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Michigan's 4-0, even if its past has been unorthodox. But what happens now? (AP photo)

ANN ARBOR -- One third of Michigan's regular season is officially in the books.

And, regardless of how you feel about it, the 18th-ranked Wolverines are four up and four down.

Michigan will enter Big Ten play next Saturday with a perfect 4-0 record when it hosts Minnesota (3:30 p.m., ABC), and it'll have a new lease on life as its quest for an elusive Big Ten title begins.

Can a bye week fix everything? Which Michigan team will we see? The one that put up 41 points against Notre Dame, or the one that barely squeaked by Akron and Connecticut.

Time will tell.

As we wait, let's review how the first third of the year has gone. The good, the bad and 'what now' for Michigan four games down.

Devin Gardner

The good

: 13 total touchdowns, 1,102 total yards

The bad

: 8 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 57.4 percent completion percentage

'

What now?

' Though his past two sluggish performances are fresh in everyone's minds, Gardner has had a two-faced season to this points.

And, even when he's struggled, he's generally made up for it with chunk plays -- mostly with his feet.

When Gardner was at his best through the first four games of the season, it was when Michigan was running him out of read-option shotgun plays or off of a play-action set. But not just any play-action, a well-sold play-pass. A play-pass set up by well-executed stretch runs and a strong fake from Gardner.

The past two weeks against Akron, the stretch plays haven't been as strong, and Gardner's sells haven't been as convincing.

Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges has harped on Gardner's fundamentals as a reason for these setbacks, and upon further review, he's right.

Gardner gets into trouble when his footwork becomes a mess in the pocket, and when he starts side-arming -- or short-arming -- throws over the middle in tight spaces. Also, teams are catching on to the Gardner spin move out of the pocket with linebacker spies, so adjusting to that moving forward will be key.

But, more than anything, he needs to settle down and just let the game come to him. It really is that simple.

The offensive line

The good

: Taylor Lewan's still an All-American

The bad

: The interior has struggled ... to put it mildly

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What now

?' This is the million dollar question.

Will Brady Hoke shake things up and put in some new blood on the interior of his offensive line, or will he trust the development process with Graham Glasgow and Kyle Kalis at the guard spots and Jack Miller at center?

Whether he sticks with the same three or not, the center position needs to improve. Michigan's allowing back-side penetration quite often on off-tackle plays, and the overall communication on the offensive line looks off more often than not.

When Michigan misses a blitz pickup, that's generally a communication error. Same thing when the defense shows a different look than expected, which has happened plenty. And that, folks, is on the center. Taylor Lewan is the leader of the offensive line, but when those hands are in the dirt, Miller's the captain of the line.

It's the center's responsibility to know what everyone's doing on every play. Where everyone's headed. What checks need to be made. What adjustments have to happen. And he has to communicate that at the line of scrimmage. Offensive line is a cerebral position, and the center is the heart of it all.

The only real move Michigan seems to be able to make, if it chooses, there is to push Glasgow over to center and insert a new guard in his place -- the odds on favorite there, of course, being Chris Bryant.

It won't likely be Ben Braden, as he's been moved back to tackle -- his natural spot. Also, Erik Magnuson has been entering games as a third tackle in heavy packages. He also projects as an outside offensive lineman.

If Michigan wants to be drastic, it could move Michael Schofield back to guard -- where he played in 2011 -- and insert either Braden or Magnuson at right tackle. That might be a bit bold, though. And it'd be a major sacrifice on Schofield's part, as he'll likely be playing tackle on Sundays next season.

Either way, by substitution or pure improvement, something has to change here. Otherwise, Michigan's in the same boat it was last season: It'll be facing a ton of 2nd and 12's and missing on a bunch of 3rd and 2's.

The defensive line

The good

: Four sacks in its last outing

The bad

: Just 4 1/2 sacks on the season

'

What now?

' Part of Michigan's breakthrough game up front against UConn had to do with UConn, if we're being fair. The Huskies were breaking in an inexperienced, and less-than-stellar, right tackle -- and Michigan's defensive ends took advantage.

But, they produced. And they produced at key times. You can't take that away from them.

