World News – US – 4 Reasons Michigan Football Could Lose To Minnesota, And Why I Still Pick Michigan

We are already well into the dreary part of Michigan’s fall season, when the skies are almost always gray, it is dark right now dinner is ending and I have to put on pants long to walk around

Most years, as we wake up (reluctantly) in October, wondering where the summer has been, there’s at least Big Ten football to help us out.But so far, this is another victim of 2020 Nothing Sacred?

The Big Ten canceled their season in August, to watch most of the other conferences go as planned. Then when the games resumed they were still over a month away

Jim Harbaugh immediately spoke out against the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the season, and Michigan trained throughout the delay He expressed confidence in the precautions of the COVID-19 program and, on Monday, the team had no players unavailable due to positive tests

Michigan kicks off this odd season on Saturday night against a Minnesota team that won 11 games last year Both teams are in the top 25 and ESPN’s « College Gameday » will be in attendance

Michigan and Minnesota haven’t met since 2017, when the Wolverines knocked out the Golden Gophers in a drenched, weather-delayed night game This is the only time these rivals have met during the PJ Fleck Era

So, my prediction? Well, I’m about to break down four thoughtful reasons why Michigan will lose to Minnesota and then I’ll pick Michigan to win anyway

Michigan won some big games under Harbaugh, but the inevitable truth is that Wolverines missed more often

This year’s opener sets the stage for the most cliché loss possible in Michigan It’s a road game Against a ranked team Night On « Gameday »

It’s as if Minnesota chose a Michigan letdown game menu and ordered a full set of samplers

By now you probably know the numbers Michigan is 1-7 against the road-ranked teams under Harbaugh, with the only victory being against a Michigan State team that ultimately finished 7-6

To be fair, ranked teams usually win at home because they’re good enough to rank but Michigan’s struggles in this category deserve some criticism

Michigan started their season with real road games twice in the Harbaugh era: the two losses 24-17 – against Utah in 2015 and Notre Dame in 2018

The quarterback is by far the most important position on the football field, and the two starters in this match are polar opposites

Tanner Morgan was named one of the top 1000 rookies in the class of 2017, while Joe Milton was a four star in 2018 Morgan’s best scholarship offers were from Minnesota and Louisville The Miltons were from Michigan, Georgia , LSU and Florida

But those rankings don’t matter anymore Milton comes into this season with just 12 career passing attempts Morgan threw for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns last year while completing two-thirds of his attempts for a average of 102 meters

The Michigan fan base is excited about Milton, and rightly so.But whatever they hope they can do Morgan has already accomplished His 2019 with Minnesota would arguably result in the best season for a passer of Michigan history

Remember the excitement surrounding the Michigan attack in 2018? Shea Patterson took over as starting quarterback A bunch of young guns were emerging at the top of the wide receiver depth chart The offensive line was inexperienced, but talented

Michigan have a new starting quarterback, mostly unproven wide receivers and four new faces along the offensive line this year Not to mention this is only the second season calling coordinator Josh Gattis

In Game 1 of 2018, Patterson and his receivers couldn’t be on the same wavelength Michigan lost two turnovers and only ran for 18 yards per carry At the end of the game , the Wolverines had barely scratched 300 yards

This year might not necessarily be that bad, but there is a bit of a learning curve to be expected with so many new plays It took Michigan half a season to really get up to speed. comfortable in Gattis’ scheme last year There’s no guarantee he’ll click right off the bat for new guys

Football is a head-to-head game, and the biggest imbalance, on paper, heading into this game is Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman against unproven Michigan cornerbacks

Mike Zordich has gone from David Long to Lavert Hill to Ambry Thomas as cornerback for the past four years, and that’s the secret to defense success Don Brown can’t be too aggressive and engage a group of players in the blitz unless his cornerbacks are strong in man-to-man coverage

Maybe Michigan will continue to pump the elite turns, but the players who succeed Long, Hill and Thomas don’t have much of the same pedigrees

Vincent Gray held on as a substitute last season and the numbers to be an unreliable 1 corner Behind him, well, anyone who reads the tea leaves can see Michigan is in trouble

The Wolverines have reportedly considered moving Daxton Hill – which could be one of the best safeties in the country – to a cornerback When that didn’t happen they converted safety Sammy Faustin instead, and that same week , Harbaugh named him favorite for the post

It doesn’t inspire much confidence in players already involved in the competition Looks like Michigan knows there is a hole to fill and coaches aren’t sure how to fix it

If that’s the case, and there’s a weak spot in the high school, Bateman will expose it He caught 60 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2019 That’s over 20 yards per take Tyler Johnson moved to the NFL, so Morgan is going to get even more Bateman

Bateman exploded in Minnesota’s biggest games last season, racking up 203 receiving yards against Penn State in front of a “College Gameday” crowd Later, he made six catches for 147 yards against Wisconsin in one game to decide on the Big Ten West Division

By the time Bateman opted for the 2020 season, he saw a Michigan high school kid and started licking his chops Does Michigan have an answer?

Now you think I have a fair enough argument against Michigan or angry with me for pointing out the advantages of Minnesota

Do I think Milton is going to outdo Morgan? No Do I think Michigan is going to shut down Bateman? No chance But the Wolverines have certain factors working in their favor

Firstly, Fleck said earlier this week that Minnesota would have « a number of players » unavailable due to COVID-19. He did not say which players or how many, but it suggests that the Golden Gophers face some uncertainty in this regard, which is a major advantage for Michigan.

Second, despite all the offensive similarities between this year and 2018, there are a few key differences:

I also have a feeling that the Michigan receiver renewal could end up being a blessing in disguise No one directly criticized last year’s squad members, but there could be additions by subtraction in the large hall of receivers, in terms of adhesion and attitude

The new receivers are young and unproven, but Harbaugh has spoken about their unity and unity, and it might just have something to do with just being better suited to the offensive plan. Gattis preaches « speed in space », and now – between Mike Sainristil, Roman Wilson, AJ Henning, Giles Jackson and others – he has speed He just needs to create space

Michigan’s greatest strength – and the main reason I think he’ll win the game – should be his passing rush At times last season Michigan struggled to put pressure on the quarterback -rear There is no reason for this to be the case in 2020

Obviously Aidan Hutchinson and Kwity Paye only got better this offseason, and they were already two of the best passing throwers in the conference. Inside the line can only get better, and Cam McGrone and Josh Ross should be a solid linebacker duo

Even if Bateman gets his catch, Michigan can put pressure on Morgan and contain the run – two important aspects of the game

There’s a reason Minnesota opened as a small favorite: the Golden Gophers have just had a better season than Michigan, and they’re home too

But there’s also a reason the betting line has shifted to Michigan, and it’s not just the rich alumni Wolverines have more talent across the board, and although that doesn’t translate to always by victories, it’s a good starting point

Harbaugh kept Michigan on the training ground even when the season was postponed, which could work in favor of a team replacing so many key contributors

It wouldn’t surprise me if Minnesota came out on top, but I predict a 27-21 win in Michigan

Derick is a senior web producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been working for Local 4 News since April 2013 Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports

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