Gopher Football
Michigan Backfield vs. Gopher Linebackers
The Wolverines have gone through some unfamiliar problems in their quest to find replacements for departed stalwarts John Navarre and Chris Perry. For now, Michigan seems to have settled on a solution that may very well could be the first of its kind: True freshmen starting at both running back and quarterback. Starting at QB, Michigan is going with Chad Henne, one of the top QB recruits from the class of 2004. Henne has enormous potential and every indication shown so far is that he will be a star. He is starting because of an injury to heir apparent Matt Gutierrez. The junior Gutierrez suffered a shoulder injury before Michigan’s first game this season. Instead of starting sophomore Clayton Richard, Lloyd Carr chose to bypass him in favor of the true freshman. The status of Gutierrez’s injury has been kept under wraps, but many Wolverine fans have speculated that his injury may be healed and Lloyd Carr has chosen to stick with Henne anyway.
Running Back is a little less settled for Michigan. The starter coming into the year was David Underwood, however, his performance in the first couple games left a lot to be desired. Sophomore Jerome Jackson, the younger brother of former Gopher RB Terry Jackson, has also seen some carries. Like Underwood, Jackson has not impressed enough to take over the starting job. That left true freshman Michael Hart as the starter. Though he hasn’t been great, Hart has shown enough to get the coaches vote of confidence. Through five games Hart is leading the Wolverines in rushing with 336 yards on 2 TD’s.
So far in 2004, the Gopher linebackers have done a very nice job in all phases of the game. Kyle McKenzie has done a good job in replacing Ben West, and is 3rd on the team in tackles with 28. Dominique Sims and Brandon Owens have done a nice job in helping out with pass coverage, and Terrance Campbell has been playing great all around. The junior is leading the team in tackles with 35, and if he’s not dropping a guy behind the line of scrimmage, he’s in coverage knocking away passes.
Summary:
This is a big matchup, and one the Gophers must win if they are to slow down Michigan’s offense. Michigan might have a little bit of an edge in talent, but Minnesota definitely has the edge in experience. Minnesota starts a senior and two juniors, and Michigan starts true freshmen at running back and quarterback. In my opinion, the linebackers will do a good job in run support and should help in holding Hart to under 100 yards rushing. But a big key for Minnesota could be linebacker blitzing. As is the case with any young quarterback, you want to make sure you can get as much pressure as possible on him, especially when that quarterback has a great group of receivers to throw to. A reason Henne has looked impressive so far is that Michigan is going out of their way to make his job as easy as possible. That includes running a base offense and providing plenty of protection. Considering the Gopher defensive line hasn’t done a very good job in getting pressure on the quarterbacks, you’d have to expect that the Gophers will try to “˜bring it’ with the linebackers. If the Gophers can pressure Henne, his potential for making mistakes goes way up as evidence by his 5 int’s so far. My hunch: This is the game where the coaching staff lets Brandon Owens run wild.
Advantage: Minnesota
Michigan Receivers vs. Gopher Secondary
As most people probably know, Michigan has arguably the top group of wide receivers in the nation. To this point they have been a little bit underutilized due to the true freshman quarterback, but that hasn’t stopped Braylon Edwards from having a huge start to the year. The 6’3″ senior can do just about everything. He can beat you deep, take a short pass and outrun you, he can make the tough catch over the middle, or out jump you for the ball. So far this year, Braylon has put up some phenomenal numbers that many receivers would be thrilled with as a season total. Edwards has amassed 40 catches for 665 yards and 7 TD’s, all of which are in the top 5 nationally. To give you idea of how dominant Edwards has been, the next best Michigan receiver has been Steve Breaston. His numbers so far are 15 catches for 112 yards and 1 TD.
The Gophers have to be pretty happy with the play of the secondary so far. This unit has had their way with three passing offenses so far in Toledo, Colorado State and Northwestern. The performance against the Wildcats may be the most impressive to date. The Gophers held them to 127 yards passing and 10 points, and the very next week the Wildcats lit up the Ohio State defense for 278 yards passing and 33 points. Both cornerbacks, Ukee Dozier and Trumaine Banks have been solid this year. Each of them have 2 int’s, which they tie for the team lead. Free Safety John Pawielski has been spectacular at times. In his first year as starter, John has already shown the ability to tackle, cover and hit. All and all the secondary has been better than last year, but they will get their biggest test of the season on Saturday.
