Michigan football will host Washington in the second week of the season and here’s what you need to know about the Huskies.
Michigan football‘s game with Washington has been a highly anticipated matchup for quite some time. The first leg of the home-and-home was canceled last season due to COVID-19. It has since been rescheduled to be played in Seattle in 2028.
This year’s game is the marquee nonconference on Michigan’s schedule. It is also scheduled to be a primetime kickoff on ABC on September 11th. Michigan leads the all-time series 7-5. Read on to find out how Michigan football matches up with the Huskies this year.
Team Profile: Washington
2020 record: 3-1
Key losses: CB Elijah Molden, CB Keith Taylor, and LB Zion Tupuola-Fetui (against Michigan)
Returning starters: 18 (10 on offense, 6 on defense, and 2 on special teams)
Offense
Washington’s 2020 season was limited to four games and it was unable to play for the PAC-12 championship because of virus complications. However, the four games were enough to allow quarterback Dylan Morris to gain some experience.
Morris was a steady game manager last year as Washington’s identity was built around pounding the rock. He completed about 61% of his passes, threw for 897 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. The Huskies may put more on his plate this season as a returning starter.
Morris will be breaking in a pair of new starting wide receivers though. Puka Nacua and Ty Jones were the Huskies top two leading receivers last year and they have transferred to BYU and Fresno State, respectively.
Terrell Bynum will be asked to step into a bigger role this year and Ja’Lynn Polk transferred in from Texas Tech along with former Wolverine Giles Jackson. Second year freshmen Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze are former four-stars. As of now, it appears that Bynum, McMillian, and Odunze are the top three.
Morris will also have a great safety blanket in tight-end Cade Otton. Otton is one of the best tight ends in the country and last season he had 18 catches for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns last season.
Morris will also have an excellent offensive line in front of him. Washington returns all five starters from a unit that only allowed 1 sack and 10 tackles for loss last season. Left tackle Jaxon Kirkland is the star of the group and he is currently projected as a top 10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. They pave the way for a deep running back group.
Who gets the first carry of the game is not really important as the Huskies rotate four backs. Sean McGrew was the Huskies leading rusher last year with 227 and 4 touchdowns on 5.3 YPC. He is the scat back while Kamari Pleasant was the third down back.
Richard Newton and Cam Davis got the least amount of carries last year, but it sounds like they are the top two backs entering the season. Perhaps Washington will have a little more clarity at this position after their season opener against Montana. Michigan fans saw last year that a four running back rotation does not work well.
Defense and Special Teams
Over the last few years, Washington has had one of the stingiest defenses in the country. It earned Jimmy Lake a promotion from defensive coordinator to head coach when Chris Petersen stepped down.
Last year, the Huskies had the #1 defense in the Pac-12 in total defense, #2 in scoring defense and ranked 13th nationally in pass defense. This year, it should be strong once again.
Washington runs a hybrid defense with a 3-4 and 2-4-5 looks and it starts up front with the interior duo of Tuli Letuligasenoa and Taki Taimani.
Combined the redshirt sophomores offer 630 pounds of beef in the middle. Redshirt freshman Faatui Tuitele is the top reserve and he will start when Washington wants to go with three interior lineman. Tuitele was a four-star recruit in the 2019 along with fellow redshirt freshman Jacob Bandes. Kuao Peihopa may see action as a true freshman.
At outside linebacker Washington is deep and it would usually start with Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who had 7 sacks in 4 games last season.
However, Tupuola-Fetui tore his Achilles in the spring. Amazingly he is expected to return at some point this season, but he will miss the Michigan game. Sixth-year senior Ryan Bowman was an All-PAC-12 selection in 2019. He is strong setting the edge in the run game and he could lead the team in sacks this season. Keep an eye on former five-star Sa’vell Smalls as a breakout candidate. Redshirt sophomores Edefuan Ulofoshio and Jackson Sirmon make up a strong duo at inside linebacker. Ulofoshio led the team with 47 tackles last season and Sirmon was second with 27.
Very quietly, Washington has been the West Coast’s version of “DBU” over the last few years. It lost corners Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor to the NFL, but their secondary should be strong once again.
At one corner spot, Trent McDuffie is among the best in the country and is projected as a first round pick. Kyler Gordon will take over for Keith Taylor at the other spot and he has all-conference potential. Freshmen Jacobe Covington and Mishael Powell round out the top four. Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles transfers in from Oklahoma and should replace Molden at nickel corner. Radley-Hiles had an up-and-down career in Norman but perhaps he will get a fresh start at Washington. The Huskies will be breaking in two new starters at safety and it appears that sophomores Cam Williams and Julius Irvin will get the first opportunity.
Washington returns both specialists punter Race Porter and kicker Peyton Henry. Porter has averaged per 42.4 punt for his career while Henry was 6 of 9 on field goals (long of 45) and 13 of 14 on extra points last year. Giles Jackson and Trent McDuffie are the favorites to be Huskies return specialists at this juncture.
Overview
Washington will be a very tough game for Michigan. In terms of talent, I think Washington is the third most talented team on Michigan’s schedule.
According to the Blue-Chip ratio, Washington is just below the 50% cutoff but rates as the 17th most talented team in the country (Michigan is 10th).
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Washington will be a challenge for Michigan football in the trenches, especially with their offensive line. Jaxon Kirkland vs. Aidan Hutchinson will be a great one-on-one matchup. However Michigan may be able to exploit Washington’s run defense.
In Washington’s four games last year, it gave up 161.3 rushing yards per game. Ryan Bowman missed the games against Stanford and Utah and in those games it gave up 215 and 191 yards on the ground, respectively. Washington figures to have Ryan Bowman against Michigan, but Michigan’s offensive line and running game should be a strength.
Michigan has struggled running the ball against good teams in recent years, so it will be a huge confidence builder if it is able to do so against Washington. It will also take the pressure off of Cade McNamara or J.J. McCarthy.
It will be the first big game for whoever Michigan has under center. However, it will also be the first big game for Dylan Morris. It is a huge deal that Michigan will be at home for this game. We all know the type of atmosphere Michigan can have for its night games. In fact with fans in attendance, Michigan has a 7-1 record in home night games.
I expect that this will be a close, hard-hitting, and low-scoring game. If Michigan is able to pull out the win, it will be a huge confidence booster with Wisconsin coming up in a few weeks.