Preview: Michigan vs. Minnesota

Preview: Michigan vs. Minnesota


November 3, 2017

RUSH OFFENSE vs. MINNESOTA RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is up to #38 in rushing offense (193.4 yards/game) and #57 in yards per carry (4.57). Karan Higdon has taken over the leading role with 604 yards and 8 touchdowns on 5.9 yards/carry. Ty Isaac has also run well, but he left last weekend’s game with an injury, and Kareem Walker also left with a sprained ankle. The other top option is Chris Evans (298 yards on 3.9 yards/carry). The offensive line is #19 in Adjusted Line Yards this season. The group has improved noticeably over the past few weeks, particularly in the run game since right tackle Nolan Ulizio was replaced by Juwann Bushell-Beatty. The Gophers are #36 in rushing defense (132.8 yards allowed/game) and #54 in yards allowed per carry (4.12). The leading tackler is middle linebacker Thomas Barber (6’1″, 233 lbs.) with 75 stops, and he’s followed by weakside linebacker Jonathan Celestin (6’1″, 232) with 60 tackles. Barber is #2 on the team in tackles for loss (8.0), topped only by DE/OLB Carter Coughlin (6’4″, 245) and his 8.5 tackles for loss. Minnesota has a solid interior defensive line with nose tackle Steven Richardson (6’0″, 300) and 3-tech Gary Moore (6’4″, 295). The Gophers are solid up front, but Michigan seems to have an upward trend right now that I expect to continue in the running game.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more on this Saturday’s game.

PASS OFFENSE vs. MINNESOTA PASS DEFENSE

Michigan is #105 in passing offense (181 yards/game) and #106 in passing efficiency. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters took over for a bumbling John O’Korn in the second quarter of last Saturday’s game and went on to complete 10/14 passes for 124 yards and 1 touchdown. The receiving leader is junior wide receiver Grant Perry (22 catches, 285 yards, 1 TD), but sophomore tight end Sean McKeon is just behind with 21 catches for 223 yards. The Wolverines are tied for #111 in the country in giving up 24 sacks. Meanwhile, Minnesota gives up the 24th-fewest yards per game through the air (184.0), which happens to be pretty darn close to Michigan’s average offensive output, and their average passing efficiency defense is within one point of Michigan’s offensive rating. Their only subpar game was when they gave up 2 touchdowns on 69% completions to Purdue in a 31-17 loss. Even so, the Gophers are #99 in sacks, and the only player with more than one is Coughlin (4.5). Safety Jacob Huff leads the team with 3 interceptions. Minnesota isn’t anything special against the pass, but their numbers look good because they haven’t played much of anyone. The huge question mark is whether Peters can continue his solid play from last week.
Advantage: Minnesota

RUSH DEFENSE vs. MINNESOTA RUSH OFFENSE

Michigan is #8 in rushing defense (104 yards allowed/game) and #14 in rushing average (3.19). They’re also tied at #9 with 65 tackles for loss. Middle linebacker Devin Bush, Jr. leads the team by a long shot with 66 tackles, and both defensive end Chase Winovich and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. lead the squad with 10 tackles for loss. Minnesota is #47 in rushing offense (182 yards/game) and #79 in rushing average (4.06 yards/carry). Junior Rodney Smith (5’11”, 210) leads the team with 153 carries for 627 yards, while fellow junior Shannon Brooks (6’0″, 213) averages 4.7 yards/carry on 79 attempts. The left side of the line is made up of huge JUCO transfers, while the right side consists of medium-sized redshirt freshmen. They don’t get a lot of push up front, and they will probably struggles with the Wolverines’ front.
Advantage: Michigan

