Maybe Michigan hasn’t quite gotten everything fixed on offense, or maybe Iowa is just a better opponent than Rutgers. Or maybe it’s a little from Column A and a little from Column B. Either way, Michigan leads Iowa 10-3 at the end of the first half.
Things could not have started too much better for Michigan. Although the offense was forced to punt after a short drive to start the game, Iowa’s Mekhi Sargent fumbled on Iowa’s first offensive snap and the Wolverines pounce don the ball at the Iowa 18-yard line. Michigan had to settle for just a field goal after the Hawkeyes defense came through with a big stop, but the offense still was slow out of the gate. Michigan took a 10-0 lead on their next offensive series with a Zach Charbonnet run from the two-yard line. A big pass from Shea Patterson to Nico Collins for a gain of 51 yards got the drive started.
Since Michigan took the 10-0 lead though, this has turned into a throwback Big Ten slugfest led by the defenses. Entering this week, Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley had not thrown an interception since last season. In the first half, he threw two.