Michigan Football: Weather, injury breakdown vs Rutgers

We are two days away from Michigan football and Rutgers and here’s a breakdown of the weather as well as the injury report.

Football coaches always talking about controlling all the little things or doing all of the little things right. But you can’t control every aspect of the game, such as the weather or even injuries.

Injuries can be incredibly frustrating and so far this season, Michigan football has been fortunate on that front. Very few players have had to miss time due to injury and it looks like the Wolverines are going to be near-perfect health again on Saturday, minus Ronnie Bell of course.

Zak Zinter, who was limited in the season-opening win over Western Michigan, is going to play, despite some rumors to the contrary circulating online, but he will be wearing a cast on his arm as he explained earlier this week when he met with the media.

"“My bone hasn’t healed 100 percent yet, but with the cast, I’m 100 percent ready to go,” Zinter said. “A few more weeks in that, hopefully, and I’ll be able to get my hand back.”"

Zinter, who injured his hand when it got stuck in the facemask of a teammate, according to The Wolverine, said he did want to start that first game, which he played but was limited.

"“I did want to play. I definitely didn’t want to miss the first game back in The Big House with fans, that was my first time in there [with fans],” Zinter said. “We talked to the doctor, and we figured out that playing with the club wasn’t going to hurt it any more. We worked in an extra big lineman into the package, got some reps at guard as well — just to get my feet wet, because I came back midway through the week to practice.”"

Bell is going to be out for the season but Daylen Baldwin, who is one of the receivers needed to replace him, was also banged up earlier in the season but should be healthy now after playing and catching three passes a week ago against Northern Illinois. Keep an eye on him Saturday.

Weather report for Rutgers

As Michigan football fans have seen over the years, the weather can make an impact — thinking of Michigan State in 2017 — and the skies may not be clear Saturday in Ann Arbor.

According to the National Weather Service, rain is expected during the game against Rutgers. Here’s the report:

"“Showers likely before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 66. West wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.”"

Cade McNamara, Michigan’s quarterback, and Noah Vedral, the starter for Rutgers, are both solid, efficient quarterbacks, but neither is known for their arm strength and if there is rain and wind, it’s not going to make things easy on the signal-callers.

Both defenses are ranked in the top-10 nationally in terms of points allowed and both offenses want to run the football anyway, but if the weather forecast proves accurate, the conditions could lead to even more of a run-centered, defensive struggle.