Michigan Football: 3 keys to Wolverines beating Ohio State
The pass rush has to get home
One of the great strengths of the Michigan defense is the pass rush. The Wolverines get a ton of pressure on the quarterback and are tied for second in the Big Ten with 31 sacks.
This week, however, Michigan football, which has the best pass defense statistically in the Big Ten and the nation, will face maybe the best passer in the country. At the very least, Dwayne Haskins is the best passer in the Big Ten as he leads the conference in every major category.
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One reason Haskins has been so effective is great protection. Ohio State allows the third-fewest sacks in the Big Ten and keeping Haskins clean Saturday will be a huge key to the Buckeyes having success on offense.
Obviously, Michigan will have a much better chance of sacking and pressuring Haskins if Chase Winovich is playing Saturday, which will still don’t know and probably won’t until kickoff.
But even without Winovich, the Wolverines have Rashan Gary, Kwity Paye and Josh Uche, in addition to a variety of successful blitz packages that guys like Devin Bush Jr. and Khaleke Hudson are great at executing.
No matter how it’s done, if Michigan wants to win, it has to hit Haskins from start to finish and sack him to the ground at least 4-5 times.