Michigan football grades vs. Indiana: After a slow start, more of the same dominance

Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football on a scale of A to F after the Wolverines' 52-7 win over Indiana on Saturday at Michigan Stadium:

Offense: A-minus

Colston Loveland dropped the first pass of the game, the offensive line allowed two sacks in the first six plays and as a team, U-M had minus-8 yards through its first eight plays. Then, everything flipped as the Wolverines were once again surgical moving the ball. J.J. McCarthy completed 14 of his final 15 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns as Michigan scored on its final eight possessions of the game (seven touchdowns). Just about everyone had something to smile about. Blake Corum ran 13 times for 52 yards and two TDs as he moved into third all-time on U-M's scoring list (44), passing Denard Robinson. Donovan Edwards also got into the end zone for the first time on the season, while Jack Tuttle threw a touchdown pass against his former team to Karmello English, the first TD reception of the freshman's career. The only knock is the run game once again didn't prove fully effective. Edwards ran nine times for 20 yards and had just one carry for more than three yards. Corum didn't have a run for more than 12 yards and it was true freshman Ben Hall who came in during mop-up time who led the team with nine catches for 58 yards as the unit ran 42 times for 163 yards (3.9 per carry) and three scores.

JEFF SEIDEL: J.J. McCarthy did so many impressive thing against Indiana it's hard to count

Defense: A-minus

For the first time this season, Michigan allowed an opponent inside its 10-yard line. It happened for just one play. The next was a tackle for loss, then after a false start, Mike Sainristil deflected a pass and Rod Moore came away with the interception. From there, the Wolverines only had one bad play, when Keon Sabb bit badly on double-pass and left Jaylin Lucas wide open on double-pass from Donaven McCulley to Jaylin Lucas for a 44-yard score. From there it was all Wolverines. U-M forced three consecutive punts, two of which came on three-and-outs, before it started getting its hands on the ball. Midway through the third quarter, Michael Barrett came on a blitz up the middle and not only forced a sack and fumble, but recovered it. On the next possession, IU went for it on fourth-and-3 near midfield and Jaylen Harrell forced a fumble which was recovered by Mason Graham. On the next Indiana offensive play, Tayven Jackson threw a ball deep down field, which Sabb made amends on and intercepted. Michigan would force one final turnover on downs to end the game as it allowed 86 total yards after the lone touchdown.

RAINER SABIN: Michigan's defense can choke teams out and strike like a cobra

Special teams: B-plus

On a windy, rainy day, Michigan's kicking game was as sound as its been on the season. Kicker James Turner connected on all seven of his extra points and a 28-yard field goal. Even freshman Adam Samaha got in for a PAT at the end of the game and knocked it through. Tommy Doman forced six touchbacks on nine kickoffs and the coverage unit did the rest, holding the other three returns to 18 yards or fewer. Doman's punts weren't quite as effective — his two attempts averaged 36 yards and neither pinned IU inside its 50. On the other end, Tyler Morris added the best punt return of the season, a 27-yarder in the second quarter, to help flip the field before U-M's third touchdown, while Morgan had two kick returns for 36 yards.

Coaching: B-plus

The Hoosiers made a coaching switch before the bye week, then had two weeks to script their best plays together. It worked pretty well. After a three-and-out, Indiana marched 12 plays to get inside the Wolverines' red zone, but that's when Moore came away with the first takeaway of the day. On the next defensive series, a trick play produced a surprising early deficit. The start on offense was rather inexcusable. Two three-and-outs and three sacks through eight plays was enough to cause early concern, but the staff got things together from there as U-M scored on its final eight possessions of the day. As detailed in previous weeks, Michigan is on a different level as its opponents, so it's up to U-M's coaches to have the team prepared from the opening whistle. That didn't happen Saturday, however given the beatdown and halftime adjustments which helped U-M outscore the Hoosiers, 14-0, in the third quarter to make that total 90-0 on the season, the coaches did have a stellar game for the final three quarters.

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him @realtonygarcia.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football grades vs. Indiana: More of the same dominance