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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Breakdown: ‘M’
has a slight edge
For just the fifth time in
program history, the Michigan
football team will be playing a
night game in Ann Arbor. The
Wolverines didn’t have to wait
very long since the last one.
A
month
ago,
Michigan
lost a sloppy tilt with now-
No. 24 Michigan State amid a
torrential downpour, and had
to watch the Spartans walk off
its field with the Paul Bunyan
Trophy. Saturday night, there
will be another trophy on the
line.
Michigan (3-2 Big Ten, 6-2
overall)
will
be
facing
off
against Minnesota (1-4, 4-4)
for the Little Brown Jug, which
the Wolverines claimed after
beating the Golden Gophers two
years ago thanks to a goal-line
stand with seconds remaining
on the clock in Minneapolis.
Here’s
how
Michigan
matches up with Minnesota on
Saturday night.
Michigan pass offense vs
Minnesota pass defense
Whether coach Jim Harbaugh
and his staff choose to admit it
publicly or not, Brandon Peters
will be the leader under center
for the foreseeable future. The
redshirt freshman quarterback
took full advantage of his first
taste of meaningful game action
last week, putting a 10-for-
14, 124-yard, one-touchdown
performance on his resume.
While he didn’t light up
Rutgers, Peters settled into the
groove of the offense and did
what the Wolverines needed
him to do to turn the game
around.
From
his
quiet
confidence to his poise in the
pocket, Peters impressed his
teammates
and
coaches
See BREAKDOWN, Page 8
All in all, Brown isn’t speaking
in hyperbole.
The Wolverines have a test
waiting for them Saturday. Only
time will tell if the defensive unit
is capable of passing that test.
3. Can Ambry Thomas take a
kick to the house?
Michigan’s
freshman
defensive
back
debuted
as
the Wolverines’ kick returner
against Purdue. He admitted
that
the
responsibility
was
intimidating at first, but has
since embraced the role.
Entering the matchup with
Minnesota,
Thomas
is
now
averaging just over 25 yards per
return. Equipped with speed
that Thomas himself says can
stack up with the best in the
nation, he has flashed an ability
to make big plays on special
teams.
Last Saturday is the perfect
example.
After
bobbling
a
kickoff against Rutgers, Thomas
took off — weaving his way
downfield before being tripped
up from behind near the 37-yard
line with open space in front of
him.
He subsequently drew a delay
of game for spiking the ball —
something he jokingly justified
by saying that he was one man
away from breaking loose to the
end zone for the third straight
week.
At the end of the day, Thomas
hasn’t had a highlight reel return,
at least not yet. Special teams
coordinator Chris Partridge said
last week that the Wolverines
are close. Thomas echoed that
sentiment this week. But the
missed opportunities still linger
in his mind.
“Everyday, literally, I picture
it,” he said Tuesday. “It’s gonna
happen real soon, hopefully a big
game.”
And
with
the
Wolverines
playing their second game under
the lights, Thomas may get
the big-game return he’s been
imagining.
4.
Will
Minnesota
implement the direct snap?
If
there
has
been
one
consistent issue plaguing this
Michigan defense, it’s direct-
snap plays.
Then-No. 2 Penn State went
to it early and often in State
College. On the second play of
the game, Saquon Barkley took
a direct snap 69 yards to the end
zone.
A week later, Rutgers wide
receiver Janarion Grant went
to the formation again, making
Michigan pay with a 65-yard
touchdown run of his own.
With a trio of backs all with
a pension for the big play,
Minnesota could try to expose
the Wolverines again. And if
the Golden Gophers’ backfield
doesn’t do it, quarterback Demry
Croft might.
Minnesota hasn’t shied away
from letting Croft run the ball,
as
the
redshirt
sophomore
boasts 36 carries for 196 yards
— highlighted by a 64-yard
touchdown run against Oregon
State.
Brown
will
surely
be
preparing Michigan’s defense for
the formation, as he said Grant’s
touchdown was the one play that
“irks the hell” out him.
But until the Wolverines prove
capable of stopping it, every
team they face will be tempted
to replicate the success on the
direct snap.
WATCH FOR
From Page 6
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters will have to prove himself again in Saturday’s game against Minnesota in order to determine whether or not he will become the starter for the forseeable future.