Brady Hoke and his Michigan Wolverines know that they needed a spectacular special-teams play and three overtimes to beat Northwestern Saturday -- a team that doesn't have a conference victory.
After the embarrassing losses to Michigan State and Nebraska, they'll take it. But there's still a long way to go.
Michigan's offense continued to sputter, with their only two touchdowns coming in overtime. In one ugly sequence, they started a drive on the Penn State 10 after a shanked punt and ended up kicking a field goal from the 11.
Devin Gardner was sacked five times, making 19 in three games, including a sack in the final 30 seconds that nearly cost them the game.
Michigan's defense, however, held Northwestern to three field goals in regulation, giving the offense the chance to force overtime -- despite not converting on a single third down in regulation.
"This was a game where our defense really kept us in the football game," Hoke said at his Monday press conference. "In the overtime, our offense started to make some things happen in the red zone, but that's something that has to get better.
"They haven't been as good as we need them to be. We were 0 for 10 on third downs, and that's got to get better. It will get better."
The one bright spot for Michigan on offense is, they finally got their running game going. True freshmen Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith combined for 118 yards rushing on 28 carries, giving the Wolverines the first big-play threat on the ground in weeks.
They were playing because starter Fitzgerald Toussaint had "a bit of a concussion," and although Hoke says the job will stay with Toussaint when he's healthy, Green and Smith have earned a spot in the rotation.
That's a big positive for Smith, who had struggled in practice badly enough that he was left off the travel roster for the Michigan State game.
Against the Wildcats, both he and Green finally looked like the game-changing backs that people expected when they arrived as highly ranked recruits.
Green and Smith got a lot of help from the improved performance of Michigan's young interior line, which had been demolished by the Spartans and Cornhuskers.
Against Northwestern, center Graham Glasgow and guards Kyle Bosch and Erik Magnuson, opened up holes for the tailbacks and Gardner to exploit.
"Derrick and De'Veon did a nice job," Hoke said. "They averaged 4.4 yards between them. I think the three inside guys really established the line of scrimmage.
"That let the backs get started better. That's important because those two are both downhill runners, and they needed that good start."
All-American tackle Taylor Lewan was happy to see his young teammates finally having a positive impact.
"I'm really proud of those three guys," he said. "I know this year hasn't been the year we wanted from the offensive line, but all of this experience they are getting is going to be huge for them in the future.
"I'm excited for them. I'm excited for a year down the road, two years down the road, when they are the offensive line they want to be."
In the meantime, Lewan has to get his proteges ready for a trip to Iowa, where they will face a tough run defense -- and the Big Ten's only pink locker room.
"It's soothing," Lewan said. "It's nice. It keeps it mellow. Every away locker room that we visit has its own little quirks. Michigan State has a smiley face when you walk down, and Iowa has pink locker rooms.
"The game is not played in the locker room. If it was, it would be a very calm and soothing game."
