Michigan got the first of many signature wins that it wants this year, drilling Wisconsin 38-13 Saturday night under the lights in the Big House. It was a huge win over a very good Wisconsin team that had — like Michigan — playoff aspirations at the start of the season.

Michigan is 6-1 now and 4-0 in the conference heading into Saturday’s big showdown with in-state rival Michigan State.

Here’s what I liked about Michigan’s win over Wisconsin, and what I didn’t … ummm … like:

What I liked

Beleaguered offensive line rounding into shape

Michigan’s offensive line has been criticized for several years, but they’ve finally turned a corner. They keep getting better and better every game, and they deserve a lot of credit for the Wolverines rushing for 320 yards against Wisconsin. No one does that to Wisconsin’s vaunted defense.

“We’ve been in those big games (before) and I’ve personally seen us not be able to finish them,” Michigan junior guard Ben Bredeson said. “That was a big focus for us this offseason. Change the culture in the offensive line room. We were going to finish games. If we needed a first down to win one or a touchdown to win one, we were going to be able to deliver.”

We’ll see if this can continue. Michigan State is up next on Saturday in East Lansing, and they have the No. 1 rushing defense in the country.

Defense made Hornibrook look silly

Michigan’s defense, No. 1 in the country itself in total defense, totally embarrassed Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook Saturday night. It was a total team effort. Michigan’s corners had receivers locked down all night and there was enough of a pass rush to keep the veteran QB on his heels. He was inaccurate all because he was hurried, and he made a lot of poor decisions.

“Our defensive line did a great job putting pressure on Hornibrook, making the throws go all over the place, so I feel like we did a great job there,” Michigan safety Josh Metellus said.  “They’re not a real big passing team, so it’s not a lot that they do on passing downs. We just watched film throughout the week, expected the routes that we knew that would come in certain situations, and I just felt like we did a great job playing those certain routes.”

Shea Patterson continues to make great decisions

It’s so nice to see a smart, veteran quarterback lead this Michigan offense. Shea Patterson has been everything Michigan fans hoped he would be. He didn’t throw for a lot Saturday, but he didn’t really have to, either. He was just 14 of 21 for 124 yards passing, but he also rushed for 90 yards — including an 81-yarder when Wisconsin’s defense got completely fooled. He just keeps making good decisions every weekend, which is a wonderful change of pace from the past few years.

What I didn’t like

Absolutely nothing. See you next week. Great job, guys.