7
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Breakdown: ‘M’ vs. Colorado
By JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
After two stress-free wins over
Hawaii and Central Florida, the
No. 4 Michigan football team will
finally face a bigger challenge this
weekend in the form of Colorado,
the Wolverines’ first Power Five
opponent of the season.
Though
Michigan
remains
strongly favored, the Buffaloes
(2-0) are also coming off a pair
of routs, trouncing in-state rival
Colorado State, 44-7, and FCS
opponent Idaho State, 56-7.
In the spirit of competition,
neither team has released a depth
chart this week. The Wolverines
(2-0) haven’t put one out all season
— coach Jim Harbaugh recently
called the practice “outdated” —
and Colorado responded in kind by
releasing a mock chart consisting
of all pop culture figures and even
some fictional positions, including
“roamer dude” and “costly safety.”
Unfortunately, the Daily isn’t
qualified to speculate on new
quarterback Elmer Fudd’s pocket
presence, but we will break down
the matchups we expect to actually
see on the field Saturday.
Michigan rush offense vs.
Colorado rush defense
Michigan’s run game had a
down week against UCF, thanks
largely to the Knights stacking
the box and taking away that part
of the Wolverines’ game. That
strategy ultimately led to UCF
getting torched by Speight in the
play-action passing game, though,
so Colorado might simply have to
pick its poison.
Running backs coach Tyrone
Wheatley and fifth-year senior
offensive lineman Kyle Kalis weren’t
at all concerned about the running
backs’ quiet performance last week
(just 2.9 yards per carry), saying it
was more flattering than anything
that the backs got so much attention
from the defense. Still, Michigan’s
stable of backs could stand to prove
itself against a better defense —
senior De’Veon Smith is a proven
bruiser,
but
speedy
freshman
running back Chris Evans probably
won’t be seeing many gaps as big
as the ones he ran through against
Hawaii two weeks ago.
Getting the best of the Buffaloes’
defensive line and linebackers could
silence some of the running game’s
doubters. Colorado comes in having
allowed just 98.5 yards per game,
good for 30th in the FBS. Granted,
the Buffaloes’ first two opponents
carried the ball just 48 total times
after quickly falling behind on the
scoreboard. Also, Colorado has just
10 tackles for loss and three sacks
(for reference, Michigan has 22
and seven, respectively, while UCF
had eight tackles for loss last week
alone).
Expect the Wolverines’ backs to
snap out of it against a run defense
that hasn’t really been tested yet
this season.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan pass offense vs.
Colorado pass defense
Redshirt sophomore quarterback
Wilton Speight has had about as
strong a start as can be expected,
throwing
for
457
yards
and
tying a season-opening program
record with seven touchdowns
in two games. He hasn’t made a
major mistake since throwing an
interception on his first play as
the starter, and he has proven that
he’s capable of making plays under
duress, like when he turned a near-
sack into an 8-yard dump-off pass
to redshirt junior fullback Henry
Poggi last week.
The
Buffaloes’
secondary
should be a huge step up from
what the Wolverines have seen so
far, though. Cornerback Chidobe
Awuzie is an NFL-level player who
had 85 tackles, seven pass breakups
and two interceptions last season,
and he already has one pick to his
credit this year. Awuzie can’t cover
three receivers at once, though,
and Speight has to like his chances
if any of the three find themselves
in a one-on-one matchup.
Edge: Michigan
Colorado rush offense vs.
Michigan rush defense
The Wolverines’ run defense
allowed UCF to pick up 275 yards on
the ground last week — most of them
on a few big plays, like an 87-yard
touchdown run in the second
quarter and a few quarterback
scrambles. When asked about it
earlier this week, both fifth-year
senior defensive tackle Matt Godin
and redshirt sophomore defensive
end Chase Winovich identified
communication issues as the main
culprit.
