Who’s your QB? Cade McNamara started the game and completed 9/18 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown. It was not a great start. He threw an easy completion into the dirt, had guys drop a couple passes, and had to throw a couple balls away. One play looked like a bad interception initially, until you realized that tight end Erick All fell down coming out of his break; luckily, the pass was ruled incomplete after replayed deemed it hit the ground. Meanwhile, J.J. McCarthy played sporadically, completing 4/4 passes for 30 yards and running 3 times for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t put too much stock in either performance. McNamara started off slowly last year and had a good season. McCarthy’s package against an inferior team is not a large enough sample size to make an overall decision.
Name: J.J. McCarthy Height: 6’3″ Weight: 196 lbs. High school: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy Position: Quarterback Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #9 Last year: I ranked McCarthy #36a and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He completed 34/59 passes for 516 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, while also running 27 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. TTB Rating: 89
Ballyhooed quarterback J.J. McCarthy signed with Michigan in 2021 with sky-high expectations. The 5-star quarterback had a rocket arm, good speed, and an ability to say all the right things that Michigan fans wanted to hear. And if he didn’t already fit in with the Michigan crowd, did I mention he played a lot of hockey growing up?
It didn’t take long for McCarthy to make good on his athletic prowess. In his first game in a Michigan uniform, he scrambled right, looked a little bit lost, and then chucked a deep ball all the way across the field to the left numbers, over a defensive back’s head, and into the waiting arms of speedy Daylen Baldwin, who took it the rest of the way for a 69-yard touchdown. He made several tantalizing plays with his arm and his legs throughout the year.
I had a hard time slotting in McCarthy in this season’s countdown. Some fans want him to start game one. Some insiders think he’ll start by the end of the season. Personally, I wouldn’t rock the boat, considering incumbent starter Cade McNamara went 12-2 last season. But Jim Harbaugh has shown before – when he changed quarterbacks from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco – that he is not afraid to make changes, even when the starter is doing pretty well.
I think McNamara will be the starter week one, and McCarthy will mix in throughout the year. McCarthy certainly brings a different element when it comes to mobility and arm strength, but winning is what matters most. I wouldn’t expect a change in the starter unless McNamara plays very poorly or starts losing games.
Now’s your chance to lambaste me for my idiocy, so you can go check out my season predictions if you want (LINK).
LEADING RUSHER Season prediction: Hassan Haskins, 900 yards Actual: Hassan Haskins, 1327 yards Scoop: I thought Michigan might spread the ball around a little more – and I did not expect Haskins to get 270 carries – but Haskins got a big boost in production when Blake Corum injured his ankle. Haskins notched 27, 31, 20, and 28 carries in the wake of Corum’s injury before the latter returned healthy. The last time any running back topped 270 carries in a season was Mike Hart, who had 318 attempts in 2006.
LEADING RECEIVER Season prediction: Ronnie Bell, 800 yards Actual: Cornelius Johnson, 620 yards Scoop: Bell got hurt in the first game of 2021, tearing his ACL on a punt return. He had 1 catch for a 76-yard touchdown at that point. After a two-year run as Michigan’s leading receiver, it was time for a new king, and that new king was 6’3″, 210 lb. Cornelius Johnson. Johnson made 39 catches for 620 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Georgia LB Nakobe Dean forces a fumble by Michigan RB Blake Corum (image via Zimbio)
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Never underestimate recruiting rankings. I listen to Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman’s podcast pretty regularly, and Mandel made the point that usually in these playoffs, the more talented team wins. Winning as an underdog in the CFP is very, very tough to do. Georgia has one of the top few classes every single year, while Michigan seems to be anywhere from about #8 to #25 on a yearly basis. So when walk-on center Andrew Vastardis gets obliterated by the #22 player in the country (6’5″, 275 lb. Travon Walker) on a pull . . . yeah, that’s what happens. This isn’t Rutgers or Indiana or Northwestern with 250-260 lb. 3-star defensive ends. The bottom line is that Georgia is the more talented team, at almost every position.
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MICHIGAN Michigan has been one of the top rushing teams in the country for the entire season. They currently rank #9 (223.9 yards/game) and are tied for 11th in yards per carry (5.31). They’re also #3 in rushing touchdowns with 39 total, topped only by Army, who have 210 more attempts, and Air Force, who have 233 more. Michigan has also allowed the fewest tackles for loss in the country with 2.08 per game; the two closest teams are Air Force and Wisconsin, who are allowed 3.42 per game. It has truly been a remarkable season for the rushing attack.
Redshirt junior running back Hassan Haskins is #7 in the country in rushing attempts (261), #13 with 1,288 rushing yards, and tied for #3 in rushing touchdowns (20). At 6’1″ and 225 lbs. with the ability to twist, contort, get skinny, and hurdle defensive backs, he’s difficult for one man to bring down. Sophomore Blake Corum is second on the team and still an impressive #54 in rushing yards this season with 939 and tied for #45 in rushing touchdowns with 11. His 6.66 yards per carry are #22 in the country. It’s also important to note backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has 23 carries for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns this year. He has factored more and more into the running game as the season has gone along; over the last three games, he has 8 carries for 54 yards and 1 touchdown. While he won’t put up gaudy numbers, he’s a nice changeup for starting quarterback Cade McNamara, who’s not much of a run threat.
Michigan’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award after being voted the top offensive line in the country. There are no real individual standouts, but they play very well as a unit. Andrew Stueber has been the top player on the line at right tackle, and center Andrew Vastardis has done a very good job this year as a sixth year walk-on.
