At some point, Michigan has to stop playing it safe at QB
You know the saying, “A win is a win.”
And that much is certainly true for No. 9 Michigan, especially in front of a hostile crowd at Nebraska.
But doesn’t it feel like Michigan is playing to its ceiling, at least offensively. That was evident in the 32-29 victory over the Huskers on Saturday night in which the No. 9 Wolverines (6-0) gladly took the victory that Adrian Martinez and Nebraska handed them.
Cade McNamara hasn’t played poorly by any means. Anytime you’re talking about a QB throwing his first INT in the 6th game of the season, he’s doing something right. He’s been an excellent bridge between Joe Milton and JJ McCarthy, going 6-0 as the starter. He’s been critical to the Wolverines cleaning up the mistakes that plagued them during last year’s 2-4 season (which would’ve been 1-5 if McNamara hadn’t rescued Michigan from 17 down at Rutgers). His leadership skills are obvious.
But the time will come where if the Wolverines want to win big, they have to get more from their QB than simply being a game manager. And you know what that means: McCarthy time.
Just an ABSURD throw from Michigan's JJ McCarthy. Wow.
(via @BigTenNetwork)pic.twitter.com/FgcstP8N8Y
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 4, 2021
Yes, even though Michigan is undefeated halfway through the season, the Wolverines have to use the true freshman much, much more. Eventually, the former 5-star recruit has to start. I’m not sure if that means next week at home against Northwestern, but I think he should get an extended look to see what he can do. As it stands, he has had enough time to get up to speed, and Jim Harbaugh clearly trusts him, because he’ll randomly appear in the middle of a drive to run the read-option. And he is pretty good at it, too.
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It’s evident already that McCarthy has more touch on his deep ball than McNamara, who missed a wide open Daylen Baldwin for a TD in the fourth quarter and almost overthrew Mike Sainristil on a 48-yard completion that should’ve been a walk-in TD. Michigan wound up settling for a field goal.
MIKE SAINRISTIL CATCH OF THE DAY✅#CFB
pic.twitter.com/QUdxBC6T1X— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 10, 2021
Contrast that with this from last week’s win at Wisconsin:
JJ MCCARTHY. ABSOLUTE DIME 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3f3sgLVhPM
— Michigan Moments (@UofMMoments) October 2, 2021
McNamara plays it safe, which is why it’s taken him this long to throw an INT. His mindset is that it’s either going to be his guy or no one catching that ball. That sounds good in theory, but a lot of times, he is scared to give his guy a chance to make a play on the ball. That’s why he never risks under throwing it. Michigan attempted fewer than 20 passes in 4 games this season, with the only teams having done it in 5 games being Air Force and Army. That tells you something about Michigan’s offensive philosophy.
With the game on the line, Michigan marched down the field on the back of its running game. Of Michigan’s 19 offensive plays in the fourth quarter, all of which were with the Wolverines either trailing or in a tie game, 13 were run plays. McNamara is a guy who manages the game, not the one who goes out and wins it for you.
And if that’s what Michigan wants, that’s perfectly fine. It’s well documented how great the run game is, and the defense has been terrific, too. But McCarthy can hand the ball off, too, and he can also mix in a few big plays with his arm that McNamara is incapable of executing. McCarthy has only attempted 13 passes, but he has 9 completions with 2 TDs and 178 yards.
You may be thinking, this is an undefeated team, so if it isn’t broke, why fix it? The thing, though, is that it is broke. This offense as currently constructed is not keeping up with Ohio State. Not even close. I’m not sure it can keep up with Michigan State.
On Saturday, Michigan was very fortunate to get a phantom pass interference call late in the first half to set up a TD, and it was fortunate that Martinez fumbled with less than 3 minutes left in field goal range. But how long can they afford to rely on those breaks?
I think Harbaugh has managed this situation well. McNamara absolutely should’ve been the starter to open the season, given how strongly he finished last year and how the team is winning. But it’s also important to look beyond the results and give an honest assessment of how much better the team would be if it was converting some of these big-play opportunities.
The plan should be for McCarthy to get some extended playing time in a low-stakes game against Northwestern so you know if you need to turn to him against Michigan State to win that game. The Spartans, if you haven’t seen, are going to put up some points.
McNamara has handled this situation with a ton of class, as what starter likes having a freshman come in and randomly steal snaps? The hope is that he would handle a semi-demotion just as well.
If Spencer Rattler, the preseason Heisman favorite, can get benched despite an undefeated season, so too can McNamara. I’m not even calling for that — I just want to really see what McCarthy can do and by how much that raises Michigan’s ceiling.