Michigan football: 4 things to watch for against Wisconsin

Offensive line woes

As opposed to Patterson, there’s not really a similar excuse for the fact that the Wolverines’ offensive line was pushed around two weeks ago.

Runyan is an important piece, yes, but it’s not like freshman tackle Ryan Hayes didn’t himself capable against Middle Tennessee State. Instead, he allowed one of four sacks of Patterson against Army, which led to a turnover.

Furthermore, the middle of Michigan’s line was fully healthy. Even with totally predictable playcalling, Ben Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz and Michael Onwenu should have been able to stay away from unfocused penalties, open up more than 3.0 yards-per-carry of space for Charbonnet and give up less than four sacks.

For a unit that was billed before the season as possibly the best group of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan, “winning the line of scrimmage against Army” was basically the floor.

Wisconsin brings behemoth defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk up front, and an experienced, versatile linebacking corps with seniors Zach Baun and Chris Orr leading the way. With or without Runyan, the Wolverines have to be better on Saturday. There’s no way around it.

Any scenario in which Michigan football reaches its offensive ceiling, Saturday or this season, starts with its linemen getting back to form.