Michigan will have to be careful
not to allow a repeat performance,
as
Colorado
quarterback
Sefo
Liufau has a proven ability to
scramble out of the pocket. The
junior quarterback ran for 266 yards
and five touchdowns in 2015 and
already has 120 yards and a score in
two games this year. The Buffaloes
use a stable of backs, with Phillip
Lindsay and Kyle Evans getting the
bulk of the carries, but have no real
standout runners. Still, the group as
a whole has averaged 261 yards in
their first two games.
After having a week to clean
up their mistakes though, the
Wolverines’ elite defensive line
and solid linebacking corps should
be able to play up to their usual
standard this week.
Edge: Michigan
Colorado pass offense vs.
Michigan pass defense
Michigan is still missing senior
All-American cornerback Jourdan
Lewis, but the rest of the secondary
has more than made up for his
absence at this point in the season.
He remains questionable for this
weekend, but senior cornerback
Channing Stribling, fifth-year senior
cornerback Jeremy Clark and senior
safeties Delano Hill and Dymonte
Thomas have allowed the ninth-
fewest passing yards per game in the
country even without him.
Like the Wolverines, though,
Liufau has a three-headed monster
of receiving targets at his disposal.
Receivers
Shay
Fields,
Devin
Ross and Bryce Bobo each have
eclipsed the 100-yard mark already
this season, meaning Michigan’s
secondary will have its hands full.
The Wolverines have yet to
allow a reception of longer than
28 yards this season, but it’s a safe
bet the Buffaloes are poised to
change that this weekend. Lewis
or no Lewis, this will be the biggest
test Michigan’s defensive backs
have faced all year, but a wealth of
game experience makes them well-
equipped to handle it.
Edge: Michigan
Special teams
Apart from one dropped snap
by fifth-year senior kicker/punter
Kenny
Allen,
the
Wolverines
had a near-perfect performance
on
special
teams
last
week.
Sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel
got his fingers on two punts, while
fifth-year senior defensive lineman
Chris
Wormley
blocked
one
field goal and altered the path of
another. Michigan also recovered
a fumble on a kickoff and had
redshirt
sophomore
linebacker
Jabrill Peppers return a punt all
the way to the 12-yard line, while
Allen went 3-for-3 on field goals to
remain perfect for the season.
The Buffaloes haven’t had many
spectacular displays on special
teams so far this season, ranking
68th in the country in ESPN’s
special teams efficiency metric.
Kicker Diego Gonzalez is 3-for-3 on
field goals this season, but he has yet
to try a kick longer than 30 yards.
Last season, though, Colorado
struggled
immensely
in
this
area. Gonzalez was just 18-for-29
on field goals and the Buffaloes
had field goals blocked in losing
efforts against USC and Utah. The
Wolverines are not likely to be a
good matchup for this unit.
Edge: Michigan
Intangibles
For the second straight week,
most of the talk surrounding
Michigan’s opponent has stemmed
from events that occurred 20
years ago. After former Nebraska
quarterback and current UCF
coach Scott Frost resurrected
memories of the 1997 national
championship
controversy
last
week, the Buffaloes now bring
memories of the “Miracle at
Michigan” — a 64-yard Hail Mary
touchdown pass from Kordell
Stewart that guided Colorado to an
upset of the Wolverines in its last
visit to Ann Arbor in 1994.
No one at Michigan has had much
to say about the game — less than
a quarter of players on the roster
were even alive when it happened
in the first place — but the Buffaloes
certainly haven’t forgotten about
it, opting to wear 1994 throwback
jerseys on Saturday.
The
Wolverines
will
have
coincidentally entered both games
being ranked fourth in the country,
but this is far from the same
Colorado team that was ranked
seventh 22 years ago. Michigan
has the second-highest combined
margin of victory in the country,
and Harbaugh has made it clear that
the Wolverines aren’t taking the
Buffaloes lightly with the Big Ten
schedule on the horizon. Michigan
has too much at stake to let a similar
letdown happen this weekend.
Edge: Michigan
Prediction: Michigan 38,
Colorado 17
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Jehu Chesson has been a potent threat but is still seeking his first touchdown.