Utah Preview

Utah visits Ann Arbor this weekend, likely, as the best opponent to play in the Big House this season. Although this game doesn’t mean too much for the Wolverines, getting a little winning streak going can’t hurt the confidence of a young team. Regardless if this game doesn’t factor into the B1G Championship it is a very intriguing matchup on paper and should be one of the best games around the country this week.   

When Michigan has the ball…
Utah’s defense is extremely untested so far on this young season. The Utes have played two cupcakes and have dispatched with them as expected. Even though Utah has been known to have a stout front 7 the past few years, this year’s squad seems undersized and vulnerable to be overpowered by competent offensive lines. The jury is still out on whether Michigan fits into that category, but so far results tend to be leaning towards yes.  While the Utah run defense will not be the most formidable the Wolverines will face this season, consistent offensive line push would be another step towards separating from the 2013 disaster. I expect Michigan to be able to run the ball reasonably well.  Since Utah’s base defense is the 4-2-5, the offensive line could be confused in their blocking schemes in the beginning, but by the 2^nd half Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith should have room to run.  Perhaps the most interesting matchup when Michigan has the ball will be how the Wolverines block Nate Orchard.  A 6’4” 255 pounds DE/LB hybrid type player, Orchard is Utah’s version of Jake Ryan. We have seen the terror Ryan can cause while rushing the passer. If Cole and Braden can hold up to the speed rushes on the edge Devin should be able to keep his eyes downfield where big completions await (even if Funchess is kept on the sidelines again). Utah’s coaching staff knows their weakness is in their man coverage in the secondary and will try to bring many different look blitzes at the young offensive line and Gardner. This should be a great stepping stone test for the big uglies up front as Michigan State week gets closer.  The line will need good communication to stop free blitzers on Devin, and if this can happen Michigan should top 30 points. If Gardner is getting flushed from the pocket consistently.. well we all know what can (and probably will) happen.

When Utah has the ball…
Michigan should be able to move the ball reasonably well against Utah, but the most anticipated matchup comes when Michigan is on defense. Utah is scoring nearly a point a minute en route to their 2-0 start. Yes the competition has been lacking, but nearing a 60 point average is impressive. The Utes will run a high tempo spread offense (think 2013 Indiana). Remember how the Wolverine’s defense looked in that one? Utah has two receivers that complement each other really well. Dres Anderson is one of the best receivers in the country and is the definition of speedy deep threat, and Dawan Scott is an under-rated possession receiver. After the cornerbacks continually got beat by Notre Dame’s 2^nd and 3^rd options, these two should terrify any Michigan fan. It will be interesting to see how the Wolverines adjust their coverage. Press coverage was drastically reduced last week against an inferior opponent, so look for Michigan to drop more into zone coverage to try to have turnover prone Wilson orchestrate long drives down the field. The pass rush has been consistent so far this season, but has yielded little results in the score book. Look for the sack numbers to increase this week as Utah wants to run long routes with Anderson and Scott down the field. I expect Frank Clark to finally break into the sack column, and possibly for one of the inside guys to join him as well.  I am very excited to see how the young corners (Peppers and Lewis) match up with two of the best receivers they will see all season. The Peppers hype could reach even more insane proportions if he holds his own tomorrow.

Even though portions of the Miami game were frustrating, I didn’t think the Wolverines came out flat. Beating a bad MAC team by 50+ would have been more enjoyable, but I do think the Maize and Blue got better last weekend.  At this point that is a bigger win than the one on the scoreboard. This week will offer a good measuring stick to see if the embarrassment in South Bend was a fluke or this Wolverine team really has no chance of beating the other two rivals later on this year.

Around the Country: Week 4

I have learned my lesson, after two completely embarrassing weeks of Big Ten football I will refrain from including any B1G games in this weekend’s preview.  This week shifts its focus mainly to the SEC, where I would guess that it will stay for most of the remaining weeks. Say what you want about the media’s SEC infatuation, but I don’t remember the league producing a game like Penn State and Rutgers (which featured such hilariously terrible football that you couldn’t turn away from). Anyways, moving on to this weekend; you will notice that there aren’t any noon games to really keep an eye on again. Hopefully some will be coming soon.

