After a bye week that felt like an eternity, the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines are back at the Big House to host the struggling Wisconsin Badgers. Sherrone Moore returns to the sidelines after his two-game
suspension. Meanwhile, Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is squarely on the hot seat after a 27-10 loss to Maryland at Camp Randall two weeks ago.
The Wolverines are favored by 17.5 points entering this game and are looking to pick up their second Big Ten win of the season. Here are three keys to victory to make sure Michigan avoids the upset.
Keep making explosive run plays
My colleague Andrew Bailey had a great film breakdown this week where he went into great detail about how offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has been scheming up explosive run plays for the Wolverines. Michigan now has five rushes of 50 yards or more, a mark that leads the country. That’s one more 50-yard run than the Wolverines had in the past two seasons COMBINED.
More explosive plays can happen if Michigan continues to block well and opens up lanes for Justice Haynes, one of the fastest running backs in the nation. A big run or two may break the will of the Wisconsin defense early.
Let Bryce Underwood feast off the run game, and dial up some play-action passes
Speaking of explosive plays, utilizing play-action can help the long ball open up. I’m sure the fanbase wouldn’t be mad with Bryce Underwood showing off his arm in this one.
As Kyle Yost broke down earlier this week, there are a LOT of holes in Wisconsin’s secondary to exploit, especially if you can get them to bite on run fakes. Ty Simpson (24-fo-29, 382 yards, four touchdowns) carved up the Badgers like a Thanksgiving turkey a few weeks ago, while Malik Washington (18-of-34, 265 yards, two touchdowns) did pretty well himself. Underwood completing a few deep balls will make life a whole lot easier for the offense.
Make life hell for Wisconsin’s shaky offensive line
As bad as this Wisconsin team is, the worst part of it may be its offensive line. The Badgers surrendered six sacks Maryland two weeks ago, and through four games, Wisconsin is allowing 3.25 sacks per game, a mark that ranks 125th out of 134 teams.
This is a Michigan front seven that just made life hell for Nebraska by sacking Dylan Raiola seven times. The Wolverines are tied for sixth in the country in sacks per game (3.50), so Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham, Rayshaun Benny and T.J. Guy should be able to dominate Wisconsin’s offensive line.
What else does Michigan need to do to win this game? Let us know in the comments.
