In my opinion, that’s not football.
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Out of the 25 ranked teams in the nation, five of them are from the Big Ten, second to the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) six teams. I’m not here trying to tell you that Michigan is going to win the Big Ten, knocking off both Michigan State and Ohio State along the way (Michigan does host both teams in Ann Arbor this season).
I believe Michigan’s defense is elite now. Here’s a look at who has the edge heading into the weekend.
But the term “scraping the ground” hasn’t made its way to Glasgow-but whatever it’s called by whomever, it works pretty well for Michigan, which has surrendered just two rushing touchdowns all year. Then again, Northwestern has nine sacks.
-QB Jake Rudock arrived with a billing of being an efficient quarterback who avoids mistakes, but that hasn’t always been the case this season.
In Michigan’s four wins, it’s outscored its opponents 122-14, and it hasn’t allowed a single point in over eight quarters. Rudock is asked to compliment the run game, and he seems better prepared each week to do just that.
Time to sift through my inbox for a few good emails to answer.
Michigan features a balanced offense that averages 201.4 yards rushing and 191.4 yards passing per game.
Zak Irvin – It’s probably unfair to label Zak Irvin an underachiever at this point in his Michigan career, but the tag is catching up to the back of his jersey.
Last week at Maryland, though, he lost two turnovers (fumble and an interception) and finished 16 of 32 for 180 yards and a score. So does Northwestern. Michigan has an improved running attack.
Opponents have only completed 51.6 percent of their passes this season against the Wildcats. Derrick Green weighs in at 234 pounds, but averages only 3.3 yards per carry for an even 100 yards so far in 2015.
Hidden under the pile of rubble that was the Brady Hoke era was a team designed for Jim Harbaugh to take over and have immediate success.
Rudock’s been up and down so far this season.
Michigan has been without fullback Joe Kerridge for two-plus games because of an ankle injury.
Dan Vitale leads the 2015 Wildcats with 15 catches and 196 yards. They’ve allowed three touchdowns total this season. Saturday may be a game of three-and-outs, of battles along the line, of slowly imposing your will on the other guy.
The emerging playmaker of the bunch is senior Jehu Chesson. The Wolverines are also second in yards allowed at just 184 per game.
Smith hurt his right ankle in the previous win over then-No.
“So as I started recovering from that and getting incorporated into workouts a little bit, I tore my left (pectoral) muscle”. I had an infection in my pelvis and it went septic into my bloodstream. NU was a ten point home underdog versus Stanford, yet they won handily. He’ll start for the first time this season on Saturday.
Where Michigan’s true brilliance lies is on the defensive side of the ball. He looks even better than a year ago, and he was darn good during that November stretch (320 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries). They’re ranked first and second, respectively, in points allowed, and haven’t played particularly easy schedules, either. The victor of this game will become Pac-12’s lone undefeated team, but with the divisional races still a long way to go, it guarantees nothing.
Who would have thought that Northwestern would bring the No. 1 ranked defense into the Big House this Saturday?
“They kicked our ass”, Fitzgerald said. His 8.5 tackles for a loss also leads the team. Last year, Northwestern ranked 99th of 128 teams. The Wolverines quietly ranked 18th in defensive S&P+ in 2014, returned about a dozen important contributors and retained DL guru Greg Mattison on the staff. Because it’s a big advantage when our team has that, or any team, especially when you have the biggest fan base and the biggest stadium, that’s something that can be really good for us. Northwestern won, 27-0. His inability to not turn the ball arguably cost Michigan a win against Utah in the season opener. In his place, Royce Jenkins-Stone takes over in the BUCK position this week, playing as the rush-linebacker of Michigan’s defense. The victor of the Big Ten Tournament will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Though tied at 4-0 with Clemson, the Seminoles three-year reign atop the ACC may be in jeopardy with how strong the Tigers are looking early on. Safety Jeremy Clark leads the team with three interceptions. Defense and running the ball have been bellwethers for both programs in 2015. But Fitzgerald, Harbaugh and Bolden have been modest.
Jim Harbaugh’s track record speaks for itself.
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Michigan is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
