FootballSaturday, September 9, 2017
6

Breakdown: Michigan vs. Cincy

By KEVIN SANTO 

Managing Sports Editor

This 
one 
has 
all 
the 

ingredients to be a laugher.

Cincinnati will travel to Ann 

Arbor this Saturday coming off 
a narrow 26-14 win over Austin 
Peay. To put that in perspective, 
the Governors have not won a 
game in FCS competition since 
Oct. 14, 2014.

No. 8 Michigan, on the other 

hand, is heading into its home 
opener with a lot to be happy 
about. After an offseason in 
which the Wolverines’ youth 
was questioned, Michigan made 
it clear that it wasn’t an issue 
in its season-opening 33-17 win 
over Florida.

There were plenty of mistakes 

to 
correct, 
but 
Michigan 

managed 
to 
win 
despite 

throwing two pick-sixes and 
having a punt blocked. It’d be 
surprising if anything close to 
similar 
circumstances 
carry 

over against the Bearcats. This 
one could be over early.

Here’s how the Wolverines 

match up against Cincinnati on 
Saturday.

Michigan pass offense vs. 

Cincinnati pass defense

Redshirt junior quarterback 

Wilton Speight didn’t open up 
the year in a fashion he would 
have hoped. Against Florida, 
Speight threw two interceptions 
returned for touchdowns on 
consecutive series, giving the 
Gators 14 of their 17 total points.

On 
the 
bright 
side, 
he 

recovered in the second half, 
opening the frame by completing 
five of his seven passes for 52 
yards before junior running 
back Karan Higdon capped it off 
with a touchdown.

To be clear, there is no 

controversy to be had. Speight 
is still Michigan’s quarterback 
— a fact that Jim Harbaugh 
has been quick to emphasize. 
Cincinnati limited Austin Peay 
to just 89 yards and only one 
touchdown through the air, but 
the Governors are a far cry from 
the Wolverines.

Edge: Michigan

Michigan run offense vs 

Cincinnati run defense

As expected, the Wolverines 

turned — once again — to a 
running back by committee in 
their season opener against the 
Gators. It worked, to say the 
least.

Higdon 
scored 
the 
lone 

rushing 
touchdown, 
but 

Michigan racked up 215 yards on 
59 carries and showed an ability 
to wear down a defense with the 
run game. This time, they may 
not have to wear the Bearcats’ 
defense down at all.

Cincinnati 
allowed 
224 

rushing yards to Austin Peay 
on 
60 
attempts 
— 
nearly 

identical results to Michigan’s 
performance against Florida.

Running backs coach Jay 

Harbaugh 
was 
tight-lipped 

when it came to questions of 
whether Ty Isaac had earned a 
start with his 114-yard, 11-carry 
game, but it likely won’t even 

matter.

Edge: Michigan

Cincinnati pass offense vs 

Michigan pass defense

Do you remember Hayden 

Moore’s debut against Memphis? 
If you don’t, you should.

On Sept. 25, 2015, Moore 

came in to replace Gunner 
Kiel — who went down with an 
injury against the Tigers. Then a 
freshman, he didn’t disappoint, 
finishing with 557 yards and 
four touchdowns.

Since then, however, Moore’s 

career has largely been a tale 
of inconsistencies. He has won 
starting jobs, lost them to injury 
and won them back again. But, 
as almost anyone would, he 
has struggled to capture the 

lightning of 2015 in a bottle.

He had a solid 2017 debut, 

finishing 
with 
151 
yards 

and 
three 
touchdowns, 
but 

Michigan’s secondary looked 
better than expected against the 
Gators. And if the Wolverines’ 
line stuffs the run game, things 
will only get harder for Moore.

Edge: Michigan

Cincinnati run offense vs. 

Michigan run defense

Unfortunately 
for 
the 

Bearcats, their most talented 
player is running back Mike 
Boone. He rushed for 100 yards 
on 19 carries against Austin 
Peay, but Michigan is coming 
off a game in which its ability 
to stop the run was the most 
impressive aspect of an all-

around impressive day.

The 
Wolverines 
held 
the 

Gators to 11 rushing yards, and 
Michigan’s 
linebackers 
and 

linemen combined for 25-plus 
tackles — 8.5 of which were for 
loss. Cincinnati will need to 
get creative if it wants its best 
player to touch the ball, so don’t 
be surprised to see Boone in 
some unconventional spots.

Either way, there’s not even 

enough creativity at Google to 
mitigate 
Michigan’s 
defense 

with the way it looked at AT&T 
Stadium.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Fifth-year senior running back Ty Isaac is coming off a 100-plus yard game, and the Bearcats’ defense looked vulnerable against the run in their season opener.

For in-game updates
Follow @Kevin_M_Santo, @tedjanes7, 
@orion_sang and @betelhem_
ashame on Twitter during
Saturday’s game.