Michigan's defensive line rotation is still rather large, but certain players are earning more time than others now -- which is what you might expect. Frank Clark and Jibreel Black are making plays, as is Mario Ojemudia.

Chris Wormley has been seeing plenty of time both inside and outside, and Willie Henry got a lot of snaps against Connecticut during a pretty fine overall defensive effort.

Quinton Washington and Ondre Pipkins have been relatively quiet inside -- but Michigan's also played a lot of nickel coverage so far this season, which takes away from their production a bit.

All in all, the UConn game was an encouraging sign for Michigan's front four. This group still doesn't have a Mike Martin or Brandon Graham-type player in the rotation -- a guy who can change a game or command a double team by himself -- but it is improving.

Michigan probably won't have a dominant defensive line at any point this season, but it should have a respectable one by the time the regular season is over. At least, that's where things seem to be tracking.

Running backs

The good

: Fitz Toussaint has his best day since 2011 against UConn

The bad

: It's been a one-man gang, and a struggle

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What now?

' Toussaint's 120-yard, 2-touchdown showing against Connecticut was a positive for Michigan -- especially considering how poorly things began on the ground in that game.

The first half looked a lot like the Akron game, and the Notre Dame game for that matter. Toussaint had very little room, and when he did, he really showed no ability to break a tackle or evade a defender for extra yardage.

As the game wore on in Connecticut, Toussaint seemed to pick up steam. He continued to run hard, he showed great burst on his 35-yard touchdown run and he started putting his shoulder down and falling through people.

But is Fitz Toussaint really a 250-carry back for a regular season? Can his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame hold up to that punishment throughout an entire season alone?

Call me a cynic, but I'm doubting it. Remember, during his 1,000-yard season in 2011, Toussaint only had 62 carries through the first seven games of the season. Most of his damage was done over the final six games of the year.

At some point, he's going to need some help. And, at some point, Michigan's going to have to trust another back enough to give him that help.

Maybe it's Derrick Green, who is No. 2 on the depth chart, maybe it's not. But either way, Michigan's "power" running game really doesn't have a lot of power right now.

A power back can turn a small crack into three yards by simply blowing through the hole. Toussaint, physically, can't do that all game. He can make a lot of things happen, but that's not really his bag.

The biggest thing standing between Green or De'Veon Smith or Thomas Rawls from seeing the field more, at this point, seems to be pass protection. Toussaint is Michigan's best pass-blocking running back, and right now -- with the offensive line's struggles -- that's critical.

Gardner is Michigan's only healthy quarterback. Michigan can't risk putting an unprepared blocker in the backfield. Hoke gave Toussaint plenty of time off this week to get the other backs more time.

We'll see if it helped.

The team, in general

The good

: 4-0

The bad

: It hasn't always been pretty

'

What now?

' Before the season began, I predicted a 10-2 record for Michigan on the season.

So far, I'm 4-for-4. Though nothing has, exactly, gone the way I expected it would.

Make no mistake, Michigan still has the ability to win the Legends Division and punch a ticket to the Big Ten title game in my estimation. Michigan's talent level stacks up with anyone in this division, and top to bottom, it's probably better than everyone else.

But, the inexperience factor and the general mental discipline offensively will eventually catch up to this team if it goes unfixed.

Gardner's turnovers are the easy thing to point to. Obviously those have to go away. It'd be foolish to suggest otherwise.

The defense has had some rough spots, but in general, it appears to be tracking toward the same direction Greg Mattison's defenses have gone over the past two years -- meaning, it'll likely be playing at or near its best in November.

The real issue here, to me, sits up front. The difference between 10-2 and 8-4 for Michigan, right now, lives on the offensive line.

If Michigan can find a way to get production on its interior up front, it can accomplish all its goals. But, if not? Well, then Gardner's forced to run for his life and take bigger risks. Toussaint, Green and whoever else have nowhere to run and Borges' offense is constantly faced with trying to dig out of 2nd and 12 holes on every series.

It starts up front, they say. In this case, that's fact.

The key to Michigan's Big Ten title and Rose Bowl hopes rests with two guards and a center.

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