The Michigan Wolverines picked up their first victory of the Jim Harbaugh era by a 35-7 margin over Oregon State in their first home game of the season. What did we learn about the Wolverines from that big win?
3) Ground-and-pound is here to stay
Harbaugh has quickly turned the Wolverines into a dominant rushing team by refusing to do anything but jam the ball down the defense's throat. Michigan ran the ball an astonishing 48 times in this one for 225 yards, compared to just 26 passing attempts. We usually see those numbers reserved in today's era of spread offenses in college football, but this gives Michigan a different identity that will be extremely tough for the opposition to stop.
2) Penalties and turnovers are still an issue
After turning the ball over three times in their loss to Utah, the Wolverines turned it over twice against the Beavers and committed 10 penalties for over 100 yards. Harbaugh's teams have traditionally been very strong in these two areas, but it's obvious that there's still a lot of work to be done in this area. Michigan can't afford to beat themselves if they want to be successful this season, so this has to stop sooner rather than later.
1) The defense is ready for their closeup
Michigan's defense was supposed to be the strength of this team, and after a decent performance against Utah, they absolutely dominated Oregon State, limiting the Beavers to 138 total yards - 79 of which game on the opening drive. Oregon State was breaking in a true freshman quarterback, but this level of success goes well beyond that. The Wolverines will have a chance to beat everyone - including Ohio State - if they continue to play at a high level.
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