3 keys for Michigan football vs. the NIU Huskies
The No. 25 Michigan Wolverines are off to a 2-0 start after winning decisively against WMU and Washington to start the season.
The maize and blue are hosting their third straight game of the year when they face the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday. This is only the second career matchup between the two teams — the first game was back in 2005 where Michigan won 33-17.
NIU is off to a 1-1 start this season after it upset Georgia Tech in Week 1, but then it lost to Wyoming in a high-scoring affair in Week 2.
Michigan has appeared to change its offensive identity into a running attack, and the Wolverines have the fourth-best rushing attack in the entire country — averaging 339 yards-per-game on the ground.
The Wolverines could be on pace to get over 300 yards on the ground once against his weekend as NIU allows 231 rushing yards-per-game, and this will be the toughest ground game the Huskies have faced to date.
Here are three keys to the game for the Michigan Wolverines.
List
What Mike Macdonald said after the Washington game in his press conference
Get the passing attack going..
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Cade McNamara has thrown the ball just 26 times in two games. Needless to say, the Wolverines haven't required the air attack just yet because the run game has been so prolific the first two games. Eventually, Michigan is going to come into a challenge where the run game can't go for 300-plus yards and will be in need of the aerial attack to work. The NIU game is a perfect place to start getting some reps under McNamara's belt. The Huskies allow 181 yards-per-game thru the air and they allowed 245 yards-per-game last year with close to the same players -- and according to PFF, the numbers aren't good for the NIU secondary. The defense as a whole is the 122nd -anked team with a grade of 56.0 and the 'coverage' of NIU is ranked 96th with a grade of 61. The secondary doesn't get much help because the pass rush doesn't get to the opposing quarterback -- they rank 106th with a grade of 63.5. When the Wolverines lost star wideout Ronnie Bell against WMU, we knew someone needed to step up. It sounds like Cornelius Johnson will take over as the lead guy, but McNamara needs to build better game chemistry with all of his playmakers before Big Ten play happens. This game against a porous defense would be a good window to see how good this Michigan passing game can be.
...but keep allowing the running backs to feast
Michigan Wolverines running back Blake Corum (2) runs by Washington Huskies defensive back Kamren Fabiculanan (31) for a touchdown Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at Michigan Stadium.
This sounds counter-productive, but even though the Wolverines need to throw the ball a little more, they need to stay balanced with the rushing attack. What I'm saying is: balanced playcalling for this game. The Wolverines are the No. 4 team in the country in rushing for a reason. The offensive line has been dominating, and the one-two punch of Haskins and Corum is electrifying -- which is why they are called 'thunder and lightning.' The NIU passing defense may be really bad, but if you can believe it the rushing defense is even worse. According to PFF, NIU is the 119th-rated rush defense with a grade of 50.3. The Huskies have allowed 231 yards-per-game on the ground so far after two games. The combination of Corum and Haskins will more than likely destroy the Husky defense, and I'm would be shocked if we don't see a lot of Donovan Edwards in this one as well. Just because Michigan should get the passing game more involved, don't fix what's not broken -- keep pounding the rock. Look for the maize and blue run game to be elite once again in this contest.
Make Rocky Lombardi uncomfortable and prosper from his mistakes
Photo: Isaiah Hole
The Michigan State transfer Rocky Lombardi helped shock the world last year when the Spartans came into Ann Arbor and beat Michigan, 27-24. Lombardi threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns in the upset win last year and it seemed like he threw every ball up for grabs with his receivers coming down with it. Now it's a new year with a new team. Lombardi is the new starting QB for NIU, and he hasn't had a great start to the season. The former Spartans signal-caller is 30-53 for 369 yards, three touchdowns, and has thrown three interceptions. PFF has the Huskies ranked as the 93rd passing team with a 61.2 grade. This should be a game that the Michigan defensive line feasts on the NIU line. The goal should be to disrupt Lombardi as much as possible, and even getting some sacks would help. The Michigan secondary has yet to make any interceptions this year, and if they can make Lombardi uncomfortable then there are interceptions waiting to happen.
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