Takeaways from Michigan’s big win over Hawaii

No. 4 Michigan beat Hawaii 56-10 on Saturday night to improve to 2-0 on the season. Here are takeaways from the game.

J.J. McCarthy was phenomenal

McCarthy absolutely shredded Hawaii under the lights at Michigan Stadium. McCarthy was 11-of-12 for 229 yards with three touchdowns. McCarthy displayed stellar arm strength, quick decision making, and he did most of his damage operating from within the pocket.

Poised and darn near perfect on the day, it would be a surprise if McCarthy isn’t named Michigan’s starting quarterback moving forward. McCarthy did everything his coaches and teammates could have hoped for. He threw great deep balls with authority, he was decisive on quick-hitting patterns, and he killer instinct is evident. McCarthy doesn’t want to game manage, he wants to light up opposing defenses.

McCarthy showed why he was a five-star prospect, showed why he can make Michigan’s offense a lot more dangerous than it’s been. He’s a great runner, but he has all the tools as a thrower to take Michigan’s passing game to new heights.

C.J. Stokes looks like a reliable RB No. 3

Stokes played well against Hawaii, rushing for 61 yards on eight carries with one touchdown. Stokes hit holes well and appears to reach top speed quick and has some razzle dazzle to his game in the open field. Michigan’s offense will continue to run the ball plenty, and adding a productive third running back to the equation in Stokes would make Michigan’s offense all the more better.

McNamara’s performance was less than ideal

Cade McNamara went 4-of-6 for 26 yards with one interception. McNamara didn’t appear to be seeing the field all that well in this one and took a couple hard-hitting sacks. Interestingly enough Michigan re-inserted the starting offensive line for McNamara’s final drive, a drive that ended with a McNamara interception. After McCarthy outperformed McNamara a week ago, the same construct happened again versus Hawaii. While we may have not heard the last of Cade McNamara, there’s no doubt McCarthy has the hot hand.

Final thoughts

Everyone knew that Hawaii was a bad team heading into this game, and Michigan did what they needed to do in this one. The defense shutdown Hawaii for most of the game, the offensive line score d plenty of touchdowns, and Michigan is now 2-0 and might have a dangerous offense and a pretty good defense. It was a positive night for the Wolverines, and we’ll know plenty more about them in the weeks to come.