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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Breakdown: Michigan vs. UCF
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
In October of 2013, when the
Michigan football team scheduled
a game against Central Florida for
this weekend, it looked like it would
be a tough non-conference test.
Then quarterbacked by future
No. 3 overall pick Blake Bortles,
the Knights rolled to a 12-1 season,
an American Athletic Conference
championship and a victory against
Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. After they
lost Bortles, they still managed to
win nine games in 2014.
But last year, the wheels fell
off the proverbial wagon as coach
George O’Leary retired midseason
and UCF finished 0-12.
Oregon offensive coordinator
Scott Frost arrived to take over the
program, and though early results
are promising — a 38-0 win against
South Carolina State last week
snapped the skid — the Knights
are still in the middle of a rebuild.
Here’s how they match up with the
Wolverines for Saturday’s noon
kickoff at Michigan Stadium:
Michigan rush offense vs. UCF
rush defense
The Wolverines ran the ball at
will last weekend against Hawaii,
racking up 306 yards at a rate of 7.8
per carry. They can fire a series of
running backs at UCF, including
senior De’Veon Smith, freshman
Chris
Evans,
redshirt
junior
Ty Isaac and sophomore Karan
Higdon.
Smith injured his ribs on his fifth
carry of the game Saturday and only
touched the ball once more after
the three-minute mark of the first
quarter. But coach Jim Harbaugh
expects Smith to be good to go
Saturday. Evans stepped in and led
the team in rushing with 112 yards on
eight carries with two touchdowns.
Isaac chipped in 52 yards on nine
carries. On the outside, fifth-year
senior wide receiver Jehu Chesson
and freshman wide receiver Eddie
McDoom add speed.
Michigan
started
sophomore
Grant Newsome at left tackle after
a long battle through camp and was
only missing fifth-year senior left
guard Ben Braden, who sat out as
a precaution but also should return
Saturday. If he does, the Wolverines
will be back to full strength and
have a sizable advantage against the
Knights’ 3-4 front.
UCF returns most of its team
from last year but does lose three
starters and one reserve from the
defensive line. Nose guard Jamiyus
Pittman is the biggest threat up
front, with seven tackles for loss
and 4.5 sacks last year. The Knights
bring back all of their linebackers
except, notably, leading tackler
Domenic Spencer (104 stops, 9.5 for
loss). They limited South Carolina
State to 85 rushing yards last week,
but they’ll be overmatched at
Michigan Stadium.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan pass offense vs. UCF
pass defense
Redshirt sophomore quarterback
Wilton Speight recovered from
an early interception to turn in an
impressive first showing, finishing
10-for-13 for 145 yards and three
touchdowns.
The
interception
notwithstanding, Speight showed
why he won the starting job, with
poise in the pocket and the ability
to roll out. He didn’t attempt many
long throws downfield, but passing
game
coordinator
Jedd
Fisch
admitted that, in a 63-3 blowout, the
Wolverines didn’t see much benefit
in doing so.
Speight also appears to have
a deep cast of receivers at his
disposal,
perhaps
even
deeper
than last year. They include wide
receivers, tight ends, running backs
and fullbacks, and all options are
available Saturday.
UCF’s secondary, meanwhile,
continues to rebuild after losing all
four starters to the NFL heading
into last season. Though the Knights
suffered from those departures in
2015, they appear improved. Still,
they haven’t faced an opponent of
Michigan’s caliber in a while.
Edge: Michigan
UCF rush offense vs. Michigan
rush defense
The
Knights
have
adopted
Frost’s up-tempo spread attack
from Oregon, where he enjoyed
success with it. They ran 91 plays in
32:22 against South Carolina State,
or one every 21.3 seconds. Michigan
had trouble with a similar tempo
last season at Indiana, but UCF’s
offense is still a work in progress.
The Knights rushed 55 times in
their season opener but struggled
to pile up yardage, managing just
3.6 yards per carry. Their leading
rusher was true freshman Jawon
Hamilton with 53 yards, followed
by Taj McGowan with 48 and
quarterback Justin Holman with
40. On the line, UCF shuffled
personnel often last year, trying
eight different combinations of
starters. That’s not typically a recipe
for success against Michigan’s front
seven.
The Wolverines ambushed Hawaii
with 10 tackles for loss Saturday, and
they could record more this week,
depending on who plays. The only
question is depth. Redshirt junior
defensive tackle Maurice Hurst
is still recovering from an injury,
and senior end Taco Charlton and
redshirt sophomore tackle Bryan
Mone are unlikely to play after they
suffered injuries last week.
Even if none of them play,
Michigan could still trot out a
starting group of Chris Wormley,
Rashan Gary, Ryan Glasgow and
Matt Godin. Behind them, the all-
new starting linebacker corps of Ben
Gedeon, Mike McCray and Jabrill
Peppers also gave Hawaii problems
last week. The only potential issue
for the Wolverines is fatigue against
a no-huddle offense, but if they
capitalize on their advantages,
they might not be on the field long
enough for it to matter.
Edge: Michigan
UCF pass offense vs. Michigan
pass defense
Holman struggled along with
the team last year, throwing 14
interceptions against just seven
touchdowns. He’s back and healthy
this year, though, and seems to have
picked up Frost’s new offense. He
completed 14 of 28 passes against
South Carolina State for 193 yards
and two touchdowns, though the
50-percent completion rate doesn’t
bode well for his chances against
Michigan’s defense Saturday.
Holman’s top target is wide
receiver Tre’Quan Smith, who
totaled 724 yards last year and
added 65 last week. If Michigan
senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis
returns this week, he should draw
Smith.
Lewis would also bolster a ball-
hawking secondary that already
started four seniors without him
last
week.
Channing
Stribling
and Delano Hill each returned
interceptions
for
touchdowns
to provide the highlights for the
season opener, but the Wolverines
were dominant for most of the
afternoon.
Edge: Michigan
Special teams
Michigan
fifth-year
senior
Kenny Allen performed all three
kicking duties in the season opener
— sort of.
Allen was the starting field-goal
kicker and kickoff specialist, but for
the fourth time in program history,
Michigan did not punt. If one such
situation arises Saturday, Allen
will handle that, too. He didn’t
have to attempt any field goals last
weekend, only converting five extra
points. So we haven’t seen him do
much, but his track record from last
year is positive.
The Wolverines also didn’t have
many chances in the return game,
but Peppers is a threat to score
every time he touches the ball.
Expect UCF to kick away from him
whenever possible, as Hawaii did.
The Knights were strong on
special
teams
against
South
Carolina State. Matthew Wright
converted field goals of 46, 34, 45 and
37 yards. Caleb Houston averaged
44.7 yards on three punts. Chris
Johnson had a couple of good punt
returns, and Tristan Payton added
a 47-yard kick return. We’ll see how
many of those opportunities are
available Saturday.
Edge: Push
Intangibles
UCF’s first win since 2014 had
to be a motivating factor, and
the Knights should be fired up to
test themselves against a top-five
team. But many of their players
have never played anywhere that’s
even close to matching Michigan
Stadium’s size, and if they need time
to adjust, the game could get out of
hand early.
The
Wolverines,
meanwhile,
should brush off another lesser
opponent, but if the past is any
indication, they won’t be uninspired.
The defensive players, especially,
have spoken about finishing the job
this week and getting the shutout
that eluded them last week. Though
Frost may have some tricks in
mind to put points on the board,
Michigan should deliver another
strong performance at home.
Edge: Michigan
Prediction: Michigan 55, UCF 7
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Freshman Rashan Gary could make his first career start in Taco Charlton’s absence.