In the second top-10 matchup of the college football weekend, the Michigan Wolverines came out on top with a narrow 14-7 win over Wisconsin thanks to a dominant defense performance. It was Michigan's first real test of the season, and while they didn't necessarily pass with flying colors, they passed. Here are three things we learned from the game:
3) Michigan's offense isn't as good as we thought...
We really weren't quite sure how good Michigan's offense was coming into this game because they hadn't played anyone. Sure, they're putting up 45 points a game, but that hadn't been tested. Now, Wisconsin is perhaps the best defense Michigan will play all season, but they exposed some flaws in the Wolverines.
Their running struggles reared their ugly head again, averaging just 3.0 yards per carry, and they only converted 3-15 third downs. Michigan will get better, but this brought them back down to reality.
2) ...but Michigan's defense is
Ho-ly wow is Michigan's defense good. Where do we start? Wisconsin isn't exactly an offensive juggernaut, but Michigan held them to just 159 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers. That's really, really good.
1) They're ready for their close up
For all the hype and buzz that surrounded Jim Harbaugh's first season in Ann Arbor, Michigan couldn't quite get over the hump they needed to in order to truly compete. Yes, they were much improved, but losses to Utah, Michigan State and Ohio State - the three best teams they played all season - showed they weren't ready for primetime.
Now, they are. This was the kind of game they couldn't win last year, and they controlled it from start to finish. Watch out for the Wolverines.
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