Michigan returns home after a 2 week road trip, and their Rose Bowl hopes are only an ember at this point in the season. They do however have 2 games left in the Big House, where they can finish undefeated for a 2nd straight season. The Wolverines are looking to win their remaining games and head into the Capital One Bowl with some momentum. This week the maize and blue are taking on the November Northwestern Wildcats which is turning out to be the best opposing team to play in Ann Arbor this season.
Northwestern Rush Offense vs Michigan Rush Defense
The Wildcats are a run first team, and even more so when Kain Colter is their starting quarterback. Venric Mark has blossomed into one of the premier backs in this league, and it will take a quality defensive effort to slow down Northwestern. However, the purple cats have not faced a defense like Michigan’s yet on the season. Yes, Penn State is close, and they really struggled in Happy Valley. The Wolverines are a completely different animal at this point in the year. Most of the players continue to improve each game, and have turned into borderline all-conference type players. I think the NW offensive line is not able to push back Michigan’s front four, which will give the linebackers a good chance to have a great game. Michigan has struggled against the straight option this season, so it will be interesting if Coach Fitzgerald tries to exploit that more. Mark or Colter might break a couple runs over 20 yards, but I would be really surprised if they are able to continually chip away with a 5+ ypc for an entire game. Advantage Michigan.
Northwestern Pass Offense vs Michigan Pass Defense
With usual starting quarterback, Siemian, hurt and Colter taking over as the main signal caller the Wildcat passing attack should suffer greatly. Colter is no-doubt Northwestern’s best playmaker, but he is not a good passer. The Wolverine secondary will be able to play tight coverage, and bring a safety down into the box to help in the run game. The biggest area of concern for the Michigan defense will be containing Colter in the pocket during a pass rush. Mattison will likely opt to reduce the amount of blitzes from his defense in this game, or just bring Jake Ryan off the edge but keep Morgan and Demens in contain. Colter should have plenty of time to throw to his receivers, but he should still struggle to find someone to throw the ball too. I think Michigan records at least one interception in this game. Advantage Michigan.
Michigan Rush Offense vs Northwestern Rush Defense
The biggest factor in this matchup will be if Denard can play and be effective. If he can, Michigan has a big threat on the ground. If he is sidelined again, a big part of this rushing advantage is taken away. Still, the Wildcat defensive line has a few above average pass rushers, but they really struggle against defending the run. I think the Wolverine offensive line will bounce back with a big game on Saturday which should be enough to open holes for one of the running backs. If Devin has to start again, I think the coaches will implement the Rawls and Toussaint rotating attack. It seemed to work reasonably well last weekend. I personally think that Michigan is just plain better in this category, even without Denard, but the difference will be if we accumulate 220 yards on the ground or 120. Advantage Michigan.
Michigan Pass Offense vs Northwestern Pass Defense
The Northwestern secondary has struggled for most of the season, they are the weak spot in this defense and are keyed upon in every game plan. Even with Michigan’s lack of receiving threats, this should again be an area the maize and blue are able to exploit. If Denard plays, the underneath routes will be there for Gallon and Roundtree to thrive, but if Devin gets the nod look for Michigan to attack down the field. Al Borges wants to be able to lull defenses asleep with power running mixed in with some short passing plays, then try the homerun playaction pass. He is able to do this more with Gardner. Although he was starting to try with Denard again in the Nebraska game. Michigan’s focus on offense is to always run the ball well, especially with the current quarterback situation. When Michigan does decide to throw, there should be open receivers. Advantage Michigan.
On paper this looks like a slam dunk win for the Wolverines, but Northwestern is scrappy enough to hang around for most of the game. The Wildcats are a completely different team in November under Fitzgerald, and even though the game is in the Big House, Michigan will need to execute well to put this one in the win column. With either quarterback, I think Borges will want to try to stretch the field with some deep throws in the first half. If they are completed, the running game should be able to take off for Michigan. I am interested to see the Northwestern game plan on offensive with regards to the passing game. If the Wolverines are able to slow down the running attack, can Colter complete enough passes to move the sticks? I don’t think he can. So if Michigan’s offense struggles to find a rhythm, this will be a close low scoring game. If Michigan comes out and attacks Northwestern and looks like they did in the middle quarters last week, the Wolverines should be able to pull away. I am going to go with the offense performing somewhere in between those two, but Michigan pulls out a 24-16 win.
No comments:
Post a Comment