Michigan was able to overcome a slow start in this game, and they would go on to win 21-18 despite trailing 3-0 at halftime. The switch to Tommy Carr was undoubtedly a big part of that, but better execution overall also helped the Wolverines overcome the slow start. Many Wolverines played well in this game, and there were only a few who didn't play well.
Let's dive into how Michigan performed in the red zone this week below, and take a look at how simply executing better helped them pay off their drives with touchdowns.
First Red Zone Trip: 3 rushes, 0 passes - Jordan Marshall touchdown
To begin this red zone trip, Michigan had the ball with a 1st and 10 from the 23 yard line. On the first play of the possession, Tommy Carr made a nice read and kept the ball. He was able to carry it all the way down to the 1 yard line by finding a cutback lane and scampering his way down near the goal line. He was called short after a short review but he nearly broke it all the way for a touchdown himself.
After that, Savion Hiter got a carry that netted zero yards before Jordan Marshall was able to power it in from one yard out to cap off the drive. The thing I want to highlight about this drive is the entire reason they were able to even get down to the goal line was because Tommy Carr made the correct read and let his physical abilities take over from there.
These reads in this offense are critical because it is a lot of times the difference between a play working like it's supposed to, and a a play not working at all. On this drive Tommy Carr simply executed the play when on a lot of the reads earlier in the game, Bryce Underwood did not.
Second Red Zone Trip: 2 rushes, 1 pass - Tommy Carr touchdown
On Michigan's second red zone trip, the Wolverine offense was gifted the ball at the Penn State 13 yard line after Enow Etta recovered a fumble from Rocco Becht. The first play was a carry that went to Jordan Marshall where Penn State shot a gap and brought him down for a three yard loss. Then on 2nd and 13, Michigan called a play action pass and Tommy Carr got it to JJ Buchanan on a 9 yard completion.
On 3rd and 4 from the 7 yard line, Michigan was called for an illegal formation so that set them back and made it 3rd and 9 from the 12 yard line. On this play Jason Beck called a speed option to the edge of the Penn State defense where Tommy Carr kept the ball again after the read man stayed with Marshall, and Carr cut it back again and got all the way to the end zone for a Michigan touchdown.
Once again, Tommy Carr did a nice job to actually read the defense and make the right decision to keep the ball. The result was that the play worked as intended, and Michigan was able to punch it in again for their third touchdown of the game.
Michigan's offense is far from a great unit despite the second half success in this game, but for the first time in a few games there is a glimmer of hope for how things can look for the rest of the season. If Michigan can keep executing like they did in the second half against Penn State, they can still right the ship and turn this season around.
Better execution all around is what they need to do to ensure that happens, and based on what we saw in the second half of this game, Tommy Carr is the guy who can at least make the basic reads of the offense and turn it into a functional unit.
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