The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1412876
24 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2021 BY JOHN BORTON J im Harbaugh said it himself: sometimes teams go the overland, Gen. George Patton route, some- times they take to the skies like Neil Armstrong. For the first fourth of the regular sea- son, the Wolverines paid tribute not only to Patton but gave a 50-year anniver- sary salute to the 1971 Bo Schembechler squad. Those who wanted to see Michi- gan run the ball better clearly got their wish. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis promised it in the weeks leading up to the season: the Wolverines were more committed to effectively rushing the football. They left no doubt about their seriousness in that department, averag- ing an NCAA-best 350.3 yards per game on the ground in the first three contests, led by freshman tailback Blake Corum and redshirt sophomore tailback Hassan Haskins. Asked if that marks a running backs coach's dream scenario, new assistant Mike Hart made sure everyone knows the dream goes well beyond him. "It's the ideal step for this team," Hart said. "It's what we needed. It's good to come out and run the ball. The guys are playing hard, but the O-line is doing a great job. "Last year, we had a lot of guys in and out on the O-line. They know what they want to do. They're big, they're physical, and they do a great job up front." Of course, success in one area always brings about questions in another. The Wolverines threw the football only 49 times in the opening three games, their quarterbacks combining to go 32-of-49 passing (65.3 percent) for 493 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. OVERLAND OVERLAND EXPRESS EXPRESS Michigan Is Making The Earth Rumble With Its Early Ground Game Freshman tailback Blake Corum was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 171 yards and three touchdowns against Washington. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL