I've watched & listened to all the worthless coach & player speak over the last few weeks and feel no different going into this game than I did after 12/4's debacle.
Michigan is a team that thrives on explosive plays. I had no idea they lead the nation in 50, 60, and 70 yard plays. Michigan had 22 plays from scrimmage for 40 yards or more this season. We are a team that doesn't do well in preventing explosive plays. Our secondary's mediocre play has been masked all season by an insanely dominant front 7 that did all the defensive heavy lifting at the line of scrimmage and beyond.
This game is actually quite similar to the Alabama matchup we had 3 weeks ago. Michigan's offense is patient - waiting for the right mismatch or coverage breakdown to pull the trigger on the big plays. They're not going to go heavy on the run, and for that matter, neither are we. I don't expect this to be a ground game affair. Yeah, we'll probably get our combined 100 yards - maybe a bit more - on the ground for a TD or two, but in general, I fully expect this game to be another defensive design that forces Bennett to win the game.
Offensively, we need a vertical air raid offense to beat Michigan. And to run the air raid, you need a QB that is geared towards running that scheme. We have one of those, but he is........ you know the story. Michigan is going to push our o-line around, they are not a cupcake matchup on the line of scrimmage. And these little screen passes or toss sweeps we ran this season in the hopes that the speed of our backs running east-west will slice the corner around the backers to gain yardage ain't going to work against Michigan. They're too fast on the edges. I'd bet a ton of money that Michigan's game plan is to get SBIV in as many third & longs as they possibly can. If Michigan takes away the short field from us and puts us in lots of 3rd & longs, we lose the game convincingly. If we negate the 3rd and long plan by moving the chains consistently and gaining plenty of vertical yardage, we win the game convincingly. I think it really is that simple.
McNamara is a very capable QB, and Michigan's receivers are no joke. We'll see what our team is made of, how bad the seniors want it, and whether or not our coach can put together a big game plan that is successful.
There is no next week to think about. It's today or never. Everything is in front of us on a silver platter.
Who wants it more?