Michigan Football: Any reason to worry about Western Michigan?

After losing to Notre Dame last week, Michigan football hosts Western Michigan this Saturday as a four-touchdown favorite. Is there any reason to worry?

After a tough loss to Notre Dame last Saturday, the Michigan football team is set to have its home opener at the Big House this week, with Western Michigan coming to Ann Arbor.

It will be the first time the Broncos have paid a visit to Michigan football since Brady Hoke’s debut in 2011 when UM crushed Western Michigan 34-10 in a weather-shortened affair. This time, UM is favored heavily to do something similar, entering the game as a 28.5 favorite.

Traditionally, outside of when Rich Rodriguez was the coach, Michigan has dominated teams from the MAC and while there shouldn’t be too much concern heading into Saturday, the Broncos do boast an offense that totaled 621 yards of total offense in a season-opening, 55-42 loss to Syracuse.

The Broncos were 6-6 last season after reaching the Cotton Bowl in 2016. They didn’t go a bowl game but the offense looks dynamic again under head coach Tim Lester. John Wassink is back at quarterback after throwing 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions a season ago. He was limited to eight games due to injury in 2017, but against the Orange last Friday, he looked just fine, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns, although he was picked off twice.

D’Wayne Eskridge is another name to watch. He was the Broncos’ leading receiver in 2017 and caught eight passes for 240 yards against Syracuse. The 5-foot-9 receiver also caught two touchdowns. Levante Bellamy also ran for over 100 for Western Michigan and fellow wide receiver Jayden Reed hauled in seven receptions for 121 yards.

Defensively, the Broncos looked pretty poor against Syracuse, giving up more than 500 total yards and more than 300 on the ground. That should bode well for Karan Higdon and the Michigan offense. And even though Western Michigan does have some explosive players, I would expect a salty Wolverines defense to hold them in check.

Obviously, the 21st-ranked Wolverines didn’t play well enough last week to overlook anyone and the reality is, that with their conference schedule, a slip up against Western Michigan or SMU could make getting to a bowl game a challenge.

I know that sounds ridiculous, but with losable games in Big Ten play against Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, nothing can be taken for granted.

It’s imperative for Michigan football to build momentum on both sides of the ball this week, but especially on offense. That group has two weeks to fine-tune things before Big Ten play. Shea Patterson needs to grow and improve, along with his offensive line and young playmakers.

All in all, as a Michigan fan, I wouldn’t be too worried about losing this game. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not important. The Wolverines need momentum and only a blowout win will deliver it.