Michigan Football Keys To The Game: Cincinnati
The Sporting News
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh found out a lot about his team in a 33-17 win over Florida.
The defense was stifling, even better than expected, and the offensive line was solid but needs work. The right side in particular was shaky, while there was room for improvement even on the veteran left side.
The young secondary gave up a couple of plays but made a lot more, and the linebackers were as fast as advertised. Fifth-year senior running back Ty Isaac made a statement with his 114-yard game.
So Michigan cleared the toughest (some would say the only) hurdle until Oct. 21 at Penn State, though a rivalry game with Michigan State and a road game at Indiana could be tricky if the Wolverines don’t play well. The goal now is to continue to improve against teams that will be grossly overmatched.
The keys for Saturday aren’t necessarily what the Wolverines need to do to win — they’re a 34.5-point favorite, and it would take one of the greater upsets in college football history for Cincinnati to pull it off — but rather how they can clean some things up. The Bearcats have little team speed and, frankly, aren’t good, but sleepwalking through a win over an overmatched opponent isn’t what Harbaugh has in mind.
This is the year the coach wants to take a big leap with the program, and he said as much recently. Consistency is one of the keys to sitting at college football’s adult table, and that means bringing the ‘A’ game every week in preparation for the bigger games on the schedule.
That said, here are the Wolverines’ keys for Saturday’s game (at noon in Ann Arbor):
Stay Focused [and not in a cliché kind of way]: Let’s be honest, here — Cincinnati is completely overmatched at just about every position, and while they’re excited about playing in The Big House now, that will probably change somewhere early in the first quarter.
No, this is about improving on some of the mistakes the Wolverines made in the first game, and cleaning a few things up. The Bearcats do like to blitz, and the Wolverines had problems with end/tackle twists on both sides of the line.
“We’ll be challenged because Cincinnati likes to bring the heat,” running backs coach Jay Harbaugh said. “They’ll test the discipline of our eyes and reads. We’re going to have to be at our best.”
Well … not really. But they do want to improve to get ready for the better teams on the schedule, and that means no mental mistakes. The wide receivers dropped a few passes, the running backs left some yards on the field against Florida by missing holes or stumbling a bit (sophomore Chris Evans) — all things that need to be fixed.
Defend The Short Passing Game: Cincinnati senior running back Mike Boone was a confident guy this week despite having a rough go of it against Austin Peay.
“I’ve got no doubt in my mind that we can go out and shock the world,” Boone said Tuesday. “We’re focused this week. Razor-sharp focus. We just want to come out and execute.”
They’ll need to in order to keep it close, even for a short time. Austin Peay's defense held Cincinnati to 248 total yards, including 97 rushing. It marked the first time since 2012 the Governors held an opponent to less than 100 rushing yards and the first time since 2015 it held an opponent to less than 300 total yards. Michigan, meanwhile, held Florida to 11 rushing yards.
Quarterback Hayden Moore threw for 151 yards and three scores, and he’ll likely have to air it out against the Wolverines given that Cincinnati will probably have a hard time running the ball again. He’ll need to get rid of it quickly, too, against Michigan’s relentless pass rush.
Avoid Turnovers: We’re talking to you, Wilton Speight. Michigan was clicking on a number of cylinders in last Saturday’s win over Florida, but two pick-sixes from the redshirt junior quarterback changed momentum. Speight has been struggling since the end of last season, both with interceptions and missing open receivers. He needs to find his rhythm before the Big Ten season starts.
U-M could probably get away with a few miscues and still roll, maybe even several. Still, no use giving an overmatched opponent any life.
The Breakdown: Cincinnati, simply put, is a bad football team — but head coach Luke Fickell is trying to keep it positive despite his team being a 34.5-point dog.
“I don’t want to get into the negatives. Whether it’s a two-point dog or a 30-point dog, I mean, we could have been a 40-point favorite at some points in time,” he said. “I’ve been all those different places, never worried about it one way or another and really don’t want our guys to have to worry about that, either.”
They have much bigger things to worry about, after all. The Wolverines are better in all areas and should roll.
TheWolverine.com Staff Picks
TheWolverine.com Senior Editor Chris Balas: Michigan 45, Cincinnati 0
It takes some breaks to pitch a shutout, but this is a special defense and Cincinnati is a bad football team.
The Wolverine Senior Editor John Borton: Michigan 51, Cincinnati 6
There’s no letdown, and maybe an extra touchdown or two for Luke Fickell. Michigan moves to 2-0.
(Bonus pick: Michigan 24, Ohio State 20)
TheWolverine.com Recruiting Editor Brandon Brown: Michigan 56, Cincinnati 0
Michigan stifled Florida last week, and it’s going to be even easier to shut down Cincinnati this week. I see Michigan rolling, on both sides of the ball, in a big way.
TheWolverine.com Writer Austin Fox: Michigan 51, Cincinnati 3
Michigan held Florida to just 192 yards of total offense last week. Cincinnati, meanwhile, was only able to muster 248 yards — against Austin Peay. This one gets ugly, folks … fast.
TheWolverine.com Writer Andrew Vailliencourt: Michigan 48, Cincinnati 3
Michigan’s defense won’t let up against Cincinnati, so don’t be surprised if there’s a shutout.
TheWolverine.com Analyst Doug Skene: Michigan 42, Cincinnati 3
Michigan’s defense has stolen Mark Dantonio’s disrespect card and is going to play it every chance they can. The Michigan offense will refine and get better.
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