5 Bold Predictions for Michigan Football: Orange Bowl edition

Michigan football has over 250 combined passing yards 

Out of Aidan’s potential monster performance, this has to be the most realistic scenario playing out. All bowl prep, Michigan football players have preached about not doing anything different. They understand what has gotten them to the CFP.

It’s been doing what they’ve been doing all along. Playing Michigan football. Not trying to change themselves just because of the type of game they are about to play and the importance of it.

So all of that means that U-M runs the football no matter what. Georgia knows it’s coming. The fans know it’s coming. The media knows it’s coming. So does Michigan (obviously).

So, because Georgia knows it’s coming, and Michigan won’t be able to just run for 5-6 yards every single play, the Wolverines will obviously need to open their playbook and pass the ball around.

I think that Michigan opens the playbook and sprinkles in J.J. McCarthy and possibly Donovan Edwards. Michigan will take 2-3 deep shots in the game, and at least one of them will connect for 50+ yards.

On the SEC Championship broadcast, Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson said that Georgia’s secondary isn’t what it was last year. That bodes well for Michigan football.

Georgia lost quite a bit of talent to the NFL last season, so they are susceptible to giving up big plays, as we saw what happened when they played Alabama.

Yes, Georgia is still talented in their secondary, but the strength of their team is their front seven. They have a Heisman top-10 finisher, a behemoth at DT/NT in Jordan Davis, and arguably, the best LB in the country in Nakobe Dean.

Trying to run on them will be a challenge, but luckily, Michigan has a passing attack that can be explosive and opportunistic when the situation presents itself. McNamara and McCarthy will make some huge throws, and Michigan will have a better passing day than a lot of people think.