Now that you’re in a more cheerful mood and are less concerned about the ultimate takeaways from the season premiere of Harbaugh Mania, let’s talk about Michigan’s on-field performance, which was admittedly not encouraging. Offensively, it was a borderline debacle. Prior to a final, ultimately futile touchdown drive that cut the eventual margin of defeat to seven points, Michigan had managed just 275 yards of total offense, less than it gained in last year’s loss to Utah, when the offense was so bad that fans who had to evacuate Michigan Stadium during a second-half lightning delay didn’t bother to come back once the game resumed. The tailback rotation of De’Veon Smith, Ty Isaac, and Derrick Green combined for 60 yards rushing on 2.6 yards per carry, with a long gain of seven. The new quarterback, Iowa transfer Jake Rudock, was the exact opposite of the safe, plays-within-the-offense caretaker that Michigan fans had been led to believe they were getting — last year, Rudock threw just five interceptions in 345 attempts as a Hawkeye — instead serving up three picks on 43 attempts against the Utes.
