Michigan Football: 3 keys for Wolverines to beat Minnesota

1. Get the Gopher offense off the field

This seems like an obvious key to any game. You can’t score when the other team is on the field, so you need to stop them. This key should be applied to every game the Wolverines play this year, but it is especially important with the Gophers.

Many would think that Minnesota was an explosive team last year with the offensive firepower that they had, but they actually prefer to grind out drives and take a lot of time off the clock. They ranked sixth nationally in 2019 in average time of possession. The Gophers held the ball an average just under 34 minutes a game. They played keep away from the other team and it worked.

It was especially true in their two biggest wins of the year last year against Penn State and their bowl game against Auburn. Minnesota held the ball for 35 minutes against the Nittany Lions and a whopping 37:35 against the Tigers. Holding the ball for that long minimizes the opponent’s chances and in turn, keeps them from scoring a lot of points.

Look, the Gophers can score quickly but the much rather hold on to the ball and rack up long scoring drives. The Wolverines must get them off the field quickly and keep the defense from being on the field for over half the game.

Michigan has the potential to have a really good defense again this year, but even the best defense starts to break down when on the field for most of the game.

In Minnesota’s two losses last year to Wisconsin and Iowa, they held the ball for 30:42 and 32:20 respectively. It might not seem like that much a difference, but for a team wanting to control the ball it was.

If Michigan can force short possessions it should be able to come out with the win. But if they get down and let the Gophers just grind it out, it could be a long day for the Wolverines.