close
close

Yiamastaverna

Trusted News & Timely Insights

    • Michigan football scouting report, pick against No. 3 Texas. Who will win?
    Suffolk

    Michigan football scouting report, pick against No. 3 Texas. Who will win?

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    play

    Free Press sportswriter Tony Garcia analyzes Michigan football’s Week 2 game against Texas on Saturday in Ann Arbor:

    Short info

    Comparison: No. 9 Michigan (1-0) vs. No. 3 Texas (1-0).

    Start: Saturday, 12:00 p.m.; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

    Television/Radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1 FM).

    Line: Longhorns with 7½.

    Availability report

    Michigan: From: S Rod Moore, QB Jack Tuttle, WR Joe Taylor.

    Texas: From: RB CJ Baxter, RB Christian Clark, QB Trey Owens.

    Scouting report

    When Michigan has the ball: The first week of the season didn’t go quite as the Wolverines had hoped, at least not on offense. Their first five drives all lasted five plays or less. Only on UM’s 10th (and final) drive did they cross the halfway line and score a touchdown. Michigan opted to use former walk-on Davis Warren at quarterback, with junior Alex Orji providing variety. Warren was a bit shaky in his opening game, completing 15 of 25 passes for 118 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but there’s a belief (or maybe hope?) that UM held its offense back a bit. What wasn’t held back was All-Big Ten tight end Colston Loveland, who caught eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown in the opening game.

    “He’s a great player,” Texas linebacker David Gbenda told reporters earlier this week about Loveland. “The way they run the offense through him is amazing. He’s also a very strong blocker, so he’s the ideal tight end you want on your team.”

    UM will need more than just Loveland this time, as all other receivers combined for just eight catches for 34 yards. The running game also needs to become more efficient. Donovan Edwards ran 11 times for 27 yards — he caught one touchdown pass — while Kalel Mullings turned 15 carries into 92 yards thanks to a late fourth-quarter recovery.

    Michigan talked about needing to be more efficient on third downs (4 of 11 against Fresno State) and that sticking to the schedule was one way to do that.

    “The guy is a leader on this football team; he’s one of the absolute leaders on our offense,” running backs coach Tony Alford said of Edwards. “He’s proven he can make good plays in this program, as he has in many games. That’s what we expect from him; just keep playing.”

    When Texas has the ball: Job No. 1 for the Wolverines is keeping Texas’ explosive playmakers in front of them, and there are a handful of them in burnt orange, starting with transfer Isaiah Bond, Alabama’s top receiver against UM in the Rose Bowl. Ryan Wingo (four catches, 70 yards), Johntay Cook (three for 56 yards) and Matthew Golden (three for 50 yards and two TDs) were all standouts in Texas’ season-opening 52-0 win over Colorado State. Complicating matters is Texas’ pre-snap movement, which UM linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary called “eye candy” and stressed the need for his unit to remain disciplined.

    “Coach Sarkisian lets you play from the sideline to the sideline,” Jean-Mary said. “He’s always going to try to scheme and hit home runs. Obviously they’re very skilled there at the wideout position. And he even does a great job of getting the running backs out there.”

    The Longhorns had 16 “explosive” plays in the opening game — passes of 15 yards or more or runs of 10 yards or more. Of those, four of UT’s passes went for more than 30 yards and two runs went for more than 20 yards. The two-headed monster in the backfield is the duo of Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson, but what really gets the entire attack going is the offensive line. Led by projected first-round offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas returns four starters from last year’s College Football Playoff semifinalist team, all at least 315 pounds.

    “Offensively, this extremely explosive quarterback is as experienced and good as anyone in the country, he’s precise and knows the offense inside and out,” said head coach Sherrone Moore. “He does a good job of controlling the offense. The O-line is made up of four guys who were in the starting lineup last year and they’re all older, all seniors. So with their experience, they’ve done a really good job. They’re really well coached on offense.”

    Know the enemy

    Electric water jugs: Quinn Ewers, who shares the cover of EA Sports’ “College Football 25” with UM’s Edwards, will finally play at Michigan Stadium. The former top quarterback recruit in the nation who started at Ohio State finished in the top 20 in completion percentage, passer rating and yards per attempt last season. He jokingly referred to UM as “the team up north” in homage to his time at OSU and said he was ready for the challenge of another big game, like last year against Alabama or last season’s Sugar Bowl against Washington.

    “It’s going to be a good atmosphere,” he said. “A couple of the guys were in ‘Bama last year and kind of know that. I’ve been in a tough stadium in that regard. If we can execute our game, I think we’ll be good.”

    Super Sark: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has brought a high-caliber offense virtually everywhere he’s gone. Sarkisian, an All-American quarterback himself at BYU, was named Big 12 Coach of the Year last season thanks to 12 wins and a top-15 ranking on both offense (35.8 points per game) and defense (18.9). Before his time in Austin, Sarkisian directed an Alabama offense that scored 35 points or more in its last 24 games.

    “Coach Sark has done a great job with the Texas program,” Moore said. “Their entire offense is a challenge. Their talented players are fast, everyone is fast. The O-line is as good as you can find. We’re ready for the challenge.”

    Opportunistic defense: Texas had 16 interceptions last year, including two that, um, tide in Week 2’s road win over Alabama. In addition, the linebacker team is ferocious and fast with David Gbenda and Anthony Hill Jr., the reigning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, while safety Jaylon Guilebeau isn’t afraid of going downhill. Star defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat is gone, but Texas has been preparing for this game since the summer.

    “Our players probably didn’t know it until today, but we practiced a lot of these plays for this game in training camp,” Sarkisian said. “So they didn’t really know, but now they know we started preparing for today. I don’t necessarily want to say it’s been that way for months, but we have a pretty good idea of ​​the style we want to play this game in.”

    Tony Garcia’s two cents

    (Smashed Considerations: If UM wants to pull off a win in its first game as an underdog since November 2022, it will need to control time of possession, most likely with its bread and butter: a power running game. If the Wolverines run Mullings frequently — last week he completed 10 of his 15 carries for at least 5 yards, forced five missed tackles, ran for four first downs and averaged more than 4 yards per carry after first contact — they have a chance to do just that.

    Stripes on the line: The Wolverines have several impressive winning streaks, all of which appear to be in jeopardy. UM set a Big Ten record last week with its 29th consecutive regular-season win, breaking the old record shared by Ohio State (2005-07) and UM (1901-03). Michigan hasn’t lost in the Big House since November 2020, a 23-game streak, and its overall winning streak is at 16 games. The Wolverines will look to avoid their first nonconference loss in the Big House since 2018 (Notre Dame).

    forecast

    It looks like there will be no rain, but it will feel like a crisp fall day in Ann Arbor, with highs in the 15s. Derek Jeter will be there as honorary captain for Michigan, while Matthew McConaughey is expected to show up and represent Texas. ESPN’s “College GameDay” and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” will provide an incredible atmosphere as the defending national champions try to make a statement early in the season and fall just short. The selection: Texas 23, UM 19.

    Tagged:

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Caradoc Wyn
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like

    ads