Florida @ Alabama 3:30 CBS

I know, I know, I know… Florida almost (should have) lost at home to Kentucky last weekend.  They have yet to show any improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Side note: Michigan fans should take a moment to realize just how good our situation is. The Wolverine quarterback could be Jeff Driskel, who was higher rated than Devin and has been playing all 4 years. Yet, he still has no idea how to play the position.  Alabama has been less than impressive so far this year, and it looks like Lane Kiffen doesn’t really know how to utilize Blake Sims.  The Tide should be settled on one signal caller moving forward, which could help with offensive continuity.  If Alabama starts getting their offense comfortable and confident this game could be a laugher by halftime. I know the Tide have some inexperience questions about the backend of their defense, but seriously, do you expect Driskel and the Gators to capitalize? I’m going to take: what is no, Alex for $10000.

Mississippi State @ LSU 7:00 ESPN

The Tigers are tough to beat at home, especially when they get to play in Death Valley at night.  LSU has loads more talent that Miss St, but their offensive skill players are very inexperienced.  If the Bulldogs can rattle the young quarterback early, it could be the recipe to remove the crowd as a factor. I expect LSU to win this game, but I do think it will be closer than rankings would suggest.

Oklahoma @ West Virginia 7:30 FOX

It’s the second week in a row that the Sooners are featured in my weekend preview. Last week’s surgical disassembly of Tennessee was not as impressive as I expected, but this week Oklahoma has to travel to Morgantown to play one of the positive surprises of this young season.  West Virginia held their own against Alabama in the season opener, and overcame multiple turnovers and special teams gaffs to beat rival Maryland last weekend. Clint Trickett is gaining confidence with each throw and the Mountaineers might have enough weapons on the outside to test the Sooner secondary.  If you remember, the last time these two teams met in West Virginia it resulted in one of the best games of the 2012 season (OU won 50-49). I think the Sooners eventually wins this game, but they will be tested more than last week.

Miami (OH) Preview

Michigan comes back home after an embarrassing showing last week at Notre Dame. Luckily for the Wolverines they get to face one of the worst teams in college football. However, unluckily for them there is absolutely nothing the coaching staff or players can do tomorrow that will make fans forget South Bend or even regain any optimism about the remainder of the year.  I wish I could give them the benefit of the doubt (like when the basketball team lost at Penn State in 2013 or when they forgot to show up at Iowa in 2014), but at this point I am running out of hope that this regime is able to turn the program around.  


When Michigan has the ball…
There aren’t really any particular matchups that are intriguing this week, but there are definite areas that I would like to see Michigan improve upon.  The first thing is the general game plan. In the past cupcake games under Brady Hoke the Wolverines have come out in MANBALL formations and run an extremely vanilla set based on the power run game. That is fine and all, but this Michigan team will not be successful against real opponents using this mindset. However, the Wolverines do seem to have something in a pass-to-run offense. I am looking for a similar game plan to App St (start with short passes to attach the edges and then attack over the middle).  Moving to specific position improvement, the first priority tomorrow has to be improving the running back’s pocket presence. As MGoBlog said, last week might have been the worst running back game that they have witnessed. Both Green and Smith repeatedly left chunks of yards on the field by not hitting the designed hole and instead trying to gain yards by running over offensive linemen engaged in blocks. I am just looking for one of the backs to look more comfortable in the zone running scheme. Yes, Miami is horrible and likely both backs will be over 100 yards again, but I really want to see confident runs and the use of the holes the offensive line will create.  Finally in the passing game, of course an easy answer would be Devin Gardner remembering to throw the ball to the team with the winged helmets. However, even before bad Devin surfaced last week I think the bigger problem is ball distribution.  I understand Funchess is the best receiver on the team (possibly in the country), but Michigan is chocked full of athletic receivers that had quite the recruiting hype and a true slot ninja. If Funchess is 100% tomorrow he could have 20 catches for 1000 yards and 17 touchdowns, but I would rather see some of the younger guys feel a part of the game plan and gain some confidence. If Michigan is going to make any noise in the B1G they will need to use more than 1 receiver. Yes, I want to see Minitron unleashed again tomorrow, but at this point, even if Funchess is 100% it might be better for this team moving forward if he didn’t play just to force Gardner to create some chemistry with someone else.

