J.J. McCarthy and the passing game clicked on Saturday vs. Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio. — All season long Michigan was able to impose its will on the ground and run the ball whenever it wanted.
But that didn’t happen on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines had 10 rushing yards on 11 carries in the first half. It didn’t help Michigan’s Heisman-contending running back was only able to run the ball twice before going out of the game. Blake Corum wanted to play against Ohio State, he went out there with a knee brace on, but the maize and blue were without him almost immediately.
To make matters worse, the passing game looked like it might be another dud. J.J. McCarthy started the game 3-for-10 and throws were high and out of reach to the receivers.
But then it all changed.
It took one throw to change the trajectory of the passing attack. With 7:26 left in the first half, Ohio State send an all-out blitz on McCarthy. The five-star quarterback hung in the pocket, released the ball right before he was hit, and sent a 10-yard pass toward Cornelius Johnson. Johnson made his defender miss and the rest was history. Michigan tied the game up at 10 a piece after Johnson ran in a 69-yard touchdown throw.
The very next play Michigan had the ball, McCarthy sent a bomb down the right side of the field toward Johnson. Johnson ran a post route with a double move and McCarthy put the ball right on the money for a 75-yard strike.
Cornelius Johnson caught two scores on Saturday, but he said that was a play Michigan was practicing all year. Johnson had to hold in his celebration though.
“It was one of those plays where we’ve been practicing that like all week all year, honestly,” said Johnson. “And then when I broke him off and then came open I was just hoping he didn’t throw to somebody else yet. And I saw I was wide open, I ran there, I was gonna start taunting but I just stayed down.”
Michigan had momentum going into the locker room at the half, but the Wolverines were trailing 20-17. The maize and blue have been known for their halftime adjustments this season. But shockingly, McCarthy said the Wolverines didn’t scheme anything new up at the half. He said Michigan had a gameplan ready and they never went away from that.
“None,” said McCarthy. “No adjustments. We had a full game plan ready for them. And we just — the message was just we’re the best second team — second-half team in the country. And we prove it every single week. And it was just great to go out there and do it again.”
Michigan had 10 rushing yards in the first half because of a few reasons. No Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards barely ran the ball, and Ohio State was crowding the box. If you put two and two together, Michigan needed to throw the ball. McCarthy admitted it he was excited to sling the rock around a little more than usual.
“A little bit,” said McCarthy. “Yeah. Especially at first when they were just stopping all the runs for like two, three yards a carry, and the safeties were playing so low. So that excited me even more.”
It’s no secret McCarthy has had critics as of late. The sophomore quarterback won the job in Week 2 of the season and he won the job over Cade McNamara, a former Big Ten winning quarterback. The former five-star showed promise early on by being able to hit the deep ball, something Michigan couldn’t do consistently last season. But the deep ball and passing game started to regress during the season. On Saturday, however, McCarthy showed the world why he is the starting quarterback at Michigan. He told the media doubt never crept in.
“I never let it creep there,” McCarthy said. “I was always gonna keep firing. I always had 100% trust in every single one of my guys and myself and just to be able to do it today, It was so special, it was really so special. And there’s still so many things that we need to do to work on and get better. But it was just, it was just great to finally see it come to fruition.”
C.J. Stroud is what many believe, the Heisman front-runner. But on Saturday, McCarthy out-dueled him. Stroud passed for more yardage (349 yards) than McCarthy, but Stroud also threw two interceptions and the Michigan quarterback made plays for his team when needed. Even though the Wolverines gun-slinger outplayed his opponent, he says he doesn’t worry about personal achievements.
“You know, I’m not so worried about the personal achievements,” said McCarthy. “Honestly, I’m just so happy for every one of our guys like I couldn’t do it without the other 10 guys on the field. And it’s just such a great win you know, all that’s gonna come but it was just amazing to get this team win.”
Michigan will play in the Big Ten Championship next weekend.
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Five takeaways: Michigan football defeats Ohio State
