Staff Roundtable for Michigan Football vs UConn and much more
By Josh LaFond
How do you feel overall as we enter the game against the UConn Huskies?
Cameron: I feel fine. We aren’t going to learn much, if anything, from any of these three non-conference games, which on one hand, does suck, as Michigan goes right into Big Ten play against an explosive offense in Maryland, which will test Michigan’s defense right from the jump, but on the other hand, we’ve seen several upsets and losses by top-10 teams over the past two weeks, so I’m not mad at keeping our record unscathed so far.
Maddie: I feel great and I’m excited to be at the game! It is our last non-conference game and while they are literal practice games, I am excited to see how many our offense can put up, and maybe our defense can get a shutout! However, I am SO ready to get to our conference schedule and truly start opening up the playbook. Big Ten games can’t come quick enough! We are going to learn a lot about this Michigan team once the conference games begin so I am looking forward to it!
Jared: I think this will be the most complete performance of the season, and the Wolverines will roll once again. With the quarterback controversy largely behind this team, I expect sharper focus and attention to detail because there are some things that can be improved upon before Big Ten play begins next week against Maryland. I am excited for this to be the final “cupcake” on the schedule so we can finally learn more about Team 143, and hope that JJ McCarthy leads the program to new heights in 2022 and beyond.
Brandon: UConn will be an interesting game for Michigan. The Wolverines undoubtedly have the talent to win this game handily but I am curious to see how J.J. McCarthy performs after his game against Hawaii and how the team as a whole responds to his play. UConn did not look good last week against Syracuse, giving up 470 total yards and 29 first downs to the Orange, which should lead to plenty of opportunities for Michigan and their offense to have another stellar day.
Josh: If I was rating my confidence going forward on a scale of 1-10, it’d be about a 7. There are a lot of things to like on this team, especially at the difference-maker positions — quarterback, running back, wide receiver, edge, and corner. But, there’s a healthy amount of concern with depth in other “settled” positions like interior linebacker and offensive tackle. I want to see how the starters gel in this game against UConn as they’re likely to get run deep into the second half of the game, even if it’s a blowout.
Chris Peterson: I really just want to see J.J. McCarthy get more time with the receivers. Michigan football can ground and pound, but I want to see more explosive plays and another dominant defensive performance, which I believe is what we’ll see on Saturday.