When Miami has the ball…
Again this section isn’t so much about specific matchups with the RedHawks, but more how the ravaged defense responds to their first (albeit massive) bout of adversity. Similarly to the offense, it will be interesting to see the defensive game plan tomorrow. Will Mattison just scrap all of the offseason work of being more aggressive, mainly with press coverage, or will he run it out there again looking for any improvement? I know this game doesn’t require the full arsenal of players, but if Taylor and/or Peppers are able to play it would be really nice seeing them back on the field. Both need more reps in this new defense, and I don’t know how much more Hollowell I can stomach.  The defensive line looks to be very good. They were consistently beating their man against one of the best offensive lines the Wolverines will face this year. It will be fun to see Frank Clark actually get to a quarterback tomorrow. I also thought the linebackers looked much more comfortable last weekend, but it will be important to continue to get Jake Ryan snaps in his new position.  The big area to watch is the secondary, particularly the cornerbacks.  Michigan will likely be in their Nickel package all afternoon again, but which cornerbacks see the most snaps? If Taylor and/or Peppers is back I would like to see more of them and Jourdan Lewis on the field. I know Countess will still see a lot of snaps, but he just isn’t able to be a physical, press type cornerback.  So much for giving Charles Woodson’s number to a player who doesn’t fit in the new defensive system at all.  The other thing I want to see are some turnovers. The defense was supposed to carry the team in the beginning of the year while the offense caught up, but so far that hasn’t been the case. There is no way that a defense full of this many talented players should go two games without forcing a turnover, and if they really aren’t that good than how haven’t they at least lucked into one yet?

Michigan football is a funny/frustrating thing. It took me all offseason to get the turd flavored season cleaned out of my mouth, then teased me with some improvements and optimism in week 1 only to take this new hope and proceed to torture it for 60 minutes as if I was being questioned by Jack Bauer. The Penn State game broke me last year, but a lackluster performance tomorrow could just get me there a few weeks quicker this year.

Around the Country: Week 3

There is an immense drop off of marquee games this week compared to last, but even during ‘down weeks’ college football is known to entertain.  This week will travel coast to coast, but will only cover two time slots again.  Hopefully with the non-conference season coming to a close soon there will be a few noon games to actually pay attention to.

Georgia @ South Carolina 3:30 CBS

Both teams had impressive opening weekends. Georgia flexed their muscles against a young Clemson team as star running back Todd Gurley vaulted into many Heisman discussions. The Dawgs comfortable victory also put them in a similar breath as Florida State as favorites to nail down a playoff spot. On the other hand, South Carolina was impressively embarrassed at home against a Texas A&M team breaking in a new quarterback.  The Gamecocks were again tagged as an SEC power, one with national title aspirations but the beat down they took in week 1 abruptly ended those conversations. USC desperately needs a win tomorrow to keep their season on the ledge of disappointment, still leaning towards utter failure. There was a ton of issues in the backend of South Carolina’s defense that I doubt have been patched, and I think Gurley is hands down the best back in college football and should break the slump of running backs going in the first round of the NFL draft. Look for the Gamecocks to put up a better fight, but the Dawg’s to ultimately escape with another building block to the final four.

Minnesota @ TCU 4:00 FS1

In the first interesting B1G game the Gophers travel to Texas for a game that is pretty underrated. I think Coach Kill would love to model the Minnesota program after what Coach Patterson is doing at TCU (play hard nose defense and run the ball).  Minnesota can definitely run the ball, but they are still a work in progress in the other areas.  The Gophers are reportedly going to be without their challenged starting quarterback so now all of the work load falls on rising star running back David Cobb instead of just 90%.  Minnesota can make a statement tomorrow evening with a win, and put themselves in the discussion for B1G West contender, however I think the Horned Frogs defense will be too athletic and able to key on the Gopher run game too much for Minny to get any consistent offense established.

