Turning Point: The importance of a fast start for Michigan’s offense

Michigan’s game against Rutgers wasn’t a nail-biter, it was a whoopin’, a slobber knocking that led to Rutgers head coach Chris Ash getting fired today.

With that said, there still was a turning point in the game against the Scarlet Knights.

The first three games of the season for Michigan did not get off to hot starts on offense. In fact, they were the exact opposite. The first two weeks of the season the first drive on offense ended with a Shea Patterson fumble, and against Wisconsin the drive ended with a Ben Mason fumble.

Slow starts on offense keep bad teams in games, and give good teams the upper hand right out of the gate, and although it was against Rutgers, the Wolverines did in fact start fast on offense.

Michigan’s start was just short of a clinic, mixing pass and run well, and dictating tempo effectively. The first drive for Michigan netted a score after just five plays, with Nico Collins going to the house for a 48-yard touchdown.

The next drive for Michigan provided similar results and the same amount of points scored on a Shea Patterson bootleg run.

From there on out, things kept on churning for Michigan offensively, scoring on 8-of-11 drives, with just one three and out.

The performance from Michigan’s offense is a nice building block going forward, a reminder that this is how they should start a game and carry that early momentum well into the second half.

The expectations for Michigan’s offense before the season were sky high. The aggressive brand of offense was supposed to score at will and have the ability to create breathing room on the scoreboard. While it was just one game against a lowly opponent, how Michigan’s offense played early on is exactly how they should try to play each and every game. Fast starts are important.