The Battle for Paul Bunyan is here, as Michigan Football will host a Michigan State team that has lost six straight, is winless in Big Ten play and is on a four-year losing streak to the Wolverines. Despite history not being on their side, the Spartans are sure to bring the physicality and intensity known in the in-state rivalry.
Here the keys to victory for Michigan to walk away with the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the fifth straight year.
Make field goals
This one is pretty self explanatory. Head coach Kyle Whittingham
said there would be a kicking competition this week after sophomore Trey Butkowski missed two field goals against Rutgers and two field goals against Indiana. Although the Wolverines came out on top against the Scarlet Knights, the same can’t be said for the game against the Hoosiers — and those two kicks likely cost Michigan the game.
Butkowski was only called on for a field goal four times in the first six weeks before attempting that many in just one game against Indiana. But when playing in a game that relies on the productivity of your defense and taking advantage of short fields, even if just a field goal, the kicking unit has to be able to convert.
In what will likely be a low scoring game between Michigan and Michigan State, converting on field goals could be the difference between a win and a loss. No matter who’s taking the attempts, they simply need to go through the uprights.
Finally get the run game going
A key stat that is getting thrown around when talking about the in-state rivalry is the team with more rushing yards has won 49 of the last 56 matchups.
Both teams have struggled this season running the ball. Michigan State is 113th in the country with 110.1 rushing yards, while Michigan is 84th with 138 rushing yards per game. A major problem for the Wolverines has been simply playing a game with their offensive line healthy. Thus far, the offensive line has had to constantly rotate lineups due to injury and really hasn’t been able to establish a rhythm.
Michigan found moderate success when handing the ball off to Savion Hiter 20 times for 79 yards against Rutgers, but the Wolverines will need to improve on their 3.6 yards per carry from a game ago. Freshman quarterback Tommy Carr has created opportunities for himself with his legs, but to establish the run game would allow even more possibilities for more play action and quarterback designed runs to become even more effective, not to mention having more manageable down and distances.
Pressure the quarterback, whoever it is
Michigan State is decimated by injuries, particularly on offense. The Spartans will be without their top two running backs on an offense that already puts up just 291.4 yards per game (129th in the FBS). They also rank 113th in both rushing yards and passing yards.
Starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic is also questionable for the game, but no matter if it’s him or freshman Kayd Coffman, the focus for Michigan’s defense should be to make that quarterback uncomfortable. The Spartans allow three sacks per game, which ranks 105th overall.
As mentioned in the previous key, the run game has been instrumental to winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy. So if the Michigan defense can shut down the pass game and have the Spartans start to rely on their run game — which is already looking for production from someone deep on the depth chart — it could make for a long night for Michigan State’s offense.
