Oklahoma’s offensive line will look vastly different against the Michigan Wolverines than it did a week ago against UTEP. One major contributor will be out, while another that was hurt last week is set to return vs the Wolverines at The Big House.
Here is the latest, via ESPN’s Pete Thamel:
“Oklahoma starting center Jake Maikkula (knee) will return and start for the Sooners at center at Michigan this week, per ESPN sources. His return means that true freshman Noah Best, who started last week at center,
will kick over to RG. LT Michael Fasusi (shoulder) will miss the game, and Ryan Fodje will return from injury to start at left tackle. (He missed the UTEP game). Fasusi’s shoulder injury limited him to 17 snaps against UTEP. He’s considered week-to-week.”
Fasusi — considered among the best offensive tackles in the entire country this year as a sophomore — played in Oklahoma’s season opener last week, but he was clearly banged up while doing so. He being out is huge for the Wolverines’ chances of getting to quarterback John Mateer.
On the flip side, Maikkula returning will surely help out for the Sooners, as will moving Best back over to right guard. But losing Fasusi is a major deal, who graded out well with a 74.6 overall grade on PFF in the matchup with the Wolverines last season.
What does this all ultimately mean for Michigan? We will find out soon enough, but if head coach Kyle Whittingham stressed the need for physicality to his team as much as he did to the media, we can expect a stronger effort from Michigan on both sides of the trenches.
These returns should help the Sooners. However, we know how congruent these lines have to be, and there may be a bit of an adjustment to game action with all of the shuffling.
Do you think the Wolverines have a potential advantage here? Let us know in the comments.