Summary:
Even though Minnesota’s secondary is improved for last season, there is just too much talent in the Michigan receivers for Minnesota to shut them down. Nobody has been able to stop Braylon Edwards, and unless Minnesota is all over Henne this weekend, I don’t see it being any different in this game. If Minnesota chooses to blanket Edwards with two defenders all game, that leaves the other great receivers for Michigan in single coverage. So in a sense, it’s a “œpick your poison” decision for the defensive coaching staff for the Gophers. If I was in the Minnesota coaching staff, I would let Edwards get his receptions, and then MAKE SURE you tackle him. The Gophers have a veteran secondary so this is something I think they could handle. As long as Edwards isn’t burning Minnesota up and down the field the Gophers will stay in the game.
Advantage: Michigan
Michigan Offensive Line vs. Gopher Defensive Line
The Michigan offensive line might be finding out what life is like without a great QB and RB to help make them look good. What was expected to be a dominant Michigan offensive line has turned out to be well below average so far. The Wolverines are ranked only 10th in the Big Ten in rushing (nearly unheard of for a Michigan team), with an average of 101 yards per game and 2.6 yards per rush. Michigan’s running backs might not be the greatest yet, but they’re not that bad. Things haven’t been much better in pass protection, as quarterback Chad Henne has been sacked 16 times already. (By comparison, Bryan Cupito has been sacked just twice). This sub par performance is a bit of a surprise considering Michigan did return 3 of 5 starters from last years OL. The best of the group is senior David Bass. Before the year started, David was considered by many to be the front running for 1st Team-All America at left guard.
The Gopher defensive line is coming off of a very impressive game against Penn State. Led by junior Anthony Montgomery, the line did an excellent job of shutting down Penn State’s rushing attack last week, holding the Lions to 22 yards on just 21 carries. The Gopher run defense has taken another step up so far this year, holding opponents to an average of 98 yards per game. Darrell Reid has established himself as the best pass rusher for Minnesota. Though five games, Reid has recorded 4 sacks, and has also done a good job at applying consistent pressure. The rest of the line has struggled to apply a consistent pass rush.
Summary:
On paper this is a match up the Gophers should win, but at the same time you know in the back of your mind that the Michigan Offensive line is better than what it has shown so far. Minus a couple of brief lapses, the Gopher run defense has done very well. Michigan on the other hand has not run the ball well at all. This is a match up the Gophers need to, and should win. From the pass rush/block angle, it’s more of a weakness vs. weakness match up. With the exception of Darrell Reid, Minnesota has struggled to apply pressure, while Michigan has struggled to keep their QB from getting sacked. If the Gophers can suddenly find a way to apply more pressure (especially from the Clark/Keith defensive end spot), then they will win this match up. Expect the Gophers to get decent, but certainly not great pressure from the line. If they somehow can find a way to generate more pressure, they would have one of the better DL’s in the conference.
Advantage: Minnesota
Overall Advantage
Finally, the Minnesota defense will a chance to prove that they are a good defense; not just an average defense. The recent history of the Minnesota “˜D’ suggests that Michigan’s Braylon Edwards could have a big day, since Gopher passing defense, though improved, still has some holes. The single biggest key for the Gophers is obviously to slow Edwards down. He’ll get his receptions, there’s no doubting that, but the Gophers need to keep those receptions to 7 yards and not 20. If they can do that, the run defense will be strong enough to the point where Michigan will struggle to move to the ball up and down the field. For the Wolverines, they desperately need to get their running game going. If they can do that, they can open up their receivers a little more and make it really tough for Minnesota to stop them. With that said:
Michigan will win if: Michael Hart goes over 100 yards rushing.
Minnesota will win if: They hold Michael Hart to under 100 yards rushing and Braylon Edwards is held to less than 100 yards receiving.
This will be a good match up that should tell a lot about both teams, especially Minnesota. The biggest thing the Gophers have going for them is the inexperience of the Michigan backfield. Expect Minnesota to try and confuse and pressure Henne. But even if they do, Michigan’s wide receivers are so good that Minnesota will not completely stop the Wolverine offense.
Overall Advantage: Even
Special Teams Notes:
Both teams are struggling in the kicking game. Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas is 7-10 on FG’s, but just 15-18 on XP’s. Minnesota’s Rhys Lloyd is 5-9 on FG’s, and just 22-26 on XP’s. Michigan has the edge in punting. Minnesota is doing much better than Michigan in the coverage games, but Michigan is doing slightly better than Minnesota in the return game. The winner of this game may very well be which ever kicker misses less.
Advantage: Even
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