Monday, November 7, 2016

Michigan Monday: Where I'm Concerned & Where I'm Not

Michigan dominated another opponent on Saturday afternoon and now takes a trip to Iowa City, plays Indiana at home, and then travels to C-Bus.    Right now it looks like a Michigan vs. OSU battle for a trip to Indy for the Big Ten Championship game for a re-match with Wisconsin. 

With two difficult road games and a team that always plays Michigan hard on the schedule it's time for me to put my concerns on the table! 


I'm not concerned with

  • The play of our QB.  I was very worried about Wilton being able to beat OSU a few weeks ago.  He looks like a different player after the bye week.

  • How Iowa plays:  They continue to be a very vanilla offense.  Which plays right into Michigan's strength on defense.

  • Indiana played OSU and Nebraska close but just won a 33-27 game over Rutgers this weekend.  I also like playing a spread team before the trip to C-Bus.

I am concerned with

  • Ohio State's JT Barrett:  It's now clear OSU plays the way JT plays.  If JT is off in the passing game, OSU can struggle.  If JT is accurate and scrambling on 3rd downs, they are very difficult to beat.   Those third down scrambles very much worry me. 

  • Iowa's night time temperature and weather.   It's clear Michigan is the better team as Iowa got handled by Penn State this past weekend.   If the weather is cold, it could help level the playing field.   Right now the weather looks like low 40's and high 30's during the game with no rain or snow.

  • If Michigan is lucky enough to get to the playoffs, I hope they don't see Alabama until the Championship game.   That defense is very good.

Side Note:  There are two teams that are winless in the Big Ten:  Rutgers and Michigan State.   How Sparty plays like they did a week ago against Michigan and then lose to Illinois is beyond me.   Rutgers and MSU play this weekend to see who gets the W.   Sparty finishes the year playing OSU and PSU.   Yikes! 

2 comments:

Scott K said...

I have been a fan of Wilt, I thought he was the legit #2 last year.

I have never seen Michigan destroy the teams they should destroy on a regular basis. We always seemed to play to the competition, going back decades... This team is focused, driven, and improving. Thank God for Hackett and Harbaugh!

GO BLUE!

Pretty cool to have a coaching staff that develops talent.

ScottyDoggs said...

Scott K: If I remember right, you said Speight would win the Quarterback position during the summer.

I believe the long ball is opening up the running lanes like no other.

Bo always said that the running game opens up the passing game, I believe it's completely opposite.
By being able to pass, the opposition cannot afford to "load the box", or risk getting burnt.
Some sports writers are already predicting a Michigan victory over Ohio State, me thinks this one has to be played before any predictions are valid.