Michigan football grades vs Rutgers: Just not a clean operation

PISCATAWAY, NJ − Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football after the Wolverines' 28-21 win over Rutgers in Week 9 of the 2026 college football season at SHI Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026.

Offense: C+

First year quarterback Tommy Carr dazzled in his first road start, completing 22 of 27 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown. His legs were every bit as good, as he extended plays and picked up first downs with his 54 yards (on 12 carries) and two second-half touchdowns that decided the game. He spread the ball around to nine receivers and picked up nine of U-M's 12 conversions on third down (as U-M went a season best 12-for-16), including the last four Saturday.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Tommy Carr shows Michigan has its quarterback of the future

Three of those came on the game winning drive − once as he rolled right and hit Hogan Hansen for 16 on a crossing route, the next rolling left and finding JJ Buchanan for 13 out of a scramble, and the last with his legs, knifing up field for a 9-yard touchdown on third-and-7 for the game's final score.

"I was just thinking, you know, get through my progression, and if there's nothing there, you know, the play breaks down, go make a play," Carr said postgame. "That's exactly what happened. Nobody was there, so I just tried to run it in."

U-M definitely wasn't perfect, though, as the Wolverines faced a bottom-10 run defense and managed just 3.6 yards per carry, nearly a yard worse than every other Rutgers opponent. No U-M running back had a carry of more than 12 yards, and U-M still doesn't have a 100-yard rusher in a game heading into November. Still, 427 yards (just four off its season high) and 28 points (its second most in a game) were positive signs, even against a lifeless unit.

Michigan held Rutgers to 38 plays and nine first downs and had four tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a pair of sacks. On 34 of those plays, Rutgers netted just 65 yards (1.9 per snap). On the other four, though ...

On third-and-15 in the second quarter, Smith Snowden fell down as Jourdin Houston ran right by him and AJ Surace connected on an 80-yard touchdown, Rutgers' longest passing score in a Big Ten game since an 80-yard TD against U-M in 2014. Later, Surace found Antwan Raymond on a wheel route for a 32-yard reception that led to a field goal. Raymond also had a 54-yard run in the fourth quarter on third down to set up Rutgers' game-tying touchdown with 11:43 to go. The only big play that didn't cost U-M was a 20-yard rush on second-and-21 by Clay Thevenin, and that was because Rutgers committed a false start on fourth-and-inches.

In all, Rutgers picked up 186 yards on those. Yes, U-M was without starting edge rushers John Henry Daley and Dom Nichols, but allowing four explosive plays to a backup quarterback without his star wide receiver made the game too close for comfort.

"We blew a few gap integrity situations," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "For the most part we were pretty good this year, but that was disappointing especially in the timing of it; that was a critical time to be to let that run out the gate."

Special teams: D

Kicker Trey Butkowski might be out of the job. He missed a 47-yard field goal in the first half – frustrating, but understandable. His 35-yard attempt that sailed wide left with U-M up 21-13 in the second half, however, left him now 2-for-6 in his past two games. Whittingham said the team will consider opening up the job but added "he's our guy" in the same breath.

The punt game was solid, with Cam Brown booting two attempts for an average of 46.5 yards and not allowing a single return yard in the kick game. Whittingham said after the fact he thought the refs made the right call when they flagged U-M for kick-catch interference on a punt that appeared to be muffed by Rutgers and recovered by U-M.

"The way the rule is [when they signal for a fair catch] you got to give him the opportunity to catch the ball," Whittingham said. "He can catch the ball or attempt to catch it, hit it 10 times in the air if he wants until it hits the ground. He's still in the process of making the catch, is how it's explained to us ... so, letter of the law, that's the correct call, unless how it's been explained to me in the past is incorrect."

Coaching: D+

Games against bad teams like Rutgers shouldn't be decided in the final five minutes. Kudos to the offense for coming up with the winning drive and closing it out with a key first down, as well as the defense for forcing a punt in between – but this was another game that was closer than it should be.

Penalties were a huge problem, with seven for 90 yards, including three of to give Rutgers one-third of their first downs on the day. Another sequence with back-to-back holding calls on the offense derailed a drive late in the first half.

There were plays on defense that weren't gap-sound, offensive flubs (such as a snap into Carr's face when he wasn't ready for it) and questionable clock management at the end of the first half. It's just not a clean operation right now. That didn't cost Michigan against Rutgers, but against a decent team, it could be the difference in victory and defeat.

Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple or Spotify) or watch live/on demand on YouTube. ]

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.