There is a lot on the line for the Michigan football program Saturday night and here are five predictions for the Wolverines against Washington.
It was all smiles for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football last week.
The Wolverines rolled over Western Michigan and outside of Ronnie Bell’s injury, not much went wrong for Michigan football.
Now comes the real test: The Washington Huskies.
Yes, Washington lost to Montana this week, which knocked it out of the Top 25 and took some of the luster off this Big Ten/Pac-12 showdown. But there is still some unique history between these two programs.
Washington and Michigan met twice in the Rose Bowl back in 1992 and 1993 and also in the early 2000s, the Wolverines beat the Huskies on a last-second field goal in Ann Arbor.
None of that matters now. But it will be fun for these two traditional powers to meet once again. Washington is trying to right its season, while Michigan football is trying to right its program.
With all the high-profile recruits on campus, including five-star Josh Conerly from the state of Washington, this is a must-win game, and here are five predictions, plus our score at the end.
A slugfest
Earlier this week, we broke down the odds between Michigan football and Washington. According to the Week 2 odds on WynnBET, the over/under for Michigan and Washington is 51.
Both teams are going to want to rely on the running game. Washington’s QB Dylan Morris threw three interceptions last week and was shaky, plus is down four scholarship receivers.
Cade McNamara was solid last week for Michigan but without Bell and against a talented Washington secondary, especially at corner, the run game will be the focal point again.
The quarterbacks are going to make some plays and I’d put my money on McNamara because of the weapons and the guy is just a gamer.
But the scoreboard isn’t lighting up all night. Michigan’s defense boasts two potential first-round picks in Aidan Hutchinson and Daxton Hill and Washington is stout too.
It’s going to be a physical battle Saturday night and also a game where I don’t see the combined score going over 50 points.
Blake Corum dazzles again
Blake Corum was electrifying last week for Michigan football racking up 133 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He also set up a field goal with a long kickoff return.
Against Washington, Corum is going to have to stand out again and I think he will. Hassan Haskins is a different kind of back than Corum and he’s going to be used plenty in this game.
The Husky front seven of Washington is going to get sick of tackling Haskins by the fourth quarter. But the back who will make the most impactful plays will be Corum.
Now that Bell is out, Corum might be Michigan football’s best offensive player. He certainly was last week and the Wolverines need to get him the ball in a myriad of ways.
One thing Harbaugh has constantly said about Cade McNamara is that he knows how to get the ball to his playmakers — like a point guard — and Corum needs the ball Saturday.
As a runner and receiver, he will get over 100 yards again. He will also find the end zone.
Multiple turnovers on defense
Daxton Hill was all over the place against Western Michigan and finished the game with six tackles, including a slew of impressive plays near the line of scrimmage.
If Michigan football is going to win this game, both Hill and Hutchinson need to play like stars and in the new defensive system under Mike Macdonald, they are already being utilized more effectively.
The Wolverines didn’t come away with any interceptions last week but they had opportunities. The pass rush was solid and Hutchinson also had a strip-sack. Yet, Michigan was unable to recover.
This week some of those close calls will become turnovers. Dylan Morris will play better than he did a week ago, but he’s still down some of his top targets and he’ll make at least one mistake.
Hutchinson is going to be after him all night and I also have a sneaky feeling Hill gets in there for a sack. Maybe Saturday is finally the night Gemon Green makes a big pick and turns the corner as he’s entirely capable of doing.
Either way, I don’t see the Huskies scoring 20 points and impact plays by the Michigan defense will be a huge reason why.
Run defense bends
As happy as Michigan football fans were with the defense last week, the Wolverines still allowed more than four yards per attempt to Western Michigan running backs.
That shows that the run defense still has work to do and while Washington really struggled to run the ball last week, the Huskies have all five starters back up front from last season and they will be determined to put forth a better effort.
Richard Newton is also no slouch. He ran the ball 17 times for 62 yards last week and figures to get plenty of touches Saturday night too.
Washington probably isn’t going to throw the ball all over the place, especially with their situation at wide receiver, plus a good running game is a quarterback’s best friend.
Taking away the pass and the big play is more important and while the Wolverines will allow a healthy amount of yards on the ground — guessing 150 or so, the defense will hold when it needs to in the red zone.
Cade is the better QB
J.J. McCarthy had an impressive debut for Michigan football last weekend, but Cade McNamara is the quarterback right now and he’ll deliver another solid performance Saturday night.
His numbers aren’t going to be eye-popping. But McNamara will be efficient, he will take care of the football and he will put points on the board. Outside of the Penn State game, where he was clearly hurt, he’s done that consistently.
And as I wrote earlier this week, Michigan’s depth at wide receiver will be valuable. Washington can shut down Cornelius Johnson and also focus on Daylen Baldwin, but eventually, someone like A.J. Henning or Roman Wilson will break free for a big play.
Henning is a good bet for another breakout performance after he scored a 74-yard touchdown on an end-around last week. He’ll do damage as a runner and receiver this week too and while McNamara will finish under 200 yards passing, he throws a TD and plays better than his counterpart.
It might not get McNamara into the Heisman race but will be enough to deliver a win Saturday night in the Maize Out.