ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was back in the summer, late-July, when Aidan Hutchinson told us how he really felt about Michigan’s disastrous 2020 season.
We were at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis and Michigan’s star defensive end was sitting on top of a podium, isolated, and tasked with answering questions from the media for 60 minutes. Hutchinson had already answered questions about the new coaching staff — highlighted by the hire of new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, a 34-year-old former NFL assistant — and culture changes. He raved about both, insinuating that success on defense is more than just about Xs and Os.
“That’s just not the case,” Hutchinson said. “It all starts with a good foundation and a good culture, and guys being invested in the program.”
If there was anyone more invested in Michigan than Hutchinson, good luck finding them. The Plymouth, Mich., native elected to return to the Wolverines for one more season, to help get the program on track. But it was that Thursday afternoon when I asked about the turning point last season, the point where things *really* went off the tracks.
“We played decent against Minnesota,” Hutchinson recalled. “I still can’t believe we lost that Michigan State game. It still haunts me. I’ve watched that film probably 20 times — and I almost want to throw up watching it, if I’m being honest with you. They exposed some of the holes in our defense — and that’s just the truth of it. That’s how it went.”
By now, that the number of times Hutchinson’s watched that game — a 27-24 loss for the Wolverines, who entered the late-October game in Ann Arbor as three-touchdown favorites — has probably risen north of two dozen. All the while, Michigan is 7-0 for the first time since 2016 and appears to have its defense back on track.
The unit ranks first in the Big Ten and second nationally in points allowed (14.6 per game) and second in the conference in yards given up (298), returning it to levels Don Brown had it at pre-2020. Macdonald’s scheme — that one relies less on blitzing and more about keeping the ball in front of them — is working. It’s kept opposing offenses off-balanced and guessing, while Michigan’s defenders are playing more confidently than they did a season ago.
More: Michigan an early betting favorite for showdown vs. Michigan State
And while it hasn’t been perfect, guys like Hutchinson have showed up to make big plays at key times. Count linebacker David Ojabo as one of those difference makers, an emerging cog in Macdonald’s guessing game of alignments with five sacks and two forced fumbles.
“It’s just a testament to our trust in each other, man,” linebacker David Ojabo said Saturday after Michigan’s 33-7 win over Northwestern. “As we went into the locker room (on Saturday), we didn’t flinch. We got each other’s back — both offense and defense. We’re playing complementary football out there and it’s working for us.”
Seven games into the 2021 season, Michigan owns an unblemished 7-0 record, its best start since 2016, and has risen all the way up to No. 6 in the college football rankings. A seismic change to Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff in the offseason has paid dividends so far, ushering in a new culture with fresh ideas, a more player-friendly approach and an offensive philosophy that harkens back to 1990s Michigan football.
While the Wolverines’ offense hasn’t been game-changing, the group continues to score first, limit the turnovers (they four, tied for second-fewest in the country) and move the football. But a showdown with No. 8 Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing (noon, FOX) begins a stretch of games for Michigan that will make or break the season. While the Wolverines are unbeaten, they have beaten up on an pair of Mid-American Conference schools, a struggling Washington team and a group of Big Ten schools that largely populate the bottom half of the Big Ten standings.
The combined record of Michigan’s first seven opponents is 27-25, propped up by winning records from Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, a sign of an easier-than-expected schedule thus far.
“I just thought our guys did another great job of just focusing on the next game,” Harbaugh said on Saturday. “You have to do that. You have to practice it, and you have to do it: Keeping your focus on the game in front of you, lest the team will be painfully humbled.
“I thought our team did a great job of that. And now, we’ll start that process of preparation for the next opponent.”
More: Michigan’s passing game conundrum: Will it work against better competition?
Contrast Michigan’s previous group of opponents with what lies ahead: Michigan State on Saturday, Indiana a week after that (Nov. 6), a ranked-but-trending-down Penn State team (Nov. 13), Maryland on the road (Nov. 20) and a surging Ohio State program that’s had its way with Michigan over the last decade. The combined record of those five opponents currently sits at 24-11, and three of them are ranked.
Whatever Michigan thought of its competition during the first half of the season will need to be ratcheted up over the next five weeks, a gauntlet that will determine whether the Wolverines are Big Ten contenders or simply the best of the rest.
All the while, all eyes will be on Michigan’s offense — a unit that includes one of the nation’s most prolific rushing attacks in Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins, and a passing offense that’s left plenty of meat on the bone through seven games. While Corum and Haskins rank near the top of the Big Ten in rushing (Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III leads the way), quarterback Cade McNamara is in the bottom half of the conference in passing yards and efficiency metrics. Michigan has leaned on him for short and intermediate passing plays, but largely avoided taking many deep shots. The offense has completed just 17 passing plays of 20 yards or more this season, a stark contrast from the “speed in space” philosophy offensive coordinator Josh Gattis introduced in 2019.
To McNamara’s defense, he lost his best and most experienced receiver, Ronnie Bell, to a season-ending knee injury in Week 1. Michigan’s had to make do ever since, leaning on different receivers in games to help pick up the slack. But no one’s developed into a reliable, deep-ball threat, forcing the coaching staff (and McNamara) to pick and choose their spots down field. As a result, Michigan’s had to settle for short and intermediate throws. It’s worked thus far, with the Wolverines unbeaten and ranked in the top 10 with an offense that ranks 35th in the country in total yards despite ranking 13th in time of possession.
“I think whatever’s working, we should stick with it,” McNamara, who was 20 of 27 for 129 yards against Northwestern, said Saturday.
So far, that’s been the approach the Michigan coaching staff has taken. Ride what works until somebody else stops it, and when they eventually do expand to give opponents something else to think about. We’ve seen it with the slow, methodical introduction of the passing game and J.J. McCarthy into the running game, but there’s a growing belief that more will be required to navigate the meatier part of the schedule.
How much, and whether Michigan’s coaching staff agrees, remains to be seen. But there’s no doubt that Jim Harbaugh’s team is back on track after player opt-outs, injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic plagued a disappointing 2020. Which brings us to the over-arching question at this point.
How good is this Michigan football team, really? Has Harbaugh found the magic sauce -- a combination of buy-in from experienced players and hungry, up-and-coming talent and new assistants with a varying approach -- to get his team over the hump and into the Big Ten title game? Or will this be another let-down season for Michigan fans?
We won’t get answers to either question on Saturday, but consider it the first clue. Michigan might be 7-0, but the hard work is only getting started. Michigan State will be ready, prepared and is riding just as high as Michigan, setting the stage for what should be an energized environment.
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How good is Michigan football? Saturday’s game vs. MSU will offer a clue - MLive.com
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