The No. 25 Michigan football team is coming off of a rebound win that may have been its most well-rounded game to date. In the Wolverines’ win over Washington, freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and the Michigan offense moved the ball effectively down the field through the air and on the ground, and the Wolverines’ defense held one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country to just seven points.
But Week 9 presents a unique challenge and opportunity for Michigan. It’s going against a Michigan State team that has lost four straight games, lost the last three in the series and is on the losing side of the 74-38-5 all-time record between the in-state rivals. The Wolverines have to overlook what they have going for them.
“It’s bragging rights, state champs and they’re going to play hard, we’re going to play hard,” Michigan wide receiver coach Ron Bellamy said Wednesday.
As both teams prepare for the unofficial state championship, here’s what to watch for in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
Can Michigan look past Michigan State’s record and play up to the rivalry?
The only decade Michigan State has had a winning record over the Wolverines was the 2010s. As mentioned previously, Michigan should feel comfortable going into its matchup with the Spartans. Not only are this season’s records on diverging paths, the Wolverines hold a firm grasp of the rivalry both in recent years and all time.
But Michigan coach Sherrone Moore knows enough about the rivalry to realize that this season’s records won’t be make an impact on the field.
“100% records don’t matter,” Moore said Monday. “Records do not matter in this game. … We’re gonna get their best. They’re gonna get our best. So it’ll be a great game, a physical game and a great atmosphere. So that’s all we can worry about.”
All week, the Wolverines have prepared for the game through conversations in the building, understanding the weight this rivalry has on the program. Both in-state players who grew up around the rivalry and out-of-state players who didn’t are treating this as the state championship. But at the same time, the Wolverines are approaching this like any other week.
“I feel like it’s not hard to look over anybody,” senior defensive back Zeke Berry said Tuesday. “For us, we emphasize taking it one game at a time, so whoever’s in front of us for that week, we try as hard as we can to make sure we get that win.”
The Wolverines have to use the stakes and passion of the rivalry to look past the records, but at the same time they have to play with the composure that goes into their one week at a time mentality. Finding that balance will allow Michigan to keep the game from getting too extracurricular and let the records speak for themselves.
Can Michigan use proof of concept to contain Aidan Chiles?
Last week against Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr., running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston, the Wolverines’ defense had its hands full. Although Williams is considered one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, Michigan’s defense had no issues.
The Wolverines contained the Huskies to just 209 yards through the air — Williams’ second-lowest mark only behind a duel with No. 1 Ohio State — and 40 yards on the ground. Williams and Coleman presented one of the top running tandems in the country and frequently kept defenses off guard, but both had second-lowest efforts this season in that category with -19 and 50, respectively.
This week’s preparation is a bit of deja vu for the Michigan program as it faces another electric quarterback with dual-threat abilities in Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles.
“He’s one of the top dual threat quarterbacks that we’ll face this year,” Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said Wednesday. “You see a real athletic, tall player with a strong arm. And the thing that’s kind of hidden, the plays with most dual-threat guys that don’t show up on the stat sheet, is he’s able to keep plays alive with his feet. He’s able to get rid of the ball, whether it’s an incompletion, avoiding the sack or actually throwing it down field.”
Chiles is a little less refined than Williams, partially due to the lack of weapons around him, but has proven a more than capable dual threat. Chiles has 1,262 yards through the air and 234 yards on the ground, the latter good for fourth out of quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
Saturday’s game will prove another test to whether the Wolverines’ defense can contain an offense created to unstabilize defenses. But proof of concept against Washington should have Michigan feeling well prepared for Saturday.
Will Michigan’s pass game take another step?
Michigan is going up against the 109th pass defense nationally and second to worst in the Big Ten. The Spartans allow 251.4 yards per game against opponents, and although the Wolverines’ pass offense ranks 94th nationally and 13th in the Big Ten with 205.7 yards per game, it’s trending in the right direction.
Last week against the Huskies, Underwood and the pass game looked more controlled as Underwood made smarter and more accurate passes to stay ahead of the sticks. He finished with 230 yards and even in the Wolverines’ loss to Southern California, Underwood flashed good moments with 207 yards and two touchdowns.
In addition to Underwood’s increasing efficiency, graduate wide receiver Donaven McCulley and freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh have become steady producers, and in turn have given more reliable options to Underwood. McCulley had 112 yards against Wisconsin but has cooled off a bit in the last two games. But in the last three games, Marsh has averaged 89 yards per contest and has two touchdowns.
“When a young man has that type of mindset, he’s successful,” Bellamy said when talking about Marsh’s knack for asking questions. “We all knew coming out of high school he was talented. It was just a matter of time before we could get him on the field.”
Against a weaker pass defense, the Wolverines need to take advantage of their expanding pass game, but they also need to do so to bury their in-state rival.
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The battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy is entering its 118th rendition. Although the in-state programs are trending in two different directions over the past few years, anything can happen in a rivalry. Michigan has to play up to that rivalry and continue to refine the areas it proved effective against Washington if it wants to take down Michigan State.
