This past weekend (September 1st) the Reigning National Champions, the Michigan Wolverines, played their first game at home versus Fresno State. Fresno State hung in with Michigan for 3 quarters but eventually got overwhelmed by the Wolverines Strong defense, giving Michigan a 30-10 opening win. The Wolverines struggled offensively, only putting up a total of 269 yards. Though to take note, the Wolverines have lost several key players on their offense in the recent NFL Draft, including quarterback JJ McCarthy, who is now on IR for the Vikings, and the entire offensive line. They are also running into this season without former Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh, who was with the Wolverines since 2015 and now coaches in the NFL for the Los Angeles Chargers. A lot of fans have speculated that the new head coach who replaced Harbaugh, Sherrone Moore, who also helped win games during Harbaugh’s suspension for alleged cheating violations, hasn’t shown off his total offense yet and was saving it for their big game this weekend. The Wolverines shouldn’t sweat it too much though, their defense is stacked up with skilled and talented players, Including Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Star Corner Will Johnson, who sealed last weekend’s game with a Pick 6. But if the Wolverines want to win this tough matchup, they have to fix their offense. Multiple plays were blown up by Fresno State’s defensive line, which came as a surprise as Michigan’s offensive line has been among the best for the past several years. Star running back Donovan Edwards was held to just 27 yards on 11 carries, which averages to 2.7 yard per carry. Though towards the end of the game when Fresno State’s defense was worn down, running back Kalel Mullings was able to break free for multiple bursts, putting up 92 yards on 15 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. On a good note, the Wolverines have found themselves a skilled kicker, Dominic Zvada, who went 3/3 on field goals with a far range of 55 yards and a shortest of around 45. So all the Wolverines really have to do to beat Texas is lock down on defense and hold them to little points, while getting in Dominic Zvada’s Range several times. But Texas is no cake walk. Their star quarterback, Quinn Ewers, threw 20-27 for 260 yards 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Though they did play a less powerful school, Colorado State, it is still an impressive performance and the Wolverines Defense is in for an early challenge. The Texas defense cannot be ignored either, holding Colorado State’s offense to a shutout and concluding the final to be 52-0 while holding Colorado State to only 192 yards. Though in college football not every team has to be flashy like Texas and Alabama to win games. Last year when Michigan won the National Championship, they only had several blowouts but they managed to go undefeated and beat multiple ranked teams. This game is said to be one of the most important matchups of the early season, and everyone will be watching to see if the Longhorns can hold Strong against a gritty Michigan Defense, and also to see if Michigan’s new offense can show up and win the game on the ground. It will be a test for both teams and it will take place this Saturday at Noon in Ann Arbor and broadcasted on FOX for BIG NOON KICKOFF.
