Can Michigan football quarterback right the ship after off-game in Week 3?

This weekend, Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy has his work cut out for him as the Wolverines begin Big Ten conference play against Rutgers. Last weekend, McCarthy and the offense struggled to get past Bowling Green, eventually walking away with a 31-6 victory, largely due to impressive play from Jesse Minter’s No. 1 ranked defense. This weekend, with Jim Harbaugh back on the sideline, can Michigan’s junior quarterback right the ship?

Michigan football quarterback looking to right the ship

Both Michigan football and Rutgers enter this weekend’s game with 3-0 records and some of the best defenses in the nation. While the Wolverines are the far better team on paper, the Scarlet Knights have been impressive so far, even claiming a 35-16 win over Virginia Tech last weekend — a huge momentum builder for them as they head into Ann Arbor for the 2023 Big Ten opener.

Per the NCAA team rankings, Michigan football ranks No. 1 in scoring defense so far, while Rutgers ranks No. 7 nationally. A week ago, the Wolverines had a lot of trouble moving the football against Bowling Green, who has the 85th-ranked defense, so Rutgers should be a solid test to see how Michigan responds after an off-game in Week 3.

Rutgers defense will be a good step up in competition

Now, despite Rutgers having an impressive overall defense thus far, the Scarlet Knights rank towards the middle of college football when it comes to passing defense — the Knights are currently 55th nationally and are yet to face a quarterback like JJ McCarthy, who can make just about any throw on the field when he’s on. Last weekend, he wasn’t on, but after getting a good wake-up call, it’s expected that the second-year starting Michigan football quarterback will manage to bounce back.

New faces for Michigan football?

Additionally, this weekend will be a solid test for the Wolverines’ offensive line, which was touted as one of the best heading into the year, but is yet to look the part. There could be some new starters — such as LaDarius Henderson (LT) — but that remains to be seen. Regardless, Rutgers ranks T-16th in the country for sacks this year (10 sacks through three games), which is far better than anything that the Maize and Blue have faced to this point.

Jim Harbaugh doubles down on confidence in JJ McCarthy

Earlier this week, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh reiterated that, despite a bad game last weekend, he is fully confident in his former five-star quarterback heading into conference games.

“You want confident, you want aggressive, optimistic, that everything’s gonna work out,” Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh said on Monday. “And there’s a little bit of — sometimes even as a football player — optimistic bias that can get you in trouble. Sometimes leaves you unprepared; it certainly does in life. Now in football or athletics, you’re much better off there than playing scared. It works out better when you when you play that way.

“But yeah, some precautions got to be taken and some risks avoided. And turnovers — the ball, ball security, that’s the big one. So plenty to learn from, and plenty to coach, and super excited about it. (JJ McCarthy) is smart enough to know he didn’t play a very good game (against Bowling Green). But he’s also smart enough to know that he can learn from it as well.”

Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy and his Wolverines take the field against Rutgers this weekend as 24-point favorites on Saturday for a noon kickoff. It’s worth noting that, while the Wolverines have won every game by no less than 25 points so far, Michigan is 0-3 against the spread this year.

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