Michigan football vs. UNLV: 3 keys to a Wolverines win

Deal with tempo

UNLV’s offensive coordinator said before the season that he wants to run around 75 plays or so per game. Last week, the Rebels got 64.

That’s going to be a test for Michigan football though. The Rebels also use some different formations and will have their running backs on the same side of the quarterback, instead of one on each side in a usual two-back spread formation.

The Rebels will surely look at the film of the past two seasons and see that Michigan football struggled with tempo. So that’s going to have to be a focus for Jesse Minter this week.

Michigan used a lot of different players, but might need to limit subs in the middle of possessions. UNLV also didn’t make many shots deep, but has its starting quarterback, Doug Brumfield back from last season, so the Wolverines can’t fall asleep on the pass offense.

Ricky White is an all-conference wideout that only caught two passes a week ago. So keep an eye on him. Most importantly though, the Wolverines have to be ready for tempo, because if they aren’t caught off-guard, it’s hard to see UNLV moving the ball much to be honest.