Here are the key takeaways from Michigan’s win on Saturday.
ANN ARBOR — Michigan looked like a very different team Saturday from the one that got blasted early against Notre Dame last week and never fully recovered.
The Wolverines won their home opener against Western Michigan 49-3. They ran all over the Western defense. Shea Patterson threw three touchdowns. Michigan intercepted a pass, blocked a punt, and coasted to its first victory of 2018.
Just about the only thing for Michigan fans to boo was when a referee announced that not Western Michigan but “Michigan State” had taken a fourth quarter timeout.
Where was that offense last week?
Against Notre Dame last Saturday, the Michigan offense couldn’t get much anything going for the first three quarters, turned it over twice, and found the end zone just once in a 24-17 loss.
Michigan tallied 307 yards of offense in South Bend. On Saturday afternoon against Western Michigan, the Wolverines had 301 yards by halftime.
The final statistics — 49 points, 308 rushing yards — were a welcome sign for an offensive unit that has been much maligned dating back to the second half of last season.
A wide receiver scored a touchdown
When Nico Collins hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, it broke a long drought for the Wolverines. It was the first touchdown catch for a U-M wide receiver since Sep. 9,2017.
After Grant Perry caught a score in the third quarter of a win over Cincinnati in the second game of last season, Michigan played 12 full games, consecutively, without a receiver finding the end zone.
Almost a year to the day later, Collins ended the undesirable streak. Wide receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jake McCurry also scored Saturday.
The offensive line showed progress
Western Michigan, though, is not Notre Dame. The Broncos allowed 560 yards and 55 points to Syracuse last week. Michigan knew it would have ample opportunity to move the ball Saturday, and it capitalized.
The U-M skill players deserve credit for their performances Saturday. More encouraging to many Michigan fans was that the offensive line made things easier for their teammates. Quarterback Shea Patterson had more time to throw than he did against Notre Dame. The running backs gained significant yards before encountering a potential tackler.
A big cheer for Beilein and the basketball team
John Beilein made his first major public appearance since having double bypass heart surgery on Aug. 6. He appeared in the north end zone with the rest of the members from last season’s Michigan men’s basketball team, which won the Big Ten Tournament and reached the national championship game, during a timeout.
Beilein, 65, did not travel with the Wolverines to Spain last month as he recovered from the surgery. He told University of Michigan radio network sideline reporter Doug Karsch that he was feeling great. “I have an unbelievable nurse — my wife,” he said. “We walk five miles a day. I’m not (100 percent) yet, but I’ll be good by the start of the season.”
NBA players Moritz Wagner and Duncan Robinson, as well as Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who continues to pursue a professional career, were on hand for the reunion.
The Michigan Stadium crowd gave the team, but especially Beilein, a loud ovation when they were shown on the video boards.
