaugh, unprompted. “The way he trains during the offseason. It's all out all the time. His endurance, his strength … like a stalker finding ways to get in the weight room. From the day he got here ... (he’s set) a tremendous example.”
Corum is the kind of electric presence in the backfield U-M hasn’t had in years. Just ask McNamara, who’s caught himself watching from behind the play a few too many times instead of following through with the fake.
His coaches had to get on him about that. Corum can be that spectacular.
The Wolverines may have another who runs with similar juice and speed in Donovan Edwards, who ripped off a 58-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, besting Corum’s 51-yard scoring dash.
Not that anyone’s counting. No, the running back room is competitive, but in synch, too. And from one week to the next Corum and Edwards and Hassan Haskins, the nominal starter, all understand they’ll get their moments.
Corum credits Mike Hart for his improved play.
“He's made a tremendous difference on the field and off the field,” he said. “... It's not all about football. He teaches life lessons.”
Trite? Well, if you insist. But I’d look past the cliché and focus on the leap Corum — and the running back room in general — has taken from last season to this one.
Harbaugh was quick to credit all of his coaches when asked about Hart’s influence. The meeting rooms are “humming,” he said.
And that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Not after watching the Wolverines start the season so assuredly and convincingly.
Yes, they haven’t accomplished anything yet. Corum is right. And, yes, in college football, context is everything this time of the year.
If nothing else, we can say that these Wolverines look like they have a plan and that they will throw or run depending on who is in front of them. On Saturday, they showed they can do both.
We’ll see if they can keep it up.
