In the first big test of the 2021 Michigan football season, the Wolverines will host Washington Saturday, and here are three reasons they will come out with a win.
Despite the fact that Washington lost its opening game to Montana and is no longer ranked in the AP Top 25, the game Saturday night is still massive for the Michigan football program.
Fans and recruits enjoyed the win over Western Michigan and the Wolverines looked better than expected and beat up on the Broncos 47-14.
But that won’t matter if the Wolverines don’t follow it up with a win against Washington this weekend and thanks to that loss by Washington to Montana, a loss would look even worse now.
On top of all that, it’s a massive recruiting weekend as Michigan football is hosting a bunch of key recruits and a win would help push some towards a commitment, while a loss wouldn’t do the Wolverines or Jim Harbaugh any favors.
Looking ahead to Saturday night’s Maize Out, here are three reasons Michigan football will win.
Michigan football’s star players will stand out
One of the best things about Mike Macdonald’s defense in the first week of the season was that it showcased the talents of Aidan Hutchinson and Daxton Hill.
That shouldn’t be hard to do considering those are the Wolverines’ best defensive players, but at times, in the past, it didn’t feel like that was happening.
Hutchinson applied pressure on the quarterback all game long and also forced a fumble on a strip-sack. Washington’s offensive line was supposed to be a strength of the team, but the Huskies ran for just 65 yards and gave up three sacks, as well as eight tackles for loss.
I’d expect Washington’s front to be motivated to prove that was a fluke and therefore, a better performance is probably coming, but Macdonald will put Hutchinson in a position to make plays, which the future first-round pick will do.
The same goes for Daxton Hill.
Hill was exceptional as a nickel corner last week and he will stand out too. We’ll see how he is utilized but you can tell that Macdonald recognizes what he has in Hill and that will be evident Saturday night.
Washington also threw three interceptions against Montana, so this seems like a perfect opportunity for the Wolverines to finally come up with an interception or two of their own.
A versatile running game
Michigan football is supposed to push around teams like Western Michigan up front but last week, the Wolverines actually did it — rushing for over 300 yards.
Blake Corum went over 100 yards, while Hassan Haskins, A.J. Henning, and Roman Wilson all had explosive touchdown runs (more than 20 yards).
Haskins is going to get a lot of work this week and he forms a perfect thunder/lightning combination with Corum, who is also a threat in the passing game and as a kickoff returner, as he showed in the opener.
Obviously, Washington is better in the front seven than Western Michigan, but the Huskies strength is the secondary, while Michigan’s is the running game and the offensive line.
And what makes Michigan especially dangerous on the ground is the additional parts such as Henning and Wilson. They scored on interesting play design last week and they could have a role this week too.
It might not seem like a huge impact but in this game, which feels like a defensive battle, an explosive run or two by Henning and/or Wilson could be just what breaks the game open.
The better quarterback
Michigan football and Washington have similar situations at quarterback. There are talented freshmen waiting in the wings, while veterans with experience are attempting to hold them off.
In Week 1, Cade McNamara certainly did a better job of that than Washington’s Dylan Morris, who threw three picks and led Washington to seven points against Montana.
McNamara, on the other hand, was 9-for-11 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He’s not a superstar but if Michigan can live up to its identity of running the football, he doesn’t have to be.
Still, he threw a 76-yard touchdown to Ronnie Bell and while it was a great catch, Cade made a spectacular throw, which was on third-and-short by the way. He’s not afraid to take a risk and he has a history of taking care of the football.
He will certainly have to make some plays on Saturday night and that will be tough with Ronnie Bell out and Washington’s elite corners Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon.
But depth could help the Wolverines here. Cornelius Johnson, Daylen Baldwin, Erick All, Henning, and Wilson are all capable of breaking out for a big game and McNamara is a great distributor.
Cade will outplay Dylan Morris and that will be enough for Michigan football to notch an important win.