The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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22 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2020 who was averaging 7.9 yards per carry heading into the Wisconsin game, where he received only one carry and gained six yards. Haskins had notched a team-high 163 yards and three scores on 21 car- ries (7.8 per rush) and Charbonnet 98 yards and a score on 13 attempts (7.5- yard clip), though both had big runs to bolster their averages — Haskins a 66-yarder at Minnesota and Char- bonnet a 70-yarder for a score in the same game. Neither of the other backs, fifth- year senior Chris Evans (3.1 yards per carry, one TD) or freshman Blake Corum (2.2, two scores), had done much between the tackles, and the line play certainly played a part. The Wolverines entered the year al- ready having to replace four starters up front … then both tackles, redshirt sophomores Ryan Hayes and Jalen Mayfield, went down during the Michigan State game, and U-M man- aged only 13 and 47 rushing yards, respectively, the following two weeks in losses to Indiana and Wisconsin. "We have to go back and look at every fundamental possibility and address it," Harbaugh said of his team's problems after the Wiscon- sin game. "So you look at what are we doing schematically. It can only be those three things: schematically, who's doing it … what you're doing, how you're doing it. "We've got to look at all those things right now. Right now, I'd say all three need to be addressed." The Wolverines put an emphasis on explosive running plays in the offsea- son but were tied for 103rd nationally with only 12 carries for 10-plus yards through four games. To be fair, several schools had played more games; at the same time, a number in front of Michigan on this list had also played less. Only three teams had played in at least four contests and posted fewer double-digit-yard rushes than U-M. Offensive Line Grade: D+ The line played well in the opener at Minnesota, one of the pleasant surprises of the first week, but was brought back to reality a week later. Michigan State won the battle in the trenches despite being outmanned, confused U-M's front with its 'A' gap blitzes and, eventually, knocked tack- les Mayfield and Hayes out for a few weeks with injuries. That created a tough situation for line coach Ed Warinner, who was ba- sically down to first-year starters at all five positions, including a true freshman in Zak Zinter at right guard and a redshirt freshman in left tackle Karsen Barnhart. The result — inconsistency, as any- one might expect. The Wolverines couldn't move the ball on the ground the next several weeks after the car- ousel of blockers continued up front. Only fifth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis, a former walk-on, and red- shirt junior left guard Chuck Filiaga were still playing at the positions in which they started the season, with redshirt junior right guard Andrew Stueber bumping out to right tackle after Mayfield's injury. The Wolverines' front had pro- tected relatively well, however, al- lowing only 1.5 sacks per game through four contests, tied for 32nd nationally. ❑ True freshman offensive lineman Zak Zinter (above) was forced into the starting lineup at right guard after redshirt sophomore tack- les Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes both went down with injuries. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Michigan's offense looked like it was on pace for a huge season, even in a projected building year, when it scored 49 points in the season-opening win over nationally ranked Minnesota. The Wolverines were balanced and confident behind first-year starting signal-caller Joe Milton and moved the ball at will. Three games later, it was obvious there was still a lot of work to do. There had been a number of solid plays in the passing game, including 50 plays over 10 yards and 20 over 20 — for comparison's sake, the nation's best through eight games in these categories, BYU/Clemson (tied) and UCF, had 109 and 47, respectively, in eight (BYU and Clemson) and seven contests (UCF) — but not great scoring results. U-M's 26.3 points per game ranked 83rd nationally, one spot behind perennial Big Ten doormat Rutgers (26.5). "The challenge for our guys on offense is we've got a lot of inexperienced players," offensive coordinator Josh Gattis told WXYT-FM's 'Stoney and Jansen' show following a 27-24 loss to Michigan State Oct. 31. "We have a lot of first-time players. They have got to be able to handle success and prepare in three or four days for their next opponent in a normal game week." It was back to the drawing board after the Wolverines managed only 11 points in a 49-11 loss to Wisconsin, the only touchdown generated by redshirt freshman backup quarterback Cade McNamara. In short, despite a decent amount of explosive plays, the Wolverines weren't putting drives together consistently to capitalize. They ranked 104th nationally through their four games with 18.3 first downs per contest, and their third- down success rate of 37.0 percent came in 84th. They were also struggling in the red zone, tying for 94th nationally (out of 126 teams) with a 76.9 scoring percent- age. Gattis knows it isn't good enough. His group's total of- fense output of 377.3 yards per game through four con- tests ranked 80th nationally, and while Milton's 241.8 pass- ing yards per contest were a respectable 40th they were still looking for ways to turn yardage into points. "That's my job as coordinator, to make sure that we're getting the very best out of our young men, and we're de- manding the very best," Gattis said. "I have to do the best job of putting them in positions to be successful." — Chris Balas Wolverines Lacking Consistency On Offense Through Four Games