The success that Cade McNamara had on Saturday night in a triple overtime win at Rutgers was impressive, the Michigan sophomore quarterback looking settled and poised. But his confidence and performance is puzzling since Michigan hasn’t used him much this season.

McNamara replaced incumbent starting quarterback Joe Milton, who was pulled from the game in the second quarter without Michigan having reached the scoreboard.  All McNamara did was go 27-of-36 for 260 yards with four touchdowns in lifting the Wolverines to just their second win of the season.

Before that, McNamara had thrown just seven passes all season. He looked far more accomplished at getting the ball down the field and giving the offense some life.

Milton has completed just 57.2 percent of his passes this season. He has four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Joel Klatt has every right to be confused as to why McNamara has been carrying a clipboard much of the season. McNamara is a former four-star recruit and ranked the seventh best pro-style quarterback in the nation according to 247Sports.

Michigan’s offense has struggled all year, a major reason why they’ve lost their last three games. But with McNamara under center, there is hope that they can turn things around.

Michigan faces a rather favorable slate of games in the next couple of weeks. There is 0-5 Penn State this weekend followed by a 2-1 Maryland team that cancelled their game this past weekend due to COVID-19.

While they do close the season against No. 3 Ohio State, there is a bit of momentum after beating a tough Rutgers team.  With the life that the offense showed on Saturday night with McNamara, they could roll off a couple of wins the next few weeks.

A bowl game suddenly isn’t out of the question.