Illinois @ Washington 4:00 Fox

The Illini have been the door mat of the B1G for a few years now, and it didn’t look like that would change this year. However, with the addition of Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt Illinois looks to have a dangerous offense. They aren’t extremely talented yet and will likely still struggle in the B1G, but the Huskies pass defense is one of the worst in the nation.  They have surrendered over 700 yards in the air in just two weeks. While the B1G was busy getting steam rolled on national television last weekend they have an opportunity to stop the embarrassment tomorrow. Two wins from Illinois and Minnesota aren’t likely, nor will they change the overwhelmingly negative perception of the conference but it should stop the flood of bad publicity… at least for a week.

Tennessee @ Oklahoma 8:00 ABC

This game being featured here seems like a stretch. Oklahoma is a legitimate playoff contender, while the Volunteers are still in rebuild mode.  Let’s get this prediction out of the way quickly. I don’t think the outcome will ever be in question as I expect the Sooners to dominate every aspect of this game. But the reason that it intrigues me so much is that Oklahoma is ranked in the top 5, but seem to be flying under the radar. Nobody is really talking about the Sooners, and I think that will change tomorrow night as Coach Stoops will be looking to make another statement at the expense of a big bad SEC school.

Notre Dame Preview

I would like to try a new format this year for the game previews. Instead of looking at each aspect of the game (rush offense vs defense, etc), I want to take more of a step back and just point out a few of the matchups to watch out for. Hopefully this new format can be more sustainable moving forward. 

Michigan heads to South Bend for what appears to be the last time for at least 15 years.  While it is a storied rivalry that has been chocked full of instant classics, I am excited to see Michigan try to replace the Irish with other big name programs (Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Virginia Tech). I think fans will miss these games more after we go a few years without.  This year looks to be an interesting matchup. Michigan desperately wants to put last year’s miserable season behind them and prove that they are in fact a B1G championship contender. Notre Dame wants to stay on the national scene from their BCS Championship game berth 2 years ago, but seem to be sliding backwards with an array of injuries and academic suspensions.

When Michigan has the ball…

There are two major matchups here that will swing tomorrow night’s game one way or the other. First off, Sheldon Day against Michigan’s interior offensive line.  While Jaylon Smith is the Irish’s best defender, Day is by far the most important. With Notre Dame’s depleted secondary they will be looking to put pressure on Gardner any way possible. This game plan starts with Day. He is capable of single-handedly dominating an offensive line. The interior defensive line is Day’s usual position, however they do split him out as a rush end at times as well.  I think the biggest area of concern for Michigan in this entire game is keeping Gardner protected.  Day will likely be able to overpower the left side of the Wolverine line (Cole/Magnusson), and is much quicker than the right side of the line (Glasgow/Kalis/Braden). He also lines up directly over the center at times, and will give Miller or Glasgow all they can handle.  If Day is consistently putting pressure on the quarterback, it will likely force Devin to rush some decisions and throws. And while he under attack all of last year but somehow still had one of the all-time great performances, Michigan cannot count on that again. On the flip side, if Day is not able to break into the backfield it will force Notre Dame to blitz linebackers because if the new 98 has time he will pick the Irish secondary apart. This leads me to the matchup number 2: Devin Funchess vs however Notre Dame tries to cover him.  Funchess repped the number 1 jersey perfectly last weekend. His performance showcased most of his incredible skills, and now Brian Kelly should be having nightmares of the future NFL-er.  If Gardner feels confident in the pocket tomorrow night it will not matter if the suspended Irish players are back or if Funchess is bracket covered all night, the Devin-Devin connection will be strong again. 

When Notre Dame has the ball…

The Irish offense starts and ends with Everett Golson. He is a much different (and better) quarterback than the one the Wolverines faced two years ago.  He has a very strong arm, and can keep plays alive with his feet. I would compare him to Russell Wilson. Of course both can beat you with their feet, but they choose to use their speed to allow more time for their receivers to break open.  Michigan will need to be very disciplined to contain him. This will be a struggle since many of the Wolverine defenders can be too aggressive sometimes (Clark, Henry, and Ryan come to mind). A breakdown in the front seven will result in a big play for Notre Dame. The matchup that I am also looking forward to seeing if how Michigan’s new found press coverage fairs against a real opponent. The Wolverine secondary depth is impressive, and I think they have the advantage on the outside if Notre Dame is indeed without Daniels.  Look for the corners to have a big game, even though the pass interference flags might be flying (remember MSU vs ND 2013).

