ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan football looks like the dominant team we all expected at the start of the season, but we simply won’t know for sure until more than a month from now.
For the second game in a row, Michigan went on the road against a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team and barely broke a sweat.
Last week, the Wolverines eviscerated Nebraska, scoring touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, leading 28-0 at halftime, and allowing just one garbage time touchdown in a 45-7 win.
Nebraska picked up just 10 first downs and possessed the ball for 22 minutes. Michigan averaged 4.9 yards per carry and rushed for 249 yards against the Cornhuskers’ vaunted run defense.
Saturday was more of the same, as the Wolverines took on Minnesota in a battle for the Little Brown Jug. They might as well have left the trophy in Ann Arbor, because the Golden Gophers didn’t even belong on the same field.
Once again, Michigan put the game out of reach early. Will Johnson returned an interception for a touchdown just 12 seconds in, and by the time the first-half ticked under 10 minutes, the score was already 17-3.
Michigan racked up 432 yards while holding Minnesota to just 169. Other than a 35-yard touchdown pass right before the break, the Wolverines’ defense was nearly perfect.
So Michigan is 6-0, and the closest game was a 24-point victory over Rutgers. Minnesota is the only team to crack double digits against Jesse Minter’s defense.
It doesn’t get much more dominant than that, and all Michigan can do is play the games on its schedule. But everybody knows that East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Minnesota all stink.
And so do the next three opponents: Indiana, Michigan State, and Purdue.
Maybe Michigan will slip up in East Lansing. It wouldn’t be the first time the Spartans upset a much more talented Michigan team. But if not, the Wolverines are going to be 9-0 without a single win over a decent opponent.
So as much as Michigan passes the eye test, the resume is going to lag behind. Way behind.
Everyone is pointing to the Nov. 11 game at Penn State, and that’s exactly when we’ll find out whether Michigan is legit. The Nittany Lions are 5-0 with wins over 4-1 West Virginia and 5-1 Iowa by an average of 27 points.
If Michigan can win at Penn State, then the playoff talk will really ramp up. But until then, we’re probably not going to learn more than what we already know: that Michigan is way better than horrible teams.
The Wolverines spent the last two years bullying the rest of the conference en route to Big Ten titles and playoff appearances. Through the first half of 2023, there’s no reason to believe that trend has changed.
But until a month from now, when Michigan takes the field in Happy Valley, we won’t know for sure.