Michigan Football: It was a wild week in the Big Ten

Michigan football beat SMU easily last week, but outside of that, it was a crazy week in the Big Ten.

Michigan football got off to a very mixed start with a loss to Notre Dame and a convincing win over a well-coached Western Michigan team.  Many of the pre-season questions are beginning to be answered, lingering concerns about the offense beginning to be resolved, and impressive new talent emerging with each tilt.  But what’s ahead for this rapidly improving team?

What’s up with the rest of the conference?  Well, the Big Ten West was 2-5 in the third week, with losses to Akron (Northwestern), USF (Illinois), Missouri (Purdue), BYU (Wisconsin), and Troy (Nebraska).  On the eastern side, 4-3 as Maryland fell to Temple, Michigan State lost to Arizona State, Rutgers got mangled by Kansas, Indiana got by Ball State, Penn State beat down Kent State, and Ohio State lumbered past TCU.

Michigan football’s next opponent, Nebraska, is likely to improve game by game as coach Scott Frost brings energy and proven creativity to the program, but he’s starting 0-2 (first 0-2 start for the Huskers since 1957) with a team that has two notable deficiencies.  Nebraska’s secondary is, to coin a phrase, not good.  Colorado threw for 351 yards in the opening game, and the Huskers rank last in the conference in percentage of completions allowed.  Then, in an area that Frost and coaches can address this week, penalties and turnovers in the Troy game revealed some pretty sloppy preparation.  Nebraska has been pretty good against the run but may have trouble putting up points as starting quarterback Adrian Martinez missed the Troy game due to injury, and back up Andrew Bunch is still unproven.

The current opinion is that Michigan should win by 18, a reasonable guess given the increasing fluidity of Michigan’s offense and the strength of the Wolverine’s defensive line and backfield.  Injuries have hobbled Chris Evans and Karan Higdon; both are day-to-day and may not be able to play against Nebraska.  Tru Wilson is next in line, then  O’Maury Samuels and Christian Turner, who could see considerable playing time on Saturday.  Wide receivers Zach Gentry and Nico Collins, however, have given Patterson great opportunities and should help open up the passing game.

Michigan’s schedule is a bear, but the toughest games arrive after Nebraska, Northwestern, and Maryland.  Michigan football is at home against Wisconsin, away at MSU, then home again vs Penn State.  Take a deep breath, line up against Rutgers and Indiana, then a road trip to Columbus to face the Buckeyes.

Michigan Wolverines

Wisconsin plays Iowa (remember Iowa?) and Nebraska before coming to the Big House, still smarting from the loss to BYU and likely to see the Michigan game as their hope to make a statement.  They hit Penn State in the second week of November, but will need to punish a ranked program in order to pull themselves back into contention before the selection committee announces the top 25.

Michigan State takes on Indiana, Central Michigan, and Northwestern before meeting Penn State in Happy Valley.  That brutal game is followed by their shot at Michigan in East Lansing.  Purdue and Maryland provide some relief, then they get a trip to Columbus, finishing up their season with Nebraska and Rutgers.

Penn State gave Kent State a 63-10 beat down and provided Trace McSorley with lots of Heisman juice, but after a trip to Illinois, they’ll see the Buckeyes at home followed by MSU.  They face Indiana and Iowa before facing Michigan in Ann Arbor, then finish up with Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Maryland.

The current odds are that Ohio State and Wisconsin will meet in the conference championship game, but Michigan is only slightly less favored.  As loyal wolverine boosters know, a season can turn on a bad call, a bad kick, penalties, management of the clock.  A slight glitch for any of the teams hoping to grab a conference title could mean an entirely different outcome.

With increasing confidence in Patterson and his receivers, continued confidence in a highly effective defense, and the conviction that Michigan can hold its own with anyone, what seemed a daunting schedule now seems just right for a run for the conference championship.