Takeaways from Michigan’s win over Bowling Green

The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines improved to 3-0 on Saturday night after defeating the Bowling Green Falcons 31-6. It was a lopsided game and one in which offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore says they walk away from the showing with “a lot to fix”.

Here are the key takeaways from the game.

McCarthy’s turnovers

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was phenomenal Michigan’s first two game, going 48-of-55 for 558 yards with five passing touchdowns. However, against Bowling Green McCarthy looked human after all. McCarthy threw just 13 passes, with three of those being interceptions. In all, McCarthy was 8-of-13 for 143 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

McCarthy has a knack for making many big plays, but he forced a few tonight he surely wishes he had back. McCarthy did make up for the errors with two passing touchdowns to Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, but three interceptions against a better opponent could prevent Michigan from winning. It’s better McCarthy get the turnovers out of his system now in non-conference play. The challenges will get harder from here as Big Ten play begins next week with Rutgers. The best case scenario is McCarthy’s performance becomes a great learning lesson for him.

Kickoff return fumbles

Bowling Green opted for squib kicks and short punts and Michigan’s kick return unit fumbled on two occasions. Tight end Max Bredeson fumbled the ball on a punt return and Bowling Green recovered, leading to a Bowling Green field goal. Edge rusher Braiden McGregor fumbled his return attempt but was able to regain possession.

Bowling Green clearly felt they could exploit a vulnerability, and their strategy looked brilliant with Michigan’s lack of execution. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore said they had a plan for this scenario all week, but they have to go out there and execute the plan.

Black Corum looked in midseason form

Blake Corum’s been fully healed from his knee injury at the end of last season, but as the season wears on Corum is looking as confident and shifty as ever. Corum had some great bruising runs against Bowling Green along with an elite ability to make defenders miss cutting this way and that. On the night, Corum rushed for 101 yards on 12 carries with two rushing touchdowns.

Michigan’s defense generates turnovers of their own.

While Michigan turning the ball over four times wasn’t optimal, the defense came up huge with three turnovers. One interception from Kris Jenkins, another pick from Quentin Johnson, and a forced fumble by Jaylen Harrell.

The best way to pick a quarterback up is to offset the damage of those interceptions is by getting the ball back. Michigan’s defense attacked when they had to and changed the momentum in this game. Michigan’s defense allowed just 205 yards of total offense and had 10 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Michigan’s new lights receive positive buzz

It was Michigan’s first night game with the new LED lights. The lights would turn blue and maize throughout the evening and propelled Michigan Stadium into a more modern direction. Michigan’s lights are now state of the art, as are their new and larger scoreboards. This matters not only for fans, but for recruiting as well. A great gameday experience has a major impact on all. Defensive lineman Kris Jenkins called the atmosphere “insane”.