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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Colorado at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Colorado 2-0; 
Michigan 2-0

When: 
Saturday 
3:30 P.M.

Where: 
Michigan 
Stadium

TV/Radio: 
BTN

Michigan wraps up non-league 
schedule at home vs. Colorado

By MAX BULTMAN 

Managing Sports Editor

And now, a test.
The No. 4 Michigan football 

team (2-0) steamrolled its first 
two 
opponents 

by a combined 
107 
points. 
It 

left 
no 
doubt 

in 
Michigan 

Stadium 
either 

time as to which 
was the better 
team.

Saturday, the 

Wolverines host 
a Colorado team 
that 
has 
also 

clobbered its first 
two 
opponents. 

The 
Buffaloes’ 

combined 
margin 
of 
victory 

through two games is 86, and 
they have yet to allow more than a 
touchdown in a single game.

While those numbers are against 

inferior 
competition, 
Colorado 

(2-0) should be the toughest 
challenge Michigan has faced thus 
far. Whereas Central Florida did its 
damage on the ground against the 
Wolverines, secondary coach Mike 
Zordich is bracing for the Buffaloes 
to attack through the air.

“This’ll definitely be more of a 

challenge than the first two games,” 
he said Wednesday. “No disrespect, 
but it is what it is. They’re better 
receivers, and the quarterback is 
a much better quarterback. He’s a 
guy that actually has time to throw, 
and he’s got three or four good guys 
to throw to.”

Five-foot-eleven 
receiver 

Shay Fields is Colorado’s leading 
receiver so far, hauling in five 
catches for 157 yards, but the group 
is deep. Devin Ross has caught the 
most passes, 11, for 124 yards and 
a pair of scores, and junior Bryce 
Bobo is off to a strong start as well.

Michigan has given up a total 

of 207 passing yards through two 
games, and Colorado seems poised 
to match that total — at least — if it 
has its way.

The Wolverines will likely still 

be playing without all-American 
cornerback Jourdan Lewis, leaving 
senior 
cornerback 
Channing 

Stribling and fifth-year senior 
Jeremy Clark to hold Colorado 

in check. They have performed 
admirably so far, but after Stribling 
and senior safety Delano Hill each 
returned an interception for a 
touchdown against Hawaii, the 
Knights didn’t really attack the 
Wolverines through the air.

Colorado 
quarterback 
Sefo 

Liufau 
presents 
a 
legitimate 

threat to that end, averaging 10.4 
yards per attempt this season. 
Complementing that are his 6.0 
yards per carry, which makes 
Liufau the type of threat Michigan 
was vulnerable to last week — 
the Wolverines allowed UCF to 
repeatedly break contain and rack 
up 275 rushing yards.

On the flip side, Michigan’s rush 

attack managed just 119 yards. That 
gave the Wolverines plenty to focus 
on in their week.

“I’m very excited as a coach, that 

you can win a game 51-14 and then 
you still have things to go in and 
coach and feel like you can improve 
your play on,” Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh said Monday. “There’s 
probably no better feeling as a coach 
than to start the week that way. And 
it makes me very optimistic that 
there’s ways that we can improve, 
there’s things that we can fix.”

Against the Buffaloes, Michigan 

will once again rely on its stout 
defensive line to lead the way. Fifth-
year senior defensive tackle Ryan 
Glasgow is off to another strong 
start in the middle, and freshman 
defensive end Rashan Gary made 
his first major mark with a sack 
last week. Add in fifth-year senior 
defensive end Chris Wormley 
and 
redshirt 
junior 
defensive 

tackle Maurice Hurst, and the 
Wolverines’ line should remain 
sturdy despite being banged up.

On the other side of the ball, 

the Wolverines boast one of the 
nation’s top scoring offenses to 
go against a Colorado defense 
that hasn’t seen anything close to 
Michigan’s talent.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback 

Wilton Speight has tossed seven 
touchdowns to date, and with fifth-
year senior receivers Amara Darboh 
and Jehu Chesson to go with senior 
tight end Jake Butt, Michigan’s 
offensive weapons seem capable of 
overwhelming Colorado.

And that’s the crux of Saturday’s 

game. Colorado should be the best 
opponent the Wolverines have 
faced, and not by a small margin. 
But against Michigan’s talent, 
even a close game would count as 
something of an upset.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow (top) anchors Michigan’s defense 
against Colorado, while senior tight end Jake Butt (bottom) powers the offense.

GRANT HARDY/Daily

