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football: What we learned after Wisconsin beatdown

Looking back at what happened in Michigan football's 35-14 loss at Wisconsin , and a look ahead to Saturday’s game vs. Rutgers: Matchup: No. 20 Michigan (2-1) vs. Rutgers (1-2). Kickoff: Noon, Saturday, Michigan Stadium. TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050). Line: U-M by 29. Michigan not be the contender we thought : The Wolverines simply aren't as good as many predicted entering the season. That much is clear after a 35-14 beatdown at No. 14 Wisconsin on Saturday . Michigan was unprepared, undisciplined and completely outplayed. There are significant problems on both sides of the ball. There's no more margin for error in order to challenge for the Big Ten title – and U-M will need to improve significantly, and quickly. Offense takes a big step back : Michigan's offense looked discombobulated against Wisconsin. The Wolverines never recovered from a fumble on second-and-goal during its opening possession. The new offense was supposed to be built for this type of game, against an opponent with a capable offense. Instead, Michigan didn't score its first points until it was down 35. The Wolverines have been inefficient at both the pass and the run . There's a lack of balance within the offense, too; Michigan had 42 passing attempts and 15 rushing attempts against Wisconsin, while it ran the ball 45 times in its previous game against Army. Defense struggles against the run: Michigan's defense was expected to take a step back after losing several stars to the NFL draft. But not many anticipated what we saw Saturday. Wisconsin consistently got push at the line of scrimmage and opened up holes for Jonathan Taylor. Sometimes, U-M's back seven ran out of plays, leaving cutback lanes. And when the Wolverines did get their hands on Taylor, he either churned out a few more yards after contact or completely broke tackles. There aren't many positives for Rutgers, which has been outscored, 60-16, in its past two games. The Scarlet Knights have not shown much progress over the past few seasons and could be approaching the end of the Chris Ash era. Rutgers has a graduate transfer at quarterback in McLane Carter, but he didn't play Saturday in a loss to Boston College due to a concussion he suffered against Iowa on Sept. 7. The offense has several standouts, such as leading rusher Isaih Pacheco, who ran for an 80-yard touchdown against Michigan in 2018, and running back Raheem Blackshear, who leads the team with 22 receptions for 255 yards. Who plays at quarterback? Jim Harbaugh said after the game that Shea Patterson left late in the second quarter to be evaluated at halftime . Backup Dylan McCaffrey had the first couple drives of the third quarter, too, before he suffered a concussion. Patterson returned to the game and played until the final series, upon which third-string quarterback Joe Milton took over. In case Patterson is still hurt, will Michigan start him against Rutgers and have him play through it? If Patterson can't play, will McCaffrey have recovered in time from his concussion – or will Milton start? U-M's run game: Michigan struggled to run the ball against the Badgers, tallying just 15 carries for 40 yards. Wisconsin has a solid run defense; then again, the Wolverines rushed for 320 yards against the Badgers last fall. The same offensive line is back. A couple of players expressed after Saturday's game that they wished the offense would've stuck more with the run. They should get their wish against Rutgers, which is allowing 218 rushing yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry. Getting an edge back : After the Wisconsin loss, the Wolverines talked about looking forward to the rest of the season. "We’re going to face adversity," said tight end Nick Eubanks. "It’s either going to knock us down and keep us there, or we’re going to face it and tell it what’s good." Well, the best possible way to get back on the right track would be to post a convincing win over Rutgers. Michigan can't get to where it wants to be in one week, but playing with more of an edge against Rutgers would be a solid first step. Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang . Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter .