Michigan faces off against a UMass team that is a high quality FCS program. In fact, UMass was the title game opponent for Appalachian State at the end of the 2007 season. This 2010 UMass team enters the Big House 2-0 and fresh off an upset win over a previous top-5 FCS team in William and Mary.
With Denard Robinson at the helm, and a bruising offensive line, Michigan should have no trouble at all putting up big points on the Minutemen. With the rushing yards that Michigan has been producing thus far, I would expect another big day on the ground for the Wolverines.
Defensively, Michigan should be bigger, stronger, and faster than their UMass counterparts. UMass does have the ability to throw the football, (putting up nearly 300 yards through the air last week) which should provide another great test for the Michigan secondary prior to Big Ten play. Expect both Craig Roh and Mike Martin to both have extremely good games on the defensive line.
I am very interested to see this game because it might be the first game at Michigan that Rich Rod has truly enjoyed a talent advantage over his opponent. One of the most frustrating things about the end of Coach Carr’s tenure was his seeming unwillingness to really put the hammer down on opponents that had inferior talent to Michigan. Carr’s unwillingness to do this cost the program something in terms of development. These types of early season games are the games that you should be able to get young guys in the game and get them vital game experience that will help their development over the course of this season and beyond.
If Michigan plays up to their potential, Denard should not have school record caliber stats like he has had in the first two weeks. In fact, if Michigan plays well, we should not expect to see our starting lineup take the field beyond one series in the second half at maximum. In light of this expectation, there are a few different players to keep an eye out for who the coaching staff will be keeping a close eye on in order to see what they have prior to getting into the Big Ten portion of the schedule.
Five to Watch:
1) Back-up Quarterbacks: Both Devin Gardner and Tate Forcier should see snaps this weekend. To me, these next two games will provide an opportunity for the coaching staff to assess who they will feel more comfortable with putting in the game during the Big Ten season if Denard were to get injured. Gardner will get snaps first and will have the opportunity to potentially bury Forcier in the third spot on the depth chart if he performs well and shows that he truly does have a great grasp of the offense.
2) Fitzgerald Touissant – Touissant was a guy who initially was in the running for the opening day running back starter spot before a knee injury held him out the first two weeks. Touissant brings a unique blend of size and speed that could provide another dangerous weapon to pair with Denard in the backfield. It would be great to see Touissant establish himself in the next two weeks as a potential starting running back for this team.
3) Taylor Lewan – Mark Huyge, the veteran left tackle, simply put, had an awful game in South Bend last weekend. Lewan, the redshirt freshman from Arizona, has often drawn comparisons to Jake Long due to their similar stature’s and the fact that both wear #77. I expect Lewan to see some snaps with the first-team offense as the coaching staff will be looking to see if he will give them a better option than Huyge going forward. If Lewan performs well the next two weeks, don’t be surprised if he takes the job from Huyge on his way to becoming the next great Michigan left tackle.
4) Young Defensive Backs – With the pleasantly solid play so far from J.T. Floyd and James Rogers, the cornerback spot doesn’t look to be as weak as we thought to start the year. However, both Cullen Christian and Terrance Tallbott, true freshman, will see significantly more playing time in the next two weeks. If just one of these two could step up and turn into a Big Ten caliber corner, it would make the Michigan secondary depth look much better going into the Indiana and Michigan State games.
5) Jibreel Black – Black has seen spot duty on passing downs at the rush defensive end spot in the first two games. This is a guy that has all the tools to be a great pass rusher for the Michigan defense. The reps he gets in the next two weeks will be extremely valuable for his development moving forward. Black, despite being a true freshman, could potentially platoon with Greg Banks by the end of this season.
1) Back-up Quarterbacks: Both Devin Gardner and Tate Forcier should see snaps this weekend. To me, these next two games will provide an opportunity for the coaching staff to assess who they will feel more comfortable with putting in the game during the Big Ten season if Denard were to get injured. Gardner will get snaps first and will have the opportunity to potentially bury Forcier in the third spot on the depth chart if he performs well and shows that he truly does have a great grasp of the offense.
2) Fitzgerald Touissant – Touissant was a guy who initially was in the running for the opening day running back starter spot before a knee injury held him out the first two weeks. Touissant brings a unique blend of size and speed that could provide another dangerous weapon to pair with Denard in the backfield. It would be great to see Touissant establish himself in the next two weeks as a potential starting running back for this team.
3) Taylor Lewan – Mark Huyge, the veteran left tackle, simply put, had an awful game in South Bend last weekend. Lewan, the redshirt freshman from Arizona, has often drawn comparisons to Jake Long due to their similar stature’s and the fact that both wear #77. I expect Lewan to see some snaps with the first-team offense as the coaching staff will be looking to see if he will give them a better option than Huyge going forward. If Lewan performs well the next two weeks, don’t be surprised if he takes the job from Huyge on his way to becoming the next great Michigan left tackle.
4) Young Defensive Backs – With the pleasantly solid play so far from J.T. Floyd and James Rogers, the cornerback spot doesn’t look to be as weak as we thought to start the year. However, both Cullen Christian and Terrance Tallbott, true freshman, will see significantly more playing time in the next two weeks. If just one of these two could step up and turn into a Big Ten caliber corner, it would make the Michigan secondary depth look much better going into the Indiana and Michigan State games.
5) Jibreel Black – Black has seen spot duty on passing downs at the rush defensive end spot in the first two games. This is a guy that has all the tools to be a great pass rusher for the Michigan defense. The reps he gets in the next two weeks will be extremely valuable for his development moving forward. Black, despite being a true freshman, could potentially platoon with Greg Banks by the end of this season.
I expect Michigan to have a hot start out of the gate similar to the UConn game and cruise to a victory. UMass will have the potential to score on the defense with their passing attack, but it won’t be enough to keep pace with the firepower that the Wolverines have on their offense.
Keep an eye on which young guys get in early because these are the guys that are going to be needed later on during the season.
Prediction: MICHIGAN 45-17.
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