GBMWolverine
Fansided

Big Ten Championship Edition: Five Questions for Michigan Football

By Cameron Stokes

Nov 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh hugs Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) following their 45-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchNcaa Football Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes
Nov 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh hugs Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) following their 45-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchNcaa Football Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Michigan football beat the brakes off rival Ohio State for the second straight year and now turn their attention to the Big Ten Championship, where they will face the Purdue Boilermakers.

Purdue was extremely lucky to get in, as Illinois and Iowa both had the choke job of the century to blow their chance, but, Purdue ended the regular season with a four-game winning streak, so have to give them credit for winning games when they were supposed to.

Michigan football hasn’t played Purdue since 2017, only one of two opponents in the entire conference that Michigan hasn’t played in the last two years, so it’s been a little while.

Fans might remember the 2017 game in West Lafayette as the Chris Evans game. John O’Korn (yes, we are reliving those days for a minute, *cringe*) took over for Wilton Speight, as he got injured early in the game.

John O’Korn actually had his best game as a Wolverine (arguably) that day, as he was 18/26, for 270 yards and a TD with one pick. Evans had 14 carries for 97 yards and two TDs, as Michigan won 28-10.

Anyways, that’s all in the past. This year’s Purdue squad is a really solid 8-4 and has the ability to put up some serious points. It’s time for the five questions portion of this article.

Can Michigan limit Charlie Jones?

When discussing the top wide receivers in the conference, Purdue’s Charlie Jones hasn’t really come up that much in national circles, but you best believe the guy is really good.

So far this year, Charlie Jones has 97 catches for 1,199 yards and 12 TDs. Jones is Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell’s favorite target this season, so he will definitely look for him early and often against Michigan.

No, despite Charlie’s stats, he isn’t as dynamic as a Marvin Harrison Jr., or an Emeka Egbuka, but he is probably only a tier and a half below that.

I know Jesse Minter is going to have a good game plan schemed up containing Charlie, and I expect Mike Sainristil or Will Johnson to cover him. We’ll see.

Charlie is only one receiver, but he is still a major focus, and Purdue is a pass-heavy offense, so Michigan knows that Purdue will try to scheme up some things to get Charlie the football.

Home/Michigan Wolverines News