game preview Archives - Page 4 of 37

6Oct 2023

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Preview: Michigan at Minnesota

RUSH OFFENSE vs. MINNESOTA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #31 in rushing offense (184 yards/game) and #33 in yards per carry (4.95). Blake Corum is at 5.74 yards per carry and is tied for the national lead rushing touchdowns with 9 despite being tied for #31 in rushing attempts. (The other two players with 9 scores are Marshall’s Rasheen Ali and Georgia State’s Marcus Carroll, who have 91 and 115 carries, respectively, compared to Corum’s 74.) Kalel Mullings had his first kind of breakout game with 5 carries for 43 yards last week and now has 15 attempts for 100 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown last Saturday. Donovan Edwards has been clunking along at 3.34 yards/carry (3.43 last week, though!) so we’re still waiting for him to show his elite capabilities in the open field. Minnesota is #54 in rushing defense (127.2 yards allowed/game) and #81 in yards allowed per carry (4.18). Somehow they held North Carolina to 2.84 yards/carry a few weeks ago, but last week Louisiana-Lafayette carved them up for 177 yards on just 27 attempts. Freshman linebacker Maverick Baranowski (6’3″, 230) leads the team with 35 tackles, followed by senior safety Jack Henderson (6’3″, 215) with 30 and sophomore safety Darius Green (6’1″, 200) with 27. The Golden Gophers play a 3-4 look with senior Kyler Baugh (6’2″, 305) at nose tackle, where he has 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the year. Baranowski has 3.0 tackles for loss and JACK linebacker Danny Striggow (6’5″, 255) has 4.0, so they’re decent at getting into the backfield at times. But Michigan should have good success in the run game.
Advantage: Michigan

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29Sep 2023

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Preview: Michigan at Nebraska

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE
Mighty Michigan is #50 in rushing offense (167.75 yards/game) but tied at #32 in yards per carry (4.97). The numbers aren’t atrocious, but they’re not where we expected them to be, either. With three starters returning up front and a couple solid transfers incoming, we wanted to see more. There has been some shuffling with La’Darius Henderson, Karsen Barnhart, and Myles Hinton going in and out of the lineup at tackle. Blake Corum has 351 yards and 8 touchdowns on 6.05 yards/carry so far, but backup Donovan Edwards is off to a slow start with just 3.3 yards/carry and no touchdowns so far this year. Meanwhile, Nebraska has the #2 rushing defense (46.3 yards allowed/game) and is allowing 1.83 yards/carry, which is also #2. They have adopted a 3-3-5 defense under new head coach Matt Rhule, and that 3-3-5 gave Michigan some issues last year when TCU ran it. Junior safety Isaac Gifford (6’1″, 205 lbs.) leads the team with 23 tackles, followed by senior safety Omar Brown (6’1″, 200) with 22 and junior linebacker John Bullock (6’0″, 220) with 22 also. Those rushing defense numbers are even more impressive when considering that the Cornhuskers are pretty average in tackles for loss (#55 overall), led by junior nose tackle Nash Hutmacher (6’4″, 330) with 3.5 TFLs so far. The Huskers have been consistent this year, not allowing any team to average more than 2.19 yards/carry in any game this year. I think Michigan is going to have some tough sledding on the ground.
Advantage: Nebraska

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15Sep 2023

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Preview: Michigan vs. Bowling Green

RUSH OFFENSE vs. BGSU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #75 overall in rushing (150.5 yards/game) and #53 in yards per carry (4.7) despite not having allowed a single sack this season. Blake Corum’s numbers are adequate (25 carries, 153 yards, 4 TD), but backup Donovan Edwards has been surprisingly ineffective (18 carries, 46 yards). Mike Hart said last week that neither player had been tackled during fall camp, so it appears to be taking some time for them to get back in sync with their blocking. The offensive line starters appear to be set with Karsen Barnhart and Myles Hinton winning the left and right tackle jobs, respectively. Bowling Green is #102 in rushing defense (160.5 yards allowed/game) and #98 in yards allowed per carry (4.28). They held down FCS Eastern Illinois last week, but Liberty had 246 yards on the ground at over 5.0 yards per attempt. The leading tackler for the Falcons is sophomore weakside linebacker Joseph Shipp (6’0″, 220) with 20 stops, followed by sophomore cornerback Jalen Huskey (6’0″, 185) with 15. Both of BGSU’s inside linebackers are 220-225 pounds, and they start a 285 lb. nose tackle in senior Anthony Hawkins, so they’re a little undersized up the middle.
Advantage: Michigan

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8Sep 2023

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Preview: Michigan vs. UNLV

RUSH OFFENSE vs. UNLV RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan had a disappointing week against East Carolina with 31 carries for 122 yards, which was just 3.9 yards per carry. There were too many plays allowed in the backfield, and that fell on both the blockers and the running backs. We all know Blake Corum (10 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD) and Donovan Edwards (12 carries, 37 yards) are stars, but the more interesting aspect will be how Michigan’s tackles look. Last week Michigan started Karsen Barnhart on the left and Myles Hinton on the right, but the belief is that La’Darius Henderson and Trente Jones will start at those positions, respectively. UNLV ranks #106 nationally in rushing defense (179 yards allowed in one game), but that might be a bit misleading. The Runnin’ Rebels allowed just 19 yards on 8 carries before things got out of hand against Bryant. UNLV’s leading tackler is 6’3″, 230 lb. Arkansas transfer Jackson Woodard, who had 12 stops last week. Cornerback Thomas Andersen (6’1″, 185) was second on the team in tackles with 8. Nickelback Jerrae Williams (5’10”, 185) had an impressive 3.0 tackles for loss last week alone in UNLV’s 4-2-5 defense.
Advantage: Michigan

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2Sep 2023

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Preview: Michigan vs. East Carolina

RUSH OFFENSE vs. ECU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan’s running game has been talked about so much that it feels kind of insulting to bring up again. But I will, anyway. Michigan returns three-fifths of the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in left guard Trevor Keegan, right guard Zak Zinter, and offensive tackle . . . someone. One or both of Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart should start. Running back Blake Corum surprised most people when he chose a return to Michigan over playing in the NFL, so he brings back his 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Backup running back Donovan Edwards had 991 yards on the ground. Michigan was #5 in rushing with 238.9 yards/game and scored the second-most rushing touchdowns (41), behind only Georgia (44). Last year’s East Carolina unit finished #19 in the country in rushing defense (112.5 yards allowed/game), and they held Tulane star running back Tyjae Spears to 16 carries for 53 yards (Spears finished with 1,581 rushing yards on the season). The Pirates have a couple 300-ish pound nose tackles, but their 3-techniques are around 270, which has to have Zak Zinter champing at the bit. The leading tackler last year was 6’2″, 187 lb. safety Julius Wood (88 stops), and the top guy in the front seven was 6’2″, 237 lb. outside linebacker Jeremy Lewis (60 tackles). The two starting inside linebackers are totally unproven in junior Teylor Jackson (32 career tackles) and South Carolina State transfer B.J. Davis, who are 219 and 227 pounds, respectively. This should be a good day on the ground for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan

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