PASS DEFENSE vs. MINNESOTA PASS OFFENSE

Michigan is #2 in passing defense (151 yards allowed/game) and #5 in passing efficiency defense. They have allowed 6 touchdowns while making 6 interceptions. The only team able to complete more than 53.8% of its passes was Penn State, and no one else has topped 200 yards, either. Michigan is tied at #5 in sacks, led by Winovich (7.0) and Bush (5.0). The standout in the defensive backfield is sophomore corner Lavert Hill, who has 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups. Minnesota is #116 in passing offense (113 yards/game), and things have been really ugly lately. The last two games have included only single-digit completions (5 against Illinois, 9 against Iowa), and Minnesota hasn’t completed more than 50% of its passes since week three. Demry Croft (6’5″, 205) has taken over the quarterback job from Connor Rhoda, and he’s averaging 5.4 yards/attempt on 42.1% completions. The only real threat as a receiver is 6’2″, 190 lb. Tyler Johnson, but he is indeed a threat. He averages 19.1 yards/catch, and it hasn’t all been against creampuffs – against Michigan State, he caught 8 passes for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns in a narrow loss. The Gophers have only allowed 8 sacks this year, which is tied for #11 in the country. Michigan should have the advantage here, but Johnson will probably make some plays, especially if the Gophers can keep him away from Hill.
Advantage: Michigan

ROSTER NOTES

  • Players recruited by Michigan include: CB Chris Williamson
  • Players from the State of Michigan include: Northville LB Trenton Guthrie, Battle Creek Lakeview P Jacob Herbers, Pontiac Notre Dame OT Kyle Sassack, Allendale DL Nate Umlor, and Grand Rapids West Catholic TE Bryce Witham
  • Wide receivers Harry and Yale Van Dyne are the sons of former Michigan wide receiver Yale Van Dyne
  • Minnesota CB Antoine Winfield, Jr. is the son of former Ohio State and NFL cornerback Antoine Winfield

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED . . . 

  • As an injury replacement for Jake Rudock, Wilton Speight threw the game-winning TD pass to Jehu Chesson with 4:57 remaining
  • Drake Johnson led the team with 55 yards rushing
  • Minnesota threw for 317 yards, including 5 catches for 111 yards by Brandon Lingen

PREDICTIONS

  • Michigan scores a defensive touchdown
  • Brandon Peters hits Zach Gentry for a long touchdown
  • Chris Evans coughs up a fumble
  • Michigan 27, Minnesota 13

6 comments

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Nov 03, 2017 at 6:54 AM

    Yeah, there are some extraordinarily beautiful girls to be found on the campus of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It ain’t Arlington, and it’s for sure not UCLA, but when it comes to girls, Minnesota was/hopefully still is a big time sleeper. To my way of thinking, the absolute best in the Big 10. At least, that’s how I remember it.

    Nebraska had some real good looking and pleasantly healthy girls back in the day as well.

    • Comments: 522
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      DonAZ
      Nov 03, 2017 at 8:24 AM

      Arizona State is quite a pleasant campus as well. 😉

  2. Comments: 191
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    crazyjoedavola
    Nov 03, 2017 at 8:06 AM

    I am really hoping that Isaac and Walker can play in this game, we should be taking pressure from Peters and go run heavy in this game just like against Rutgers.

    • Comments: 36
      Joined: 11/17/2015
      funkywolve
      Nov 03, 2017 at 11:54 AM

      It’d be nice if they can get out to a decent size lead so they can take the chains off of Peters a bit. As long as the game is close I think they keep the play calling a little more vanilla.

  3. Comments: 359
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    GKblue
    Nov 03, 2017 at 2:39 PM

    TBH I can live with what we would normally call vanilla if it consists of a successful run/pass offense that moves the chains. Once in the red zone I sure would like to see our TEs used in a mismatch.

    To do this the OL has to keep Peters clean so that actually having a pass threat makes Minny safeties play us honest. This results in opening up the run game to make our third downs more manageable, hence less pressure on Peters.

    And yes, opening up the playbook at a pace he can effectively put to use is a good thing.

  4. Comments: 528
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    michymich
    Nov 04, 2017 at 6:13 PM

    I was hoping to see UM fling the ball somewhat but might not with the weather.

    1. UM isn’t winning the East. So let’s see the development of the offense. Not saying don’t try and win but everything the rest of the year is about beating OSU and setting the program up for next year.

    2. If it rains then let’s see the running game continue to develop.

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