ANN ARBOR – Michigan freshman backup quarterback Tommy Carr started the second half against Penn State, and everything seemed to shift.

The Wolverines trailed 3-0, had a measly 80 yards, and starting quarterback Bryce Underwood had two interceptions in the first half. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck spoke with Underwood at halftime, told him he would be benched for the second half, and Carr was given an opportunity to see if he could make a difference.

Carr did seem to give the team a spark, however that’s quantified. The defense forced three turnovers, as Michigan finished plus-one in turnover margin for the game, Carr led three touchdown drives, and, perhaps most important, the run game found a rhythm as the Wolverines defeated Penn State 21-18 on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Michigan is now 4-2, 1-2 Big Ten and faces defending national champion Indiana next weekend. Whittingham said a determination regarding the starting quarterback will be made by Monday, Oct. 19 although he might not make that public.

“Anytime you can run the ball like that and that effectively, and if you win the turnover margin, you’re not gonna lose,” Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game.

The Wolverines finished with 211 rushing yards, their highest total of the season, and certainly an enormous jump from the 79 yards rushing they had in a loss at Minnesota two weeks earlier. Freshman Savion Hiter had 78 yards on 11 carries, Jordan Marshall had 49 yards on 14 carries, and Bryson Kuzdzal had 38 yards on two carries, including a 43-yard touchdown sprint giving Michigan its longest run of the season.

In the first half against Penn State, Michigan had 37 yards rushing on 12 carries for a 3.1 per-carry average. But the Wolverines in the second half had 174 yards on 23 carries to average 7.6 yards per carry.

Michigan improved from 98th nationally in rushing (135.0 average) to 84th after the Penn State game and is now averaging 147.7 yards per game. The Wolverines’ biggest jump, however, was in explosive runs. They were credited with six big-play runs of 10 yards or more, but the biggest came from Kuzdzal and Hiter, who had a 41-yard run. Carr also had a 22-yard run and a spectacular 12-yard touchdown run for the Wolverines’ final score.

“It just takes time,” Kuzdzal said of generating big runs. “Any run in the first half could have hit. Any in the second half could’ve hit. It’s doing the same thing every play, being consistent. Eventually, you’re going to get one that breaks.”

Whittingham had said in recent weeks he wanted to see more of a downhill rushing attack, and offensive lineman Blake Frazier recently reacted enthusiastically with reporters when he was told of Whittingham’s comment. Michigan had more of north-south approach to the run game against Penn State, which has been among the nation’s worst run defenses.

“A little bit more and probably needs to be even more,” Whittingham said, when asked if there was more of an attempt to run downhill. “We just can’t seem to get to the perimeter very well regardless of how we try. The jet sweeps or bouncing out on the outside zone, that’s just not us. We (had) more of a concerted effort to get downhill. That was a huge run by Savion. Got us out of that bad field position (Michigan started the drive at its 7-yard line. “It was a 40-plus-yard run to really flip the field and at that point in the game that was big for us.”

The run game goes hand in hand with offensive line play, and Michigan started its fourth offensive line combination in six games. Avery Gach filled in at right guard after Brady Norton was ruled out because of injury Center Jake Guarnera was a game-time decision, but he played the entire game.

“We’ve been mixing around the offensive line with injury, unfortunately,” said right tackle Blake Frazier, who played the first two games of the season at left tackle before moving to right tackle to fill in for Andrew Sprague. “I think the chemistry we got in that room is really good, and we were able to execute the way we needed to.”

Guarnera told reporters last week it seemed the line was always a block away from unleashing the run game to have this type of second-half performance it had against the Nittany Lions.

“I think we were just a couple blocks away in the first half,” Frazier said. “We got up to the safety a couple times and couldn’t make them miss, so the second half, we got the same looks we were looking at all week and executed the way we’re supposed to. The result was the way we needed it to be.”

Frazier praised Gach and said he was helping him prepare all week to get the start.

“First game starting, you never really know how that’s going to look for somebody — I know from experience being thrown out there,” Frazier said. “He did an unbelievable job and excited to see what he keeps doing.”

Guarnera was listed as a game-time decision on the pre-game injury report. He played the entire game.

“He was 100% gutting it out,” Frazier said. “Everybody’s got something going on at this point in the season, so I’m super proud of him. He was training all week to make sure that he was giving himself the best opportunity to be out there with us. He’s playing through some stuff, for sure.”

Now, Michigan must prepare for Indiana, which ranks No. 4 nationally in rush defense holding teams to an average 75.4 yards. Whittingham was pleased with the uptick in rushing production but needs to see more balance overall, and that means getting the pass game in gear. Michigan ranks 125th and averages 165.7 yards. Underwood and Carr combined for 90 passing yards.

“We’re still not getting anywhere near the production we need to overall,” Whittingham said. “We should be throwing for 250 a game and we’re nowhere near that. The run game was very solid, but the throw game is still not where it needs to be and that’s something that’s gotta be a continuing point of emphasis. Right now, that’s keeping us from being an explosive offense and the best offense we can be.”

Indiana at Michigan

Kickoff: Noon, Saturday, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

TV/radio: FOX/94.7 FM

Records: Michigan is 4-2, 1-2 Big Ten; Indiana is 6-1, 3-1.

Line: Indiana by 8 ½.

Series: Michigan leads 62-11 (Last meeting: Indiana defeated Michigan, 20-15, Nov. 9, 2024).

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@angelique

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan starting to show some juice in its rushing attack

Reporting by Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News / The Detroit News

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect