Takeaways from Michigan Football's 49-16 Dismantling of Rutgers

Michigan ran the poor Rutgers Scarlet Knights off the field in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon by a score of 49-16 to get to 7-2 on the season.

The game never really was in doubt, as Michigan was a missed field goal away from scoring on all six of its possessions of the first half. Rutgers was unable to muster anything consistent offensively and really had no chance in this game without star wideout Leonte Carroo.

On to a few takeaways:

Finally the Passing Game Showed Up

Jake Rudock was excellent today and played easily his best game of the season. He threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-25 attempts. The most impressive part of all of that is the fact that he completed passes to ten players in those completions. Jim Harbaugh has a knack for getting everyone involved, and Rudock executed that perfectly against a defense that had no answers for the Wolverines.

Rudock didn't necessarily take shots down the field and air it out, but he allowed his playmakers to make something happen after the catch. His ability to also diagnose lanes and make plays with his feet continues to be impressive, as he scored a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion on the ground.

Jim Harbaugh is a Madman

Michigan fans, your coach is insane, and that's completely okay.

With a lead of 25 points after a touchdown early in the third quarter, he elected to go for two-points instead of kicking for one. Following the game, he said he was playing percentages and never felt comfortable with the lead where it was.

One of the biggest changes coming into this year was the expectation that Michigan was going to win the games it was supposed to. Not only have they done that, but outside of a nailbiting win at Minnesota, they have blown every team right off the field in workmanlike fashion. The quality of competition has not always been top notch, but it is still impressive to see just how far the team has come.

Lewis' Milestone Cements Perception of Michigan's Secondary

Jourdan Lewis set the record for single-season pass breakups at U-M on Saturday with his 19th of the year, topping the likes of Marlon Jackson and Leon Hall. The Wolverines have been an elite pass defense all season, and Lewis' monster year is one of the major reasons for that.

Rutgers only managed 97 yards through the air today and was without star wide receiver Leonte Carroo. Michigan did what it had to in shutting down the Scarlet Knights.

Overall

Rutgers is a bad, bad football team. Outside of a kick return for a touchdown, they had nothing going in their favor. There's not a whole lot to take from games like this outside of the fact that Michigan beat down a team it should have.

The next two weeks, the Wolverines travel to Indiana and Penn State, which should allow them to end up with nine wins going into the Ohio State games. We will see how the bounce back on the road following a close call against Minnesota.