All things considered, there were plenty of positives to take away from Jim Harbaugh's debut as Michigan's head coach.
The Wolverines lost on the road to Utah, 24-17, but they showed a good amount of improvement from the disastrous 5-7 season that resulted in Brady Hoke's firing a year ago. Tight end Jake Butt looked like a star in the making, safety Jabrill Peppers showed flashes of his 5-star ability and the Michigan defense played as well as could have been asked of it, bottling up Utes star running back Devontae Booker for just 69 rushing yards and one touchdown on the night.
"A lot of positives," Harbaugh said after the game, per The Associated Press, via The Roanoke Times. "Some things to build on."
But for all that went the Wolverines' way Thursday, none of it was enough to overcome the play of Jake Rudock, who left plenty to be desired in his debut as Michigan's starting quarterback.
Seemingly yet to have developed a strong chemistry with his wide receivers, Rudock threw three costly interceptions—just two fewer than he recorded throughout the 2014 season.
The most crucial of his interceptions came in the fourth quarter when Utah's Justin Thomas picked one off and returned it for a touchdown to put the Utes up 24-10, just as it seemed Michigan was poised to complete a game-tying drive.
Rudock, who was revealed as the winner of an offseason quarterback battle with junior Shane Morris when he took the field for the Wolverines' opening offensive drive, also missed no fewer than three wide-open receivers on plays that appeared to be surefire touchdowns.
He also slipped on a costly QB sneak attempt on 3rd-and-1 in the fourth quarter on a drive that would ultimately result in a turnover on downs for Michigan one play later.
In essence, Rudock was the antithesis of what he was advertised to be when he arrived in Ann Arbor as a graduate transfer from Iowa this summer. With the Hawkeyes, the 6'3", 208-pound signal-caller built a reputation for being steady but unspectacular—a game manager who could take care of the ball and leave the fate of a contest in the defense's hands.
On Thursday, that would have been enough for the Wolverines to walk away from Salt Lake City with a win, thanks to a Michigan defensive effort that only allowed 337 total yards and held Utah to a 3-of-13 success rate on third down. But with both teams failing to muster any sort of momentum on offense in the second half, it was Rudock's pick-six that proved to be the most important play of the game.
We'll never know whether Morris would have fared any better had he gotten the starting nod. But Rudock's performance simply left too many points on the board and resulted in too many costly turnovers not to wonder.
That's not to say Rudock should bear all of the blame for the Wolverines' loss, especially with a rushing game anchored by De'Veon Smith (17 carries, 47 yards) providing just 76 yards on 29 carries and a long rush of seven yards in support. Rudock was also responsible for Michigan's two touchdowns on the night, although one came by way of a spectacular grab by Butt in triple coverage and the other was against a soft prevent defense late in the fourth quarter.
"He shook off that play and came fighting back," Harbaugh said of Rudock's final touchdown. "As did all of our team."
Neither the Wolverines' rushing or passing attacks were helped by an offensive line that still showed many of the inconsistencies that plagued Michigan in 2014, as pointed out by Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com.
"[Tackle] Mason Cole struggled, the interior of the line struggled. None of it was very good, making Michigan's offense one-dimensional for most of the night," Baumgardner wrote. "A sign of the night: Michigan faced a fourth-and-1, down 14 with 5:08 left, and Smith was stopped for no gain."
But the biggest takeaway of the night was that Rudock looked more like the player who threw 13 interceptions as a sophomore in Iowa City than the one who was only picked off five times in 2014. Given the shortcomings of the Wolverines' rushing game, a continued trend in that direction could make for another long season in Ann Arbor, even with Harbaugh at the helm.
The good news, however, is that the Utes are one of the better teams Michigan will face this season, and Rudock still has time to develop a chemistry with his new wide receiving corps—a bond that seemed nonexistent at times on Thursday.
Despite the aforementioned mishaps on deep balls that could have changed the course of the game, the Wolverine wideouts put together a solid game, as Amara Darboh led the way with eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown on the night.
It should also help that once the Big Ten season approaches, Rudock will find himself facing teams and schemes he's seen before. Aside from his ability to take care of the ball, it was Rudock's leadership and experience that seemed to give him an upper hand in Michigan's quarterback battle.
But if Rudock continues to squander defensive performances like the one his team gave him against Utah, he may not hold that advantage in Harbaugh's eyes for much longer.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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