Tag: game preview

29Oct 2021

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Preview: Michigan at Michigan State

RUSH OFFENSE vs. MSU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is now #5 in rushing offense (253 yards/game) and #14 in rushing average (5.46 yards/carry). They’re also #3 in the country with 25 rushing touchdowns. Both of Michigan’s running backs are on pace to gain 1,000+ yards during the regular season, which would be the first time two players top that mark since 2011 (Denard Robinson, Fitzgerald Toussaint). That won’t be easy to achieve considering the tough opponents down the stretch, but it’s still impressive to be on that pace after seven games. Up front the success may depend on the health of the offensive line, where left guard Trevor Keegan and right guard Zak Zinter both missed last week’s game due to injury. Michigan State is #29 in rushing defense (119 yards allowed/game) and #22 in yards allowed per carry (3.27). The top two leading tacklers are senior safety Xavier Henderson (6’1″, 210) and sophomore safety Angelo Grose (5’10”, 180), followed by junior linebacker Quavaris Crouch (6’2″, 230), a Tennessee transfer that Michigan pursued heavily in the 2019 class; they have 60, 53, and 52 stops, respectively. Henderson leads the team in non-quarterback takedowns behind the line with 5 so far this season. Redshirt junior Jacob Slade (6’4″, 315) doesn’t make many plays but he stops things up well, and redshirt freshman Simeon Barrow (6’2″, 285) is more of the penetrator. It’s not going to be easy sledding, but I expect Michigan to have some success running the ball.
Advantage: Michigan

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22Oct 2021

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Preview: Michigan vs. Northwestern

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NORTHWESTERN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #6 in rush offense (246.5 yards/game) with two of the more interesting backs in the Big Ten: bruiser Hassan Haskins (492 yards, 8 TD) and lightning-in-a-bottle Blake Corum (610 yards, 8 TD). They have 97 and 101 rushing attempts, respectively, so Michigan is bound to use either one at any given time. The Wolverines are mostly a downhill rushing team, but they can hit the edges, like Corum did with a 31-yard touchdown scamper on a BASH play against Nebraska two weeks ago. Michigan had some issues with the health of their offensive guards (five played against the Cornhuskers), so it may be interesting to see who’s ready to go on the offensive line this week. Northwestern is #118 in rushing defense (206.2 yards allowed/game) and they’re giving up 5.4 yards per attempt, which is #119. The Wildcats have experience up front, but not much talent. Junior defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore (6’2″, 265) is the best of the bunch with 22 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. The leading overall tackler is senior SAM linebacker Chris Bergin (5’11”, 223 lbs.) with 63 tackles, followed by sophomore safety Brandon Joseph (6’1″, 192) with 40 tackles. One of the best rushing offenses against one of the worst rushing defenses? I expect Michigan to stick to the ground for much of this one.
Advantage: Michigan

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8Oct 2021

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Preview: Michigan at Nebraska

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #7 in rushing offense (255 yards/game) and #12 in yards per carry (5.57) despite not running the ball very well the past couple weeks against Rutgers and Wisconsin. Last week Michigan managed just 112 rushing yards on 2.55 yards per attempt, and that was a game in which Michigan did not suffer any sacks. Nebraska is #44 in rushing defense and allowing 3.67 yards per carry, which is a middling #54 nationally. While they allowed FCS Fordham to average 4.61 yards per carry, the Cornhuskers buckled down and held Michigan State to just 71 yards and 2.37 yards a pop a couple weeks ago. Sophomore inside linebacker Luke Reimer (6’1″, 225) is their leading tackler with 51, while sophomore outside linebacker Garrett Nelson (6’3″, 245) leads with 8.0 tackles for loss.
Advantage: Michigan

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1Oct 2021

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Preview: Michigan at Wisconsin

RUSH OFFENSE vs. WISCONSIN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #5 in rushing offense (291 yards/game) and #6 in yards per attempt (6.3) despite having a tough go against Rutgers last week (112 rushing yards, 3.0 yards/carry). Blake Corum is down to 6.9 yards per attempt and Hassan Haskins is down to 5.3. Both of those rushing averages are still very good, but Michigan needs a better game this week. The game was really slowed down in the trenches and by the play calling; starting left guard Trevor Keegan and left tackle Ryan Hayes both struggled in the run game, and Josh Gattis called a very uninspired game filled with repeated inside runs that repeatedly didn’t work. Wisconsin, meanwhile, is the #1 rushing defense (23.0 yards allowed/game) and teams are averaging just 1.01 yards per attempt. Last week Notre Dame managed just 3 total rushing yards on 32 attempts, an absolutely abysmal effort. Senior inside linebacker Jack Sanborn (6’2″, 236 lbs.) leads the squad with 5 tackles for loss, followed by senior defensive end Matt Henningsen (6’3″, 291) with 4 and sophomore outside linebacker Nick Herbig (6’2″, 227) with 3.5. Senior safety Scott Nelson (6’2″, 205) leads the team with 13 tackles. Unless Michigan can open up the running game by throwing the ball effectively (see below), it’s going to be tough sledding.
Advantage: Wisconsin

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24Sep 2021

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Preview: Michigan vs. Rutgers

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RUSH OFFENSE vs. RUTGERS RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is the #1 rushing team in the country, averaging 350 yards per game on 7.15 yards per carry (#4). The two most relevant players are Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins, who are almost identical in attempts this year: 48 and 49, respectively. Corum is the more explosive one (8.5 yards/carry, 7 touchdowns) while Haskins (5.7 yards/carry, 4 touchdowns) is the Steady Eddie. The unsung heroes of that rushing offense, of course, are the offensive linemen, who are blasting people up front. That group is led by center Andrew Vastardis. Rutgers is #49 in rushing defense (113 yards allowed/game) and #46 in yards allowed per carry (3.39). Those numbers are bolstered by the quality of opponent so far, which has included Temple, Syracuse, and Delaware.
Advantage: Michigan

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