Michigan football will take on Rutgers in the first game of Big Ten play for the Wolverines and here are five predictions.
The Wolverines will face their first real test of the season on Saturday against Rutgers and as Michigan football fans should well know, the Scarlet Knights aren’t a team to take lightly.
Back in 2020, Cade McNamara had to come off the bench to rally the Wolverines to an overtime win. Two years ago, Rutgers was one of the few teams to be within a possession and have the ball in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State didn’t even do that in the 2021 game. But Rutgers did and last season, the Scarlet Knights even led Michigan football at the half before J.J. McCarthy and a couple of Michael Barrett interceptions flipped the script in the second half.
This year’s Rutgers team is probably the best Michigan football has faced over the past three years. The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 and have beaten Northwestern, Temple, and Virginia Tech. Those aren’t powerhouses, but Rutgers had played a tougher schedule than Michigan.
Rutgers is averaging 210 rushing yards per game and a defense that’s allowing just 10 yards per game and has been even stingier against the run than U-M.
So what’s going to happen on Saturday? Here are five predictions and a score.
J.J. McCarthy bounces back
Frankly, my confidence in McCarthy isn’t shaken at all. I do want to see him come out and have a solid game on Saturday like all Michigan football fans do, but that’s my expectation.
Rutgers won’t make it easy though. The Scarlet Knights have allowed just three touchdown passes this season and have intercepted five passes.
Of course, they also haven’t faced an offense like Michigan’s. Roman Wilson has been stellar and quietly, and Cornelius Johnson has been just about as good. Colston Loveland is a matchup nightmare and Tyler Morris is only going to keep getting better.
Rutgers is likely going to put the game in McCarthy’s hands and this time around, he’ll look more like he did during the first two weeks than the Bowling Green game.
I say McCarthy avoids interceptions and tosses two touchdown passes.
2. The running game finally hits 200 yards
Last week, Blake Corum had his best game of the Michigan football season. After recovering from offseason surgery, Corum was solid in the first game but has looked better and better as the season goes on.
Against Bowling Green, Corum took the first carry for over 50 yards. He went for over 100 yards total and scored two touchdowns.
However, the running game has failed to meet expectations. The Wolverines are averaging just 156.7 yards per game, although they are getting 4.9 per carry, but remember, the non-conference schedule wasn’t filled with world-beaters.
Donovan Edwards has struggled but had a better game last week. The offensive line looked better when LaDarius Henderson was at left tackle, and I’ll be watching closely to see if the offensive line starters are different this week.
Regardless, I think the running game has its best outing of the year and proves a point against a really good Rutgers defense.
Rutgers run game runs into a roadblock
One of the biggest keys for Michigan football to get a win on Saturday is going to be slowing down the Rutgers running game which is led by Kyle Monangai, who leads the Big Ten in rushing yards so far this season with 357 total.
Another concern for Michigan football should be quarterback Gavin Wimsatt. Wimsatt was a guy that Michigan actually recruited out of high school. The former four-star is the highest-rated recruit Rutgers has had at the position for a long time and he’s got 150 rushing yards too, plus three touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
Yet, the Michigan defense has been outstanding against the run. The Wolverines are allowing just 2.6 yards per attempt and 81 yards per game.
One reminder about Michigan’s defense is that the starters haven’t played all four quarters in any game. They will on Saturday and my prediction is that Rutgers doesn’t reach 100 yards on the ground.
The defense gets multiple takeaways
Michigan’s defense has been outstanding through three games and is allowing just more than five points per game. U-M has surrendered just one touchdown (against the backups) and through three games, the Wolverines have allowed just six first-half points.
Last week, the defense did a better job of taking the ball away and forced three turnovers. One of them was an interception by Kris Jenkins that turned out to be a turning point in a sluggish performance.
One thing about Rutgers is that the Scarlet Knights have done a great job of taking care of the ball. Wimsatt has zero interceptions and the team has just two turnovers in two games.
Yet, if Michigan can limit the run game and put the game in the hands of Wimsatt, that should lead to some errant throws and mistakes. The pass rush is also going to be the best that Rutgers has faced and if the secondary is healthy, I see at least two forced takeaways by U-M.
Michigan will be better with Jim Harbaugh
There’s a reason Michigan only had the Jim Harbaugh suspension last until the start of Big Ten play because the head coach makes a big impact.
Harbaugh is one of the best coaches in college football. When he was in the NFL, he was one of the best and there’s no doubt about the impact he makes.
This Michigan football team hasn’t been quite as good as expected, but the Wolverines didn’t have their head coach and the first three games weren’t all that challenging.
Now, they are set to defend their Big Ten championship starting with Rutgers and Harbaugh will be back on the sidelines. That’s why I believe we’ll finally see a complete game from this Michigan football team, which will have us all feeling much better by Saturday afternoon.
Michigan football vs. Rutgers score prediction
Rutgers won’t be a pushover. The Scarlet Knights are solid on defense and the game will be competitive into the second half.
Michigan’s red-zone issues will rear their ugly head, but the defense plays outstanding and Michigan wins it 30-3.