Michigan seems to have a lot of the advantages across the board. The Irish offense is definitely their strength, but the Wolverine defense has all of the tools to be elite. The Michigan offensive line will still try to find their footing with the new schemes, but Notre Dame’s defensive depth is less than ideal. However, if the Wolverines can find some consistency in the trenches they have a stable of skill players who can shred the Irish back 7. Which team will be able to exploit the other’s biggest weaknesses?

Around the Country: Week 2

The B1G is on the nation’s center stage this week with 3 marquee matchups.  The only problem for fans is that all 3 games will be on at the same time. Not only does this mean that a certain fan base will have to miss two of the best non-conference contests, but also that the first 6.5 hours of football feature little to no excitement.  On top of the 2 B1G games (ND vs Michigan will get a more detailed preview), I was able to find 2 others that peak my interest.

USC @ Stanford 3:30 ABC

Even though both teams are ranked in the mid-teens, a win here could spring board a top 10 season.  USC is absolutely loaded with top end talent, but there are still questions about their overall depth. Stanford has built their very own powerhouse program, and the roster should be much more comfortable with the scheme at this point in the season than the young Trojans.  The Cardinal have to replace a lot up the middle of their defense, and I think USC will be able to take advantage with their superior skill players. While I do think Stanford is still a top tier program, I don’t think they will be able to keep up with the high flying Trojans.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX

This is a classic matchup of speed vs ball control, finesse vs power, West coast vs Midwest.  We didn’t learn too much from either team’s opening game, but the winner on Saturday will be a heavy favorite to be a part of the first college football playoff. Michigan State is trying to replace a lot of production on defense, and while the Spartans should still be very good I think it is nearly impossible for them to match last year’s output. Oregon on the other hand is trying to replace a lot of production on offense. The Ducks have been able to reload instead of rebuild in past years, but they seem to be lacking their normal elite level skill position players outside of Mariota. Oregon has struggled against talented power teams over the past couple of years, and it will be very interesting to see if that stereotype has changed this year. I think Oregon will be very aggressive on defense, and try to get a lot of pressure on Cook. This should set up a few big plays for the Spartans. On the other side of the ball, I don’t know if MSU has enough speed on the back end to be successful in their hyper-aggressive quarters defense to restrict Oregon’s sideline-to-sideline spread attack.  This game should be higher scoring than MSU would prefer, which makes me favor the Ducks. However, ESPN will have you believe that everyone in the B1G footprint will/should be cheering for the Spartans (as seen on their front page)

B1G Opportunity In Eugene

Everyone in Big Ten country is pulling for Michigan State this week against Oregon.

I just cannot willingly cheer for an outcome that would put MSU even more in the national spotlight.

East Carolina @ South Carolina 7:00 ESPNU

I know, I know, this game is not on the same level of magnitude as the other 3 highlighted, but I do think it can be a close game. South Carolina just got embarrassed at home in their opener, and just like that all of the talk about SEC East favorites or national title contender has been thrown out the window. The Gamecock defense brought a plastic knife to a gun fight, and Texas A&M was able to do anything they wanted all night.  On top of the disappointing outcome, South Carolina has to face Georgia next week. The Dawgs are now the heavy favorite in the SEC East.  I think the Old Ball Coach will have his hands full to stop the letdown.

Virginia Tech @ Ohio State 8:00 ESPN

I know the Hokies aren’t ranked heading into Columbus this week, but the Buckeyes barely looked like a ranked team last week when they squeaked by Navy.  It could be very dangerous to be a quarterback in this game as both defenses look to dominate and control the field position battle. I think Bud Foster will have the Hokies’ D firing on all cylinders which will confuse the inexperienced offensive line and force the Buckeye freshman quarterback into more mistakes than last week.  Look for a defensive or special teams touchdown to change momentum and determine the outcome.

Even though the B1G will be featured this week, I don’t think they will find much success. Will the outcomes hurt the conference’s national perception more?  Frankly, I’m not sure 3 wins would even help much at this point.