Jim Harbaugh will make his official debut as Michigan’s head coach Thursday at Utah. Stephanie Sokol/The Pit
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he time has come and the “Messiah’s” return is upon us.
The University of Michigan football team will open its 2015 season tonight, hitting the road to play Utah as new Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh returns to his alma mater and kicks off an era of what hopes to be rejuvenation to a storied football program.
For the first time since 1998 when they faced off against Notre Dame, Michigan will open the year on the road. U of M suffered a 16-point loss against the Fighting Irish in that contest.
For Coach Harbaugh, he hasn’t had much success in his previous two college debuts with losses at San Diego and Stanford respectively.
With much anticipation and hype surrounding Harbaugh’s return to Ann Arbor, there is still a great weight of uncertainty on the outlook of the Wolverines in the near future. There’s no doubt that he will return the program perineal winner, but the question remains…can he do it sooner rather than later?
Only time will tell…for now, let’s breakdown key points to the debut of the “Era of Harbaugh”.
QB Shuffle
Although Harbaugh has yet to name a starting quarterback for the opener against Utah, the Wolverines have options at quarterback for the first time in years.
Jake Rudock, is the experienced transfer from Iowa and is known for his accuracy and doesn’t commit turnovers . Shane Morris is a natural leader with the cannon arm.
Even though Rudock lost his job at Iowa and was criticized for not throwing deep, Morris has struggled in every appearance. Look for both QB’s to get a look during the game, but Rudock will start under center.
With the lack of experience with its top three receivers in Drake Harris, Grant Perry and Brian Cole, expect the Wolverines QB to look make hybrid TE Jake Butt the primary target to start the game. Although the group of wideouts are highly talented, they have yet to establish themselves as the go-to unit on offense. The name of the game is to play it safe!
Setting the tone on offense
It would be a shock to see Michigan go to the air more than 25 times between the quarterbacks in this game.
Coach Harbaugh is known for his smash-mouth, grind-it-out style of play. And even with Utah possessing an imposing defensive line, Harbaugh and Offensive Coordinator Tim Drevno want to establish a sense of toughness within this program.
Regardless on how the score looks when the whistle blows, Harbaugh is looking long-term and wants to leave with an identity of power.
Plus, a strong running game is critical in attempting to counter the Utes pass-rushing defensive line, as the Wolverines will look to establish long downs and go the distance on the field.
Who totes the slab?
After the debacle that was the Michigan backfield last season, they have three experienced, third-year running backs ready to carry the load.
Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith have 100-yard games in the past, and USC transfer Ty Isaac blends size and speed to be an elite weapon. Drake Johnson showed some skills late last season when given an opportunity.
However, Green and Smith haven’t run consistently on a game to game basis, let alone within a game. Isaac was injured and missed much of the spring and Johnson, who might have the best vision and is touch to get a hand on, is coming off knee surgery.
Expect Green and Smith the get the majority of carries with Issac if available being in the mix as well.
Line em up!
The expected starting five on the O-line brings significant experience into 2015. RG Kyle Kalis, RT Erik Magnuson, LG Ben Braden and C Graham Glasgow are all in their fourth or fifth year. LT Mason Cole started every game last season and should be the anchor for the unit.
They’ve had plenty of time to develop continuity, even if they’ve switched places during training. Expect Drevno to come out against Utah’s aggressive defensive line looking to establish a sense of toughness for a line last year deemed “soft”, leaving former QB Devin Gardner running for his life on many occasions.
Utah led the nation in sacks last year with 55. DE Hunter Dimick is the one to watch on the edge, and linebacker Jared Norris also is an All-Pac-12 candidate. Look for both to test that Wolverines O-line early and often.
Defense Travels?
With Utah looking to play it safe on offense by having Devontae Booker lead the offense, expect Michigan to be aggressive in getting in the backfield of the Utes and making life for QB Travis Wilson a living hell.
The Wolverines boast a lot of talent and experience along a D-line that features Chris Wormley, hybrid end/linebacker in Mario Ojemudia, Royce Jenkins-Stone and Lawrence Marshall. Ryan Glasgow will get the start at the nose tackle and has experience and Willie Henry could potentially be a break out talent. However, the unit is full of unproven starters and the losses of Frank Clark and Brennen Beyer will hurt.
Joe Bolden will lead the linebacker group after stepping into Jake Ryan’s role as the defense and unit’s leader, proving himself last season with 102 tackles. Getting fifth-year senior Desmond Morgan back after missing nearly all last season is a boost, and James Ross, a third senior, can play the weak and strong side. The loss of Ryan will hurt, given he made plays all over the field. This is Probably the most talented bunch on the team, they will have their hands full in dealing with Booker.
But the main focus will be on the Michigan secondary, led by Jabrill Peppers. The redshirt freshman has seen time in camp at safety, nickel or corner, if he’s healthy, he makes the unit better. Senior Jarrod Wilson is solid as a multiyear starter at the other safety spot.
There will be some uncertainty at the corner spots, as Jourdan Lewis emerged as U-M’s best corner last year, but the other position is uncertain with Channing Stribling. Although Utah will look to keep things grounded with Booker, expect them to challenge the unproven Michigan secondary.
Outcome
Utah is favored by 4 ½ points and has a proven tailback, elite special teams and a high-level defense to warrant it. Add in the raucous home crowd, and the matchup favors the Utes. Michigan’s offense was one of the nation’s worst last year, and the Wolverines haven’t won a significant road game in years.
Even though the game plan at QB is uncertain, there’s no mystery to the Wolverines’ plan of attack: establish physicality at the point of attack. But the Utes aren’t afraid of being physical either and will go blow to blow with U of M.
The Utes have are capable of running the ball and have the tailback to do it. In last year’s game against Michigan, Utah didn’t need Booker for the 26-10 win over the Wolverines.
Booker only carried the ball 11 times for a season-low 34 yards against Michigan. And after not playing regularly until the fourth game, he finished the year with 1,512 yards.
But Utah went only 4-3 in his 100-plus yard games last season, forcing coach Kyle Whittingham to re-vamp the offense.
Even though starting QB Travis Wilson finished 10th in the conference in pass efficiency, guiding the lowest-producing offense in the Pac-12, the Utes will look to be a bit more balanced and test the Michigan secondary from time to time.
Final Score: Utah 27, Michigan 17
