3 biggest surprises from Michigan football vs. UNLV Rebels

Yesterday, Michigan football vs. UNLV Rebels kicked off at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, officially marking the second weekend of the 2023 college football season for the Maize and Blue. All said and done, the Wolverines took home a 35-7 victory over the Rebels, though not without a few surprises throughout the game. From JJ McCarthy going off for the second weekend in a row to Donovan Edwards playing another quiet game, here are our top three surprises from yesterday’s matchup.

3 Big surprises from Michigan football vs. UNLV Rebels

1 — Another quiet game from Donovan Edwards

Last weekend, against East Carolina, running back Donovan Edwards had an underwhelming game. He got plenty of touches, yet only put up 70 total yards, including some very average rushing stats. This weekend, it seemed as though Blake Corum got things going, yet Edwards remained quiet.

All said and done, Donovan Edwards ran the ball 6 times for 9 yards. He also caught 5 passes for 26 yards. Next weekend, against Bowling Green, expect Donovan Edwards to start looking to get things back on track after a quiet start to the season.

2 — JJ McCarthy has another monster game

With offensive line coach Sherrone Moore back on the sideline, it was expected that Michigan football might go back to running the football more against the UNLV Rebels. That said, with the rushing attack having another quiet outing, Michigan went right back to its junior sensation at quarterback, JJ McCarthy, who put up monster numbers en route to a Michigan victory.

By game’s end, JJ McCarthy posted some impressive numbers  — 22 completions on 25 attempts for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had a passer rating of 207.8 and posed 38 rushing yards, marking his second-straight incredible performance of the season.

If JJ can keep this level of play up throughout the season, the Wolverines are in great shape to make a push for another Big Ten title and more.

3 — The defensive line was noisy

Last weekend, a major storyline that stood out was that the Michigan football defensive line was underperforming — the Wolverines did not record a single sack until Week 2. That said, yesterday’s game against UNLV changed quite a bit for Jesse Minter’s defense, which was incredible for the second weekend in a row, even once the starters came out of the game.

After posting three sacks and seven tackles for loss in the first half, the Wolverines added two more sacks and three more TFLs in the second half, totaling five and ten respectively for the game.

The drastic improvement of the defensive line during Michigan football vs. UNLV Rebels was impressive, surprising, and, most importantly, an incredible step in the right direction for the Maize and Blue.

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