A dozen bold predictions for Michigan football at Minnesota
Daily Football WritersNovember 6th, 2008
Dan Feldman:
Michigan's offense will set Minnesota up for more points than the Golden Gophers' own offense. The Wolverines may have finally found a successful defensive alignment this week, but Minnesota is second in the nation in turnover margin and Michigan is 103rd. To make matters worse for the Wolverines, starting quarterback Steven Threet is out with a concussion.
Freshman Martavious Odoms will have more catches than the rest of Michigan's receivers combined. With two backup quarterbacks playing, the Wolverines won't throw deep often. The electric Odoms will be Michigan's best hope of turning a screen pass into a long gain.
Minnesota will win 31-16. The Wolverines are a bad team and haven't won on the road this year. There's no reason to believe either of those facts will change Saturday.
Courtney Ratkowiak:
Freshman running back Michael Shaw will have more playing time than he has had this season. The run game will be a big factor for the Wolverines on Saturday. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez keeps talking about how Shaw will have an increased role, but that hasn't happed yet. Now that the Wolverines aren't playing for a bowl, look for Rodriguez to give the freshmen a few more snaps during the last three games.
Freshman Justin Feagin won't play at quarterback until Michigan is down by three touchdowns. Rodriguez doesn't have much of an incentive to play Feagin unless Michigan gets desperate. Just two weeks ago, Rodriguez said Feagin wasn't ready to play at quarterback and his move to slot receiver was likely permanent. Though redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan hasn't been impressive, he's still better in Rodriguez's eyes than an unknown.
Minnesota will win 24-7. The Michigan defense will be stronger this week after being embarrassed last week – stronger, of course, is relative – but its offense will be its downfall. This won't be the game that ends the losing streak.
Ian Robinson:
This will be the only game Feagin ever plays quarterback. There's a reason Feagin wasn't recruited as a quarterback by most schools: lack of arm strength. There's a reason Rodriguez said a few weeks ago that Feagin is not close to being ready to play quarterback. You'll see why Rodriguez made the right choice just playing Feagin on special teams last week.
Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker will embarrass the Michigan secondary. The Wolverine's cornerbacks and safeties have been humiliated by just about every team it has faced this year. Even accounting for lowered expectations, Decker, the Big Ten's leading receiver, will make Michigan's secondary look bad.
Minnesota will win 34-10 Redshirt freshman Steven Threet is the only quarterback who has been able to move the offense with any consistency this season, and he's "very, very questionable" for Saturday. Without a stable offense, the Wolverine defense will continue to allow big plays, yards and points.
Nate Sandals:
Michigan's offense won't score a touchdown. The Wolverines have struggled moving the ball all season. Things looked better at Purdue last weekend, but Threet is injured. The backups aren't a threat to throw deep, so Minnesota will clog the box with at least eight men to stop the run.
Redshirt sophomore weakside linebacker Jonas Mouton will score a touchdown on defense. Mouton has improved each week since joining the starting lineup in week two. He has the speed to jump a dump pass, and he's seeing the game better. A pick-six is coming.
Minnesota will win 35-13. There nothing going in Michigan's favor heading into this game. The starting quarterback is out, the game is on the road and Minnesota is angry after last week's loss to Northwestern. The Gophers should be hoisting The Little Brown Jug tomorrow afternoon.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:57:56 -0500