Michigan football, after dominating NIU, must prepare for ball-hawking Rutgers defense

Free Press sports writer Michael Cohen shares what he learned in Michigan football's 63-10 win over Northern Illinois and looks ahead to the Wolverines' game against Rutgers on Saturday:

Next up

Matchup: No. 19 Michigan (3-0) vs. Rutgers (3-0).

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

TV/radio: ABC; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050).

Line: Wolverines by 18½.

RANKINGS: Michigan moves up to No. 19 in latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Know the foe

With coach Greg Schiano at the helm, the Scarlet Knights are 3-0 for the first time since 2012. Schiano is in his second stint as head coach at Rutgers. He manned the sideline in New Jersey from 2001-11 before accepting a head coaching position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later spending three seasons as an assistant at Ohio State. The administration is hoping Schiano can channel some of the magic he worked before when the Scarlet Knights won seven or more games six times in seven seasons from 2005-11, highlighted by an 11-win campaign and a bowl victory over Texas in 2006. Schiano won multiple coach of the year honors that season.

His team rolled to a 61-14 win over Temple in the season opener on the strength of 220 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Like U-M, the Scarlet Knights faced their toughest test in Week 2 with a road game at Syracuse. Rutgers forced three turnovers in a 17-7 victory and held the Orange to 265 yards of total offense. The Scarlet Knights returned home for a blowout win over Delaware, 45-13, in which they scored four touchdowns on plays of 20 yards or more, including a 62-yard punt return.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Harbaugh passes a little more in blowout; Michigan's progress hard to ignore

Three things we learned

Cornelius Johnson can stretch the field: The season-ending injury to No. 1 wide receiver Ronnie Bell left Michigan with a void on the perimeter. Aside from Johnson and Daylen Baldwin, who transferred to Ann Arbor this summer and has been working through an ankle injury, the Wolverines lack any veteran players with size on the perimeter. Someone needed to step forward to give quarterback Cade McNamara a vertical threat down the field. Johnson answered the call Saturday with an 87-yard touchdown on a beautiful double move. In one play, Johnson flashed the route running and breakaway speed needed to stress opponents. Putting something like that on film will encourage defensive coordinators to think twice before stacking the box with safeties on a regular basis.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Jim Harbaugh passes a little more in blowout; Michigan football's progress hard to ignore

The U-M pass rush is feared: That might seem puzzling following a game in which the Wolverines had zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and only three tackles for loss. Instead, the advanced metrics tell the story. A year ago, then-Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi toasted the U-M secondary with deep ball after deep ball. Lombardi’s average time to throw on all drop backs was 2.53 seconds on an afternoon when Michigan hit him only twice, according to Pro Football Focus. This year, Lombardi’s average time to throw was just 2.2 seconds as the Huskies made a concerted effort to run the quick game to combat the Michigan rush. In his two previous games this season, Lombardi’s average time to throw was 2.35 seconds against Wyoming and 2.61 seconds against Georgia Tech.

Erick All can stretch the field: Prior to Saturday’s game, tight end Erick All had caught three passes for 23 yards, 18 of which were yards after the catch. His average depth of target through two games was 1.8 yards, according to PFF, which placed All in the dregs of college football in terms of vertical impact. That perception changed against NIU when All ran vertically up the middle of the field to make a leaping catch from McNamara for 23 yards. The depth of target on that play was 21 yards — a world of difference from anything All had done in the first two weeks. The catch drew significant admiration from coach Jim Harbaugh during his postgame news conference. Plays like that can change the dynamic of a passing attack.

THE PASSING GAME: Michigan, desperate to boost passing game, must get more from its tight ends

Michael Cohen's three things to watch

The Scarlet Knights force turnovers: After his team’s win over Delaware, Schiano praised his offense for protecting the football through the first three weeks of the season — not a single fumble lost, nary an interception thrown. Tremendous ball security on offense coupled with an aggressive defense has given Rutgers the best turnover margin in the country, plus-8, thanks to five fumbles recovered and three interceptions. “I think it's a serious commitment and buy-in by our players to what we stress,” Schiano said over the weekend. “We believe very deeply that the ball is the program.” Cornerback Max Melton leads Rutgers with two interceptions and one fumble recovered this season.

BIG TEN MISERY INDEX: Another team has beef with Notre Dame

Rutgers plays clean football: During his postgame news conference on Saturday, Schiano was asked to look ahead to Michigan. He mentioned the growth of his program over the last two years since his return to Rutgers but noted that the Scarlet Knights aren’t yet good enough to win games while playing sloppy. Schiano and his staff place a significant emphasis on avoiding penalties, and so far this season it’s showed: Navy and Louisiana-Monroe are the only teams that have committed fewer penalties than Rutgers through the first three weeks. The Wolverines have committed 16 penalties for nearly double the yardage. “We can't overcome when we make those kind of mistakes, not yet,” Schiano said. “Sometimes you can when you're really, really talented and really, really primed and it's the same guys and you've had them forever. You know what, that's when you almost (you say) what's the big deal, we'll make it up. That's not us right now.”

MORE FROM COHEN: How Michigan unveiled the perfect blueprint for Cade McNamara's success

Wolverines dominate the all-time series: As a newer member of the Big Ten, Rutgers is still in the early stages of its rivalry with Michigan. The schools have met seven times dating to 2014, with the Wolverines winning six. The Scarlet Knights won the opener, 26-24, in what proved to be Brady Hoke’s last game as U-M coach. And since then it’s been all Michigan, headlined by a 78-0 annihilation in 2016. This week, the Wolverines moved up from No. 25 to No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. That bodes well for U-M: Michigan is 4-0 against Rutgers in games when the Wolverines are ranked and the Scarlet Knights aren’t.

Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football, after dominating NIU, now gets Rutgers' defense