PFF snap counts and grades following Michigan football’s win over Bowling Green

Saturday night delivered a dose the likes of which many may not have been expecting, as Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler and his team did everything they could to make things hard on the Michigan Wolverines early.

A pesky Falcon offense — coupled with quite a few turnovers — allowed this one to be annoyingly close for a little while, but interim head coach Sherrone Moore eventually found success via the run game and good old-fashioned smash-mouth football.

Now to the surprise of absolutely no one, a mere 25-point victory over Bowling Green has had everyone reading between the lines all weekend, so today we’ll be taking a look at the most recent data from PFF to help dissect Saturday night’s performance.

Offense

Zak Zinter - 41 / 72.4

Trevor Keegan - 41 / 66.4

Karsen Barnhart - 41 / 64.8

Drake Nugent - 41 - 73.2

J.J. McCarthy - 39 / 42.3

Cornelius Johnson - 37 / 82.7

Roman Wilson - 33 / 74.0

Myles Hinton - 28 / 76.0

AJ Barner - 28 / 69.8

Colston Loveland - 24 / 77.1

Blake Corum - 24 / 87.3

Donovan Edwards - 20 / 59.9

LaDarius Henderson - 17 / 72.1

Max Bredeson - 13 / 83.7

Tyler Morris - 10 / 54.9

Trente Jones - 8 / 55.1

Cristian Dixon - 7 / 60.5

Karmello English - 6 / 60.3

Jayden Denegal - 4 / 60.0

Giovanni El-Hadi - 4 / 57.1

Greg Crippen - 4 / 60.0

Matthew Hibner - 4/ 47.7

Semaj Morgan - 3 / 67.1

Andrew Gentry - 3 / 53.8

Kalel Mullings - 3 / 60.0

Cole Cabana - 2 / 64.6

Marlin Klein - 2 / 59.6

Alex Orji - 2 / 61.7

Leon Franklin - 2 / 60.0

Fredrick Moore - 1 / 60.0

Noah Howes - 1 / 60.0

Jeffrey Persi - 1 / 60.0

Josh Beetham - 1 / 60.0

Initial Reaction: Michigan’s offensive depth chart remains clear through three games, with skill players such as Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Colston Loveland, AJ Barner, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards all receiving the lion's share of reps, as expected. The offensive line rotation appears set for now after yet another week of Zinter, Keegan, Barnhart, Nugent and Hinton. The five have out-snapped the majority of all teammates through three weeks as they continue their goal of becoming a cohesive unit.

Additionally, PFF’s scoring aggregate thinks somewhat highly of this lineup, with the lowest score of the bunch belonging to Karsen Barnhart, at a still-impressive 64.8. Drake Nugent continues to pass the eye test as well, as the center once again finished among the highest on the O-line with an offensive player grade of 73.2.

Surprises: Let’s just get this out of the way — J.J. McCarthy was not great. His PFF numbers themselves will come as no surprise after going 8-of-12 for 143 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He finished with an abysmal PFF rating of 42.3, which is perhaps the biggest shock after leading the entire team in Week 2’s spectacular showing against UNLV.

A good surprise was seeing Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards both finish with 24 and 20 snaps, respectively. We saw Sherrone Moore implement the most combined looks featuring both backs we have seen so far, and it paid off.

Semaj Morgan also continues to be a young player who is doing everything right when his number is called, and PFF is inclined to agree, rating him as one of the offense’s highest after logging a four-yard rush on three snaps. The true freshman was also a standout in Week 2 against UNLV, catching a 35-yard bomb from Jayden Denegal, while also notching a 28-yard kick return.

Defense

Keon Sabb - 45 / 76.8

Josh Wallace - 45 / 75.9

Junior Colson - 44 / 74.7

Mike Sainristil - 41 / 69.7

Makari Paige - 39 / 62.3

Mason Graham - 28 / 77.6

Jaylen Harrell - 28 / 90.5

Kechaun Harris - 28/ 63.7

Michael Barrett - 28 / 64.3

Derrick Moore - 27 / 81.3

Kris Jenkins - 26 / 84.6

Rayshaun Benny - 25 / 69.8

Ernest Hausmann - 24 / 58.0

Braiden McGregor - 23 / 67.2

Josaiah Stewart - 20 / 78.4

Kenneth Grant - 19 / 71.9

Cam Goode - 17 / 80.0

Jyaire Hill - 16 / 51.1

Quinten Johnson - 14 / 91.0

DJ Waller Jr. - 13 / 63.4

Jaydon Hood - 11 / 65.3

Brandyn Hillman - 9 / 64.4

Micah Pollard - 9 / 59.8

Kody Jones - 9 / 49.4

TJ Guy - 9 / 56.8

Caden Kolesar - 9 / 54.3

Trey Pierce - 7 / 77.5

Cameron Calhoun - 7 / 62.3

Myles Pollard - 7 / 73.9

Kechaun Bennett - 5 / 74.7

Enow Etta - 4 / 38.2

Reece Atteberry - 2 / 49.5

Initial Reaction: This game was a masterclass by Jaylen Harrell and Kris Jenkins. Jenkins’ 84.6 defensive player rating, as well as Harrell’s 90.5, were the highest of any Michigan defender who played more than 15 snaps on Saturday. The Wolverines may have a few things to figure out on offense and special teams, but plays such as Harrell’s sack and forced fumble, coupled with Jenkin’s interception, are the types of things done by elite defenses.

Surprises: Most surprising is the sustained success we’ve seen from several members of a Michigan secondary that no one saw coming. While we did see the triumphant return of Makari Paige this week, guys like Keon Sabb, Quinten Johnson, Kechaun Harris, Josh Wallace, Jyaire Hill, DJ Waller Jr., Myles Pollard and others all continue to do spectacular jobs of keeping veteran Rod Moore and Will Johnson’s spots warm during injury. The group continues to account for some of the highest snap counts on the defense through three weeks and has been meticulous in coverage, with Quinten Johnson scoring among the highest on the defense this week with a 91.0 defensive player rating.