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.
PASS OFFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE
Michigan is #88 in passing yards per game (196.5) a year after they finished #131. Baby steps! Quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled last week (9/24, 85 yards) against a tough Oklahoma defense, but he didn’t turn the ball over. There were some miscommunications with #1 WR Donaven McCulley, but McCulley also pulled in 3 catches for 91 yards, including a leaping catch that he reeled in by squeezing the ball against an unknowing Oklahoma defender. The offensive line struggled in pass protection even though Underwood was only sacked once by the Sooners. Meanwhile, Central Michigan is #133 in pass defense (324 yards allowed/game) after giving up 308 yards to San Jose State in week one and 340 to Pitt last week. Despite the new head coach, CMU was able to retain most of its defense, and every player in the back seven is a senior or redshirt senior except sophomore CB Jaion Jackson (5’10”, 160). Unfortunately, that experience appears not to have helped much, although Pitt’s Eli Holstein has been a productive player. Up front the Chips have a solid edge guy in fifth year senior Michael Heldman (6’4″, 260) who has 9 career sacks.
Advantage: Michigan
RUSH DEFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUSH OFFENSE
Michigan is #40 in rush defense after facing a couple teams who really like to run the ball, so that’s somewhat promising. Oklahoma QB John Mateer was the engine of the Sooners rushing offense, and they won’t be facing that level of runner this week. When I look at tackle numbers, I like to see the two inside linebackers leading the way in tackles, and that’s not the case with the Wolverines so far. Middle linebacker Ernest Hausmann leads the way with 19 tackles, but then he’s followed by safety Brandyn Hillman (12), backup LB Jimmy Rolder (10), and safety Mason Curtis (10); in fact, you have to go all the way to find WLB Jaishawn Barham, who is tied for #8 in tackles with 6. The defensive line is solid, but they couldn’t keep pace with Oklahoma’s tempo. Central Michigan is #92 in rushing offense (134 yards/game) and they’re averaging 2.91 yards/carry (#128). Redshirt sophomore RB Trey Cornist (6’0″, 215) is a Tulane transfer who has 23 carries for 113 yards and 1 touchdown, and senior RB Nahree Biggins (6’1″, 210) has 27 carries for 112 yards. They rotate three quarterbacks and try to run them, but none of them ever run very far; the most successful is junior Angel Flores (6’1″, 210), who has 21 attempts for 48 yards. The offensive line is also in flux.
Advantage: Michigan
PASS DEFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN PASS OFFENSE
Michigan is #103 in pass defense (243.5 yards allowed/game), but they’re giving up just 5.9 yards/attempt (#48) and their passing efficiency defense is #61. The inflated total yardage number is not indicative of a generally solid passing defense. This should be a bounce back week for the edge rushers who couldn’t get home against Mateer, if not also the defensive backs who were close to making some big plays against the Sooners but couldn’t finish the job. Cornerback Jyaire Hill struggled in week one, but he played stickier coverage last week. It’s unclear if CB Zeke Berry will play this week after suffering what looked like an ankle injury last week, so Jayden Sanders, Jo’ziah Edmonds, and/or Shamari Earls could get the start on Saturday. The CMU passing offense is also pretty weak, with Iowa transfer QB Joe Labas (6’4″, 210) leading the way at 16/24 for 145 yards and 1 touchdown. Overall, they’re #118 in passing offense (146 yards/game), albeit with a 70% completion percentage, 0 interceptions, and a middling 7.3 yards per attempt. Freshman QB Jadyn Glasser (6’2″, 230) is 7/9 for 78 yards, and Flores if 5/6 for 69 yards. Junior WR Tommy McIntosh (6’5″, 210) leads the team with 4 catches for 78 yards, and junior TE DeCorion Temple (6’5″, 245) has the team’s lone receiving touchdown on 5 catches for 36 yards. The game plans appear to be “Protect the ball, make safe passes, and stay in the game.”
Advantage: Michigan
ROSTER NOTES
- Former Michigan running back Chuck Heater is a defensive analyst for CMU
- Rumors are that former Michigan employee Connor Stalions was employed by Central Michigan at one time
LAST TIME THEY PLAYED . . .
- Michigan beat Central Michigan by a score of 59-9 in 2013
- RB Derrick Green led Michigan in rushing (11 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD)
- Michigan scored 6 total rushing TDs: 1 for Green, 2 for Fitzgerald Toussaint, 2 for Devin Gardner, and 1 for Thomas Rawls)
- WR Joe Reynolds returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a TD
PREDICTION
- Michigan 45, Central Michigan 10
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