Minnesota football vs Michigan preview

For the first time this season, the No. 12 Michigan football team is going into its next matchup with more answers than new questions. Junior quarterback Alex Orji seems set as the Wolverines’ starter, Michigan has returned to its run-dominant identity and the defense is starting to look as advertised. 

Meanwhile, Minnesota looked susceptible to that run-focused style of play last week. The Golden Gophers allowed just 62 passing yards to Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara, but still gave up 31 points and lost by 17. That was mostly thanks to the fact that Minnesota allowed Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson to gain 206 yards and score three rushing touchdowns — numbers that the Wolverines will try to replicate this week. 

But even if Week 5 won’t be as season defining for Michigan as weeks past, it’ll still show more about what the Wolverines look like with Orji under center. And when you’re not looking for where in the Big House Minnesota gov. Tim Walz is sitting, here are a few other key things to watch for:

Will Alex Orji air it out?

Against then-No. 11 Southern California last week, Michigan showed that it doesn’t need Orji to throw the ball downfield to win a tight game. Orji threw for just 32 yards, and the Wolverines ran the ball on eight of the 10 plays on their game-winning fourth-quarter drive. 

Michigan didn’t need Orji to throw to win last week, but he also hasn’t shown that he can affect a game with his arm. On the season, he’s 10-for-18 passing for 47 yards, good for an average of 2.6 yards per attempt and a long of 10 yards. Orji has yet to show that he can complete passes for medium distance, let alone drive the offense via the pass. And in his one attempt to throw the ball deep against Arkansas State, he overthrew his receiver and the ball fell incomplete.

But the Wolverines insist that Orji hasn’t thrown the ball much yet because they haven’t needed him to, not because he can’t.

“Our identity is winning football games, and I think we’re all in alignment that we’re gonna do whatever it takes to win the football game,” Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome said Wednesday. “(Against the Trojans), it was ‘let’s keep the ball on the ground’ … I don’t think it’s a reflection on ‘we can’t pass the football, (or) we don’t want to pass the football.’ It’s what that game called for.”

Against USC, the Wolverines had a very slim margin for error, and keeping the ball on the ground helped them avoid it. They’ll likely have more leeway against the Gophers, and they may use it to give Orji a chance to air it out. So on Saturday, watch if Michigan trusts Orji to throw the ball downfield more often, and watch if he’s accurate enough to take advantage of the opportunity.

Is Kalel Mullings actually RB1?

This was finally supposed to be Donovan Edwards’ year. Before the season, the senior running back was supposed to be the focal point of the Wolverines’ offense, finally reaching the heights he was expected to before a down junior season. 

Edwards hasn’t been bad this year. He’s averaging 4.5 yards per carry, has scored three total touchdowns and is looking better each week. But graduate running back Kalel Mullings has exploded onto the scene as of late, and now could be set to take over as Michigan’s lead back. 

“I think (Mullings) earned the right to be in that conversation,” Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said Monday when asked if Mullings is the starter going forward. “Kalel played a heck of a game, and you can’t deny the effect he had on the game, so we’ll just have those conversations as an offense.”

Last week’s game served as a coming out party for Mullings, as he rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. That included a game-breaking 63-yard run during which he simply refused to go down, almost single-handedly completing Michigan’s late comeback. Edwards, meanwhile, rushed well, but also coughed up a key fumble in the Wolverines’ own territory while they were up just three points in the fourth quarter. He never touched the field again after that. 

The clash with the Trojans was just a highlight of a stellar season to date for Mullings. He’s averaging more than eight yards per carry and has broken off four runs of 30-plus yards, adding an explosive element to an often stagnant offense. Edwards hasn’t exactly lost the job, Mullings has just taken it. 

So this Saturday, watch the split in carries between Michigan’s running backs. Watch if Edwards and Mullings continue to trade drives, or if Mullings finally takes over as the Wolverines’ lead back, with Edwards as a change-of-pace option. 

Can Colston Loveland play, and if not, can Michigan replace his production?

The Wolverines haven’t shown much of a penchant for passing thus far, but when they do pass, they tend to have one target in mind: junior tight end Colston Loveland. But he exited the game in the second quarter against Arkansas State, and he couldn’t go against USC. 

According to Moore, Loveland is trending in the right direction, but Moore is still coy about his status for Saturday. 

“We’ll see,” Moore said. “(He’s) doing better, doing a lot better, close to playing last Saturday, but doctors felt it would be in the best interest that he not.” 

In Loveland’s absence, Michigan has relied on junior tight end Marlin Klein to be its leading pass catcher. That worked against the Red Wolves, when he led the Wolverines with three catches for 43 yards after Loveland left the game. Klein didn’t find as much room to get open against the Trojans, though. He brought in only one of his four targets for 10 yards. While plenty of that was due to Orji’s inaccuracy, he also didn’t find much separation on his other three targets.

If Loveland can play on Saturday, that instantly provides Orji with a big target that he can rely on as he attempts to find his footing in the passing game. Loveland can both act as a safety valve and stretch the field vertically, opening up the offense in a way that Michigan’s wide receivers haven’t shown they can. But if Loveland doesn’t play, watch how Klein and the rest of the receiving corps attempt to fill his shoes. 

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Between Loveland’s availability, the running backs’ snap shares and Orji’s ability to air the ball out, there’s still a lot to watch for on Saturday, even if the game isn’t as high stakes as some others this season. So once you’ve found where the Democratic vice presidential nominee is, look for these three storylines. 

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