Michigan football: 3 key things to watch for against Rutgers

Healthy running game

There were no such silver linings for the Wolverines’ rushing attack in Madison.

While Michigan’s offensive line bears much of the burden, Michigan’s been banged up in the backfield lately. Zach Charbonnet’s injury status was never really fully litigated leading up to last Saturday, but going from 33 carries against Army to two was a clear indicator that something wasn’t quite right.

Wednesday, Josh Gattis noted that the Wolverines had been dealing with a number of injury issues. Charbonnet was indeed limited in Madison, he said, but that he was practicing this week with his workload being managed.

Meanwhile, Tru Wilson, who missed Michigan’s last two games, has a chance to return to the field against the Scarlet Knights. His pass-protection ability should only aid an offensive line that has been shaky so far.

While the Wolverines’ cadre of backs will only be as good as the offensive line (and playcalling) will allow it to be, a group of Charbonnet, Wilson and Christian Turner offers everything you could want in a tailback trio: explosiveness, speed, vision and physicality. A cakewalk over Rutgers is a perfect time to reacclimate them into game action.