5 Things Michigan Football must do to beat TCU

Get the ground game going

For the Michigan side of things, obviously, the team needs Donovan Edwards to have another really good game to win.

Michigan cannot start the game sluggishly as they have for the last several games in a row.

This is the playoffs. Everything is enhanced. Everything is bigger. Mistakes are magnified. One mistake could cost you the game. One empty possession could cost you the game.

The main thing that made Blake Corum so good in the backfield was his consistency. He damn near always got at least 4 or 5 yards every carry.

It really simplified the offense for Michigan to just methodically drive down the field, picking up 4 or 5 yards every carry, then Blake Corum would bust a 10-15+ yarder every now and then.

That’s the thing that Donovan Edwards doesn’t currently do. He is not a consistent back, yet. It takes Edwards a quarter or two to really get going, and it can’t take him that long to get going in the playoffs.

Michigan football might not have the luxury to hang in the game while they wait for him to start getting the home run runs.

Maybe it works against TCU, but if Michigan makes it to the national championship, that strategy probably won’t work against Georgia or Ohio State.

Basically, Edwards needs to be ready to run hard from the jump. He needs to see his lanes well early, and he needs to gash TCU’s defense early in the game.

If Michigan can get up a few scores on TCU early, by rushing, it will force them to panic and start passing the ball more, and they will make more mistakes.