Clock work: Michigan's winning despite losing the time of possession battle

While that means more time on the field for Michigan’s thin defense, Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez said he’s not particularly concerned about time of possession.

“I think it’s what you do with your possession more than time of possession,” he said.

Rodriguez said he judges his team’s efficiency by two measures - points and wins. He wants Michigan to score at least six times a game on offense, and to hold opponents to six three-and-outs on defense.

Through three games, the Wolverines are doing both.

Michigan has scored on 18 of 40 possessions this year, including Darryl Stonum’s 94-yard kick return against Notre Dame. On defense, the Wolverines have held the Irish and Western and Eastern Michigan to three or fewer plays 18 times (not including three drives that expired at the end of halves).

Still, there’s room for improvement. Last week, EMU more than doubled Michigan’s time of possession (40:02 to 19:58) to hang close for a half in a 45-17 Wolverines win.

With Michigan (3-0) set to open Big Ten play Saturday against Indiana, one of the best in the league at managing the clock, Rodriguez said his team must do a better job controlling the tempo and pace of play.

“I’ve said this a bunch of times, we’ve got to make them play defense,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why three-and-outs kill us offensively. So if we can make them play more than three plays and make them go back on the field quickly, they have a three-and-out, then that plays into a lot of things we want.”

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett