Michigan Football: 5 predictions for Wolverines against Rutgers

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 29: Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines speaks to the press after a college football game against the Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 29-7 over the Michigan State Spartans. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) /

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Red-zone issues get better

Rutgers has allowed 18 scores on 18 red-zone trips. The Scarlet Knights have also allowed 15 touchdowns. That’s not a lot of trips to the red zone total but when teams have got down there, they have found a way to get points.

Michigan has actually done really well scoring points, with a better than 90 percent scoring rate in the red zone. The issue is that they have only scored touchdowns on 63 percent of their drives.

The key is having more success on first down and allowing J.J. McCarthy and the wide receivers to make some plays. The field narrows and that’s why it can be harder in the red zone.

Michigan’s running game has been pretty successful, but they have to find a way to get the receivers involved. I’d love to see some fades and some run-pass options for McCarthy.

Michigan struggled with the red zone last season at times and that issue got solved down the stretch. Michigan won’t be perfect this week, but it will be better and the start of a positive trend in the red zone starts Saturday.

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