Michigan Football: 3 Keys for Wolverines against Penn State
By Adam Childs
2. Ride the hot hands
In basketball, when a shooter is hot you keep getting him the ball. It could be a different guy each game, but you try and put the guy who is feeling it in the best position to help you win the game.
It is a little different in football, but it still applies. If your receiver is getting open and making plays you try and get him the ball. If a running back is running well and finding holes, keep feeding him, and if the quarterback is making good throws keep him going.
Well against Rutgers, it finally seemed like the coaches did that when they gave over 20 carries to Haskins, most of which was in the second half. He ran hard and ground out much-needed yards for the Wolverines. It finally looked like Michigan football would be able to run the ball.
Haskins along with McNamara at quarterback looked really good and made the offense look somewhat potent again. Yes, it was against Rutgers’ defense, but up until that point, the Wolverines hadn’t scored yet.
The game plan for the Penn State game should be a heavy dose of those two guys. Forget the four running back rotation and ride the hot hands. Haskins has looked like the best running back all year so reward him for it.
When he needs a break let Zach Charbonnet show you what he has also, as he has been running well this year.
The last thing with this is to keep McNamara in the game. Don’t overthink this and put Milton back in. Milton has a ton of potential but for whatever reason, it hasn’t translated to the field, so stick with McNamara and see how he can do the rest of the year.