Michigan Football: Running game will be crucial against Alabama
If Michigan football is going to upset Alabama in the Citrus Bowl, the Wolverines have to be able to run the football.
When Michigan football was slotted against Alabama in the Citrus Bowl, a lot of people were pessimistic about the Wolverines chances of winning the game or even being competitive.
After all, Michigan football fans have seen the Wolverines get embarrassed by Ohio State two years in a row. The loss to Wisconsin earlier this season wasn’t that pleasant either or the loss in the Peach Bowl last December to Florida.
But there is reason to believe that Michigan can compete with this Alabama team. For starters, the Wolverines are better than people are giving them credit for being, at least some fans.
Michigan is still ranked 14th among the college football playoff rankings and that’s because it owns a pair of top-20 wins over Notre Dame and Iowa. U-M also beat Indiana on the road and whipped Michigan State.
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The Wolverines three losses are to Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State, which are each going to a New Year’s Six bowl.
Looking back at those games, a common thread is that Michigan struggled to run the ball. The losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State, the run game was non-existent and it showed. A late failure on a fourth-and-one summed it up perfectly against the Buckeyes.
After getting less than 100 yards against OSU and Wisconsin, the ground game was more productive against Penn State, rushing for 141 yards and that helped the Wolverines hang around.
The Iowa and Penn State games showed that Michigan football can win games as long as it has at least a respectable running game and that’s going to need to be the case against Alabama.
As talented as Shea Patterson and his wide receivers are, the Wolverines are going to struggle if they are unable to run the football. Nick Saban and the Tide will take advantage of that imbalance and ending up in third-and-long against Alabama doesn’t sound promising.
The good news is that Alabama wasn’t as dominant this season on the ground. The Tide allowed 3.8 yards per carry on the ground and against Notre Dame, Michigan proved it can run against a solid defense. The offensive line is stout and the backs, Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins are fast and physical.
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It will be interesting to see how they do against the speed of Alabama. But there is no doubt, the Wolverines will have a better chance of winning if they can be respectable on the ground.