Michigan Wolverines Stock Report: 3 Players Rising, 3 Falling After Road Win Over Rutgers

Michigan was able to grind out a 28-21 road win over the now 2-6 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It was another ugly game, as that's seemingly the only type of game Michigan is capable of playing. It was a tie game late into the 4th quarter, but Michigan was able to punch it in with just under 5 minutes remaining to take a 7-point lead.

From there, the defense forced a punt and the offense was able to convert a couple of first downs to ice the game. The offense showed progress, but it did come against what's been a horrible Rutgers defense. Let's dive into who played well in this game and who didn't below.

Stock Up: Tommy Carr

Tommy Carr played really well in this one, throwing for 266 yards and rushing for another 54 yards. He had 3 total TDs on the day in a nice bounce-back performance. He did miss a couple of deep shots to Andrew Marsh by under throwing them, but outside of that he played really well.

Overall, he completed 22/27 passes, and most importantly, didn't turn the ball over. He made good decisions and kept the offense on schedule and that's really all you can ask for from a true freshman making his first road start.

Stock Down: Smith Snowden

Smith Snowden has had a very up and down season. At times he looks like an All-Big Ten caliber cornerback, and at times he looks lost. This was a game to forget for him as he had a (questionable) roughing the passer on the first snap from scrimmage on defense. He also got beat for an 80-yard TD pass where he fell down and his man was wide open to run the rest of the way down the field. He also got beat badly at least one other time, making it three rough plays for the upperclassmen.

At some point you have to wonder if Michigan tries to get Shamari Earls some more reps, because he's looked good when he's played this year for Michigan. It should come at the expense of some snaps from Smith Snowden, as he's been easily Michigan's worst cornerback for most of the season.

Stock Up: JJ Buchanan

Michigan Wolverines wide receiver JJ Buchanan makes a catch against Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Kevyn Humes | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Statistically, JJ Buchanan didn't exactly light it up, as he caught 5 passes for 63 yards and 1 TD. But he also drew a couple of pass interference penalties and 'mossed' a couple Rutgers' defensive backs as well. He was so good on the contested catches in this game, and it makes you wonder why Michigan hasn't tried more red zone fades with him this season. He's certainly earned more chances to make plays, and Rutgers couldn't cover him today without interfering.

Stock Down: Nathan Efobi and Brady Norton

Going with a two for one here, as both of Michigan's starting guards were quite bad in this game. They each had multiple missed blocks at the point of attack and were a big reason why Michigan couldn't get the run game going much in the first half.

Michigan, and Jim Harding, the offensive line coach, need to start looking at alternate options if this is the caliber of play these two will be contributing for the rest of this season. They both looked almost unplayably bad at times in this game and Rutgers isn't known for having a good defensive line.

Stock Up: Savion Hiter

Michigan Wolverines running back Savion Hiter reaches for the end zone during the first half against Rutgers — Michigan Wolverines running back Savion Hiter reaches for the end zone during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hiter got a lot more run in this game than he has most of the season, as it looked like Jordan Marshall got banged up in the first half of this game. He played well considering what he had to work with in terms of rushing the ball, as he had 20 carries for 76 yards in this game. He had several nice runs, but his long was only 11 yards. If they can manufacture ways to get Hiter the ball more in space, it could really help this offense. He looks explosive every time he gets even a shred of daylight to run through.

Stock Down: Trey Butkowski

Trey Butkowski came over this off-season as a transfer from Pitt. Last season, he made 20-23 field goals, and in just these last two games he's missed four kicks total.

The misses aren't particularly close either, which makes it that much worse. His confidence looks shattered, and I'm not sure it can be saved at this point. If he misses even one more I wouldn't be surprised to see a change at this position.

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