Michigan Football: 4 Things to know about South Carolina, Outback Bowl

Both offenses have question marks

While South Carolina and Michigan both have energetic head coaches and aggressive defenses, both teams are also saddles with offenses that are inconsistent.

Michigan football will likely start redshirt freshman Brandon Peters at quarterback, as long as he is healthy. The Gamecocks on the other hand will go with Jake Bentley, a sophomore that has started all season. He has thrown for 2,555 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The QB also has six rushing touchdowns.

When Peters played, he played well. Before getting knocked out literally, against Wisconsin, he completed close to 58 percent of his passes, which is a little low, but also had four touchdowns and zero interceptions, although he did lose one fumble. In 12 games, the three Michigan quarterbacks combined for nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions. UM also threw for just 2,023 yards.

Both teams also rank near the bottom of the FBS in terms of total offense. Michigan finished the season 101st, while the Gamecocks were 108. However, one difference is that the Wolverines can get it done on the ground, averaging 186 yards per game, compared to just 128 for South Carolina.

Karan Higdon rushed for 929 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season for UM, followed by Chris Evans, who had 661 rushing and 146 receiving to go along with seven total touchdowns.

South Carolina also has a solid tandem of backs in A.J. Turner and Tyson Williams. Turner is currently suffering from an ankle injury, but is expected to go against Michigan. Those runners combined for close to 1,000 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Bryan Edwards and Hayden Hurst are the top receivers for South Carolina. Edwards finished 705 yards receiving; Hurst had 518.

Michigan’s leading receiver was Grant Perry, who had 25 receptions for 307 yards. So if you want to see high-flying football, the Outback Bowl may not be for you.