Michigan Football Now 6-0 After Throttling Minnesota, 52-10

Michigan moves to 6-0 after routing Minnesota in their own house.

Once again, Michigan had its way with its opponent. The Wolverines rolled over Minnesota in Minneapolis to the tune of 52-10 to improve to 6-0 on the year. JJ McCarthy was again very sharp through the air and even more effective, at least as a touchdown scorer, as a runner, while Jesse Minter's defense kept the Gophers at bay and put points on the board all day long. In another dominant win, the positives far outweigh the negatives, so that's what we'll focus on.

Three Up

JJ McCarthy's play

Once again, McCarthy was lethal. He was razor sharp through the air and as a runner against the Gophers. The junior finished 14-of-20 for 219 yards and a 24-yard score to Colston Loveland — his first TD catch of the year. On the ground, McCarthy only ran it four times, but he picked up 17 yards and scored on two of them. He also kept his jersey clean by getting out of bounds on one of the non-touchdown runs. Overall, he was extremely efficient and led Michigan on five scoring drives, four of which were touchdowns, in less than three quarters of action. 

The defense

Once again, Michigan's defense was just a play or two from being close to perfect. And how about two pick sixes? Sophomore cornerback Will Johnson got Michigan's scoring started with an interception return just 12 seconds into the game and then it was redshirt freshman safety Keon Sabb who picked off Athan Kaliakmanis and took it back 28 yards for a score with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Mason Graham and Josaiah Stewart both recorded sacks and the rest of the defense seemed to be in lockstep until the final horn. Yes, Mr. Perfect, Mikey Sainristil, did give up a long touchdown pass right before halftime, but you could argue that Sabb was late coming over and also that Kaliakmanis and wide receiver Daniel Jackson both just made incredible plays on the score. However you break it all down, Michigan's defense was on point.

Karsen Barnhart's hustle

After breaking down two pretty big concepts in McCarthy's play and the defense as an entire unit, I decided to focus on one play that sort of epitomizes Michigan's roster and season now that we're at the halfway point. 

Early in the second quarter, Blake Corum broke off a 40-yard run, but it would've been much shorter had it not been for 6-5, 316-pound Karsen Barnhart blocking for Corum all the way down the field. 

This play is what Michigan is all about this year. Barnhart had been playing left tackle, but recently moved over to the right side in order to get LaDarius Henderson into the lineup. Not only did Barnhart accept the move, he's thriving, hustling and making plays that will stand out on film. Jim Harbaugh and his coaches, along with the entire roster, consistently talk about how special this team is when it comes to the togetherness and unselfishness. Barnhart's play is a perfect example of that and explains how the Wolverines are getting better and better as the season rolls on.