Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 05, 2018 at 9:15 pm.

Michigan heads east to face Rutgers

From the highest of the highest to lowest of the lows, that’s a good way to describe the change in competition level for Michigan from last week to this one.

That’s saying something, considering the fourth-ranked Wolverines (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten) are coming off a 42-7 thrashing of a pretty good Penn State team. Their next foe, Rutgers, isn’t nearly as well-regarded.

The Scarlet Knights (1-8, 0-6) have dropped eight in a row, failing to score more than 17 points in any game during that skid. Their 15.3 points per game average is the lowest in FBS, while Michigan is fifth in scoring defense in allowing 13.6 per game.

The 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff in New Jersey marks the start of a two-game stretch where Michigan faces teams who are a combined 1-11 in Big Ten play. The only league win for Indiana, the Wolverines’ Nov. 17 opponent at home, is against Rutgers.

Michigan’s next big game is the annual clash with rival Ohio State, on the road Nov. 24. Does that mean the Wolverines could be susceptible to a letdown by overlooking Rutgers?

“It just doesn’t seem like a very good idea to look ahead,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Concentrate on the ball game ahead. Take it one game at a time.”

The Penn State win was Michigan’s eighth in a row, all but one by at least 14 points. But this will be only the third game since the season-opening loss at Notre Dame in which the Wolverines are playing on the road, with those others–a 20-17 win at Northwestern and a 21-7 win at Michigan State — producing the smallest margins during the win streak.

Under Harbaugh, Michigan is 10-5 in conference road games. One of those wins was the Wolverines’ last trip to Rutgers in 2016 when they won 78-0.

All things seem to be clicking for Michigan right now, with the most-improved area seeming to be its offensive line. Since rushing for just 58 yards on 33 carries at Notre Dame, the Wolverines have averaged 237.9 yards per game and 5.35 yards per carry, and their quarterbacks have been sacked just 14 times all season.

“Offensive line played really well again this last game, against a team that was leading the country in tackles for loss,” Harbaugh said.

“Each player playing has improved, they’re playing their best football, and they’re being well-coached. I think we’re the only team that’s had a back rush for 100 yards in seven straight games.”