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Preview: Michigan vs. Central Michigan

I’ve been aware of Matt Drinkall for a while because of clinics and such. Having spent several years at Army recently, he’s very much entrenched in that style of football, which is about discipline and conservative football.

RUSH OFFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #60 in rushing offense (173.5 yards/game) after two contests and #37 in yards per carry (5.42), based largely on the running of Alabama transfer Justice Haynes (35 carries, 284 yards, 4 touchdowns), who has 75-, 59-, and 56-yard runs already this year. The big question for this phase is the offensive line, which already lost 5-star freshman Andrew Babalola prior to the season and saw left guard Giovanni El-Hadi go down last week against Oklahoma. Even Cal Poly transfer Brady Norton, the starter at right guard, had to leave last week’s game at one point, drawing in redshirt freshman Jake Guarnera. El-Hadi will likely miss this week’s game, so I would expect Nate Efobi to start this week. Central Michigan is #48 in yards allowed per game (99.5) and #84 in yards allowed per carry (3.98) after a week in which they allowed Pitt to run 26 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s not an awful performance, but it indicates CMU will probably struggle against a Big Ten rushing attack. Senior inside linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski (6’1″, 235) leads the team with 14 tackles and fifth year senior OLB Dakota Cochran (6’2″, 240) is right behind him with 13. Redshirt sophomore OLB Korver Demma (6’3″, 245), a transfer from Nebraska, leads the team with 1.5 tackles for loss. The defensive line will be undersized compared to most Michigan opponents. This should be a “get right” game for Michigan’s offensive line to continue working on its cohesiveness.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

2025 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 2

FORMER PLAYERS

Raheem Anderson, C (Western Michigan): Anderson is a backup lineman for Western Michigan.

Andrel Anthony, WR (Duke): Anthony caught 5 passes for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 45-19 loss to Illinois.

WHAT A CATCH BY ANDREL ANTHONY…. pic.twitter.com/dSWoaaVVyx

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) September 6, 2025

This Darian Mensah to Andrel Anthony connection 👀 pic.twitter.com/cmwc9dEXQh

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) September 6, 2025

Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri): Beasley made 1 tackle in a 42-31 win over Kansas.

Kechaun Bennett, DE (UCLA): Bennett made 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in a 30-23 loss to UNLV.

Tristan Bounds, OT (Arizona): Bounds is a starting offensive tackle for Arizona.

Hit the jump for more.

10 Longest Plays vs. Oklahoma

I posted the other day about the lone prior matchup against Oklahoma (LINK), but now I have another game’s worth of plays to include:

1. Justice Haynes 75-yard touchdown run (2025)
2. Bryce Underwood 44-yard pass to Donaven McCulley (2025)
3. Bryce Underwood 38-yard pass to Donaven McCulley (2025)
4. Rob Lytle 25-yard kickoff return (1975)
5. Bryce Underwood 25-yard pass to Channing Goodwin (2025)
6. Gordie Bell 20-yard kickoff return (1975)
7. Andrew Marsh 20-yard kickoff return (2025)
8. Bryce Underwood 19-yard pass to Semaj Morgan (2025)
9. Rick Leach 17-yard pass to Gordie Bell (1975)
10. Rick Leach 16-yard run (1975)
11. Rick Leach 16-yard pass to Keith Johnson (1975)

Here’s a look at Haynes’s 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half:

Holy sh*t Justice Haynes is fast as hell. pic.twitter.com/oKBSRYxkc7

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 7, 2025

Preview: Michigan vs. Oklahoma

RUSH OFFENSE vs. OKLAHOMA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan got a breakout game from Alabama transfer RB Justice Haynes last week (16 carries, 159 yards, 3 touchdowns), all of which were also career highs for him. It was a bright spot, but it was really the only bright spot of the runners as #2 running back Jordan Marshall (11 carries, 29 yards) struggled to find space and QB Bryce Underwood didn’t run at all. The offensive line played fairly well overall, helped out by tight ends Marlin Klein and Max Bredeson in the run game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Michigan work in a couple designed runs for Underwood this week. Oklahoma allowed 83 yards on 13 carries in the first half against Illinois State last week before shoring things up in the second half, allowing 13 carries for just 34 yards after intermission. Was it because Oklahoma made adjustments, or did the Redbirds just run out of gas? The defensive line is supposedly one of the better ones in the SEC and they’re all seniors, including DE Marvin Jones, Jr. (6’5″, 262), who’s the son of former FSU and NFL linebacker Marvin Jones, and TCU transfer DT Damonic Williams (6’1″, 323), who played against Michigan back in 2022 as a Horned Frog. DE R Mason Thomas (6’2″, 249) led the team last year with 12.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks. As strong as the defensive line is, the top four tacklers last week were linebackers, led by junior Sammy Omosigho (6’1″, 235).
Advantage: Michigan

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8 Longest Plays vs. Oklahoma

Michigan and Oklahoma have only played football against each other one time, and it was a 14-6 loss to the Sooners in the Orange Bowl at the end of the 1975 season (technically January 1, 1976).

Here’s a recap of the game via Wikipedia:

On January 1, 1976, Michigan lost to Oklahoma, 14–6, before a crowd of 80,307 in the 1976 Orange Bowl game at the Miami Orange Bowl. It was Michigan’s first appearance in a bowl game since the 1972 Rose Bowl.

Oklahoma went ahead 7–0 in the second quarter on a 39-yard end around by Billy Brooks. The Sooners extended their lead to 14–0 in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard touchdown run by Steve Davis. Later in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma fumbled, and Michigan linebacker Dave Devich recovered the loose ball at Oklahoma’s two-yard line. From there, Gordon Bell then ran for a touchdown, but Michigan’s attempt at a two-point conversion failed.

Oklahoma out-gained Michigan by 345 yards to 202 yards. Michigan had difficulty moving the ball against an Oklahoma defense led by Lee Roy Selmon, Dewey Selmon, and Jimbo Elrod. In the second quarter, Rick Leach took a shot to the head from Oklahoma defensive back Jerry Anderson. Leach was “knocked dizzy” and did not return to the game until the fourth quarter. Coach Schembechler argued for a penalty, but none was called, and Anderson defended the hit: “I just clotheslined him real good. . . . I didn’t think it was no cheap shot. It was what you call a kayo.”

Leach ended up with 62 rushing yards on 13 carries, but completed only two of 16 passes for 33 yards and threw two interceptions. Michigan did not complete a pass until the final minute of the game. Gordon Bell was held to 53 yards on 18 carries, and Rob Lytle gained only 32 yards on 10 carries.

For Oklahoma, quarterback Steve Davis completed three of five passes for 63 yards, Joe Washington rushed for 73 yards on 17 carries, and Tinker Owens caught three passes for 63 yards.

Michigan’s lone score came on a 2-yard run by Gordie Bell after the Wolverines recovered a fumble. There’s not much to go on from 50 years ago, but here’s a look the “biggest” plays from that game for Michigan:

1. Rob Lytle 25-yard kickoff return (1975)
2. Gordie Bell 20-yard kickoff return (1975)
3. Rick Leach 17-yard pass to Gordie Bell (1975)
4. Rick Leach 16-yard run (1975)
5. Rick Leach 16-yard pass to Keith Johnson (1975)
6. Jim Smith 14-yard run (1975)
7. Gordie Bell 11-yard run (1975)
8. Rob Lytle 7-yard run (1975)

If you’re so inclined, you can watch the full game here: