Michigan offensive players assess the Georgia defense
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan doesn’t want to be like rivals Michigan State in 2015 or Ohio State in 2016 — shut out in each’s College Football Playoff semi-final appearance. But to hear the offense discuss the challenges that Georgia presents, the Wolverine offense doesn’t anticipate that the Bulldogs will be quite that challenging.
That’s not to say it’s not a monumental challenge — it is. Georgia has, by far, the nation’s top scoring defense, allowing just 9.5 points per game. Until UGA played Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, it hadn’t surrendered more than 17 points all season long, which was a high point reached by Tennessee near the end of the season.
Until the Crimson Tide and the No. 4 scoring offense matched up against that defense, the Vols were the best unit Georgia had seen, finishing the season ranked ninth. It wasn’t a low point for UT — it scored just 14 in the loss to Florida, but close. Of the other offenses that the Bulldogs have faced, they’ve ranked 30th, 41st, 43rd, 55th, 58th, 59th, 78th, 95th, 109th, and 128th, so it’s not exactly a murderer’s row for the defense. Georgia held Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, UAB, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt to season lows in scoring.
Yet, there doesn’t appear to be much concern in Ann Arbor that the Wolverines won’t be able to move the ball. Alabama did put up 41 points, the eighth-most all season, and Michigan does have the 13th-best scoring offense in the country.
For running back Blake Corum, while he feels that the defensive front presents a challenge, if the offensive line can do what it’s done all year, that will create opportunities for the Michigan backs.
“Georgia’s stout. They’re stout up front, they’ve got some good backers,” Corum said. “The O-line, they’ve just gotta continue doing what they’re doing and really just create those one-on-one matchups for us, whether it be the backer or the safeties — just the secondary. As long as we get to the second level, we’ll be good. Georgia’s a good defense, as you guys know. You don’t end up in the College Football Playoff without having a good offense, good defense, whatnot. They’ve got some good players, so we’ll keep preparing and we’ll be good.”
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The Wolverines started preparing in earnest this week, having returned to the facilities for film study and practice after a short layoff following the Big Ten Championship Game.
For receiver Mike Sainristil, though he hails from Massachusetts, it’s personal, because one of the players he’ll see in the defensive backfield is his former high school teammate Lewis Cine, the starting free safety for the Bulldogs. As far as preparation is concerned to this point, Sainristil feels like the Wolverines have a good plan.
“They’re a great defense, another great defense we’ll be playing,” Sainristil said. “But there’s opportunities. With two, two and a half weeks preparation, just continue practicing things that we’re good at — we’ll be good. We also have a good offense, they have a good defense, and it’s just gonna be another great matchup. I can’t wait.
“I’m also playing against one of my best friends, their starting safety. So yeah, I can’t wait to go at it against them and leave it all out there for this team.”
While the Wolverine offense has been quite methodical and not necessarily flashy in 2021, Michigan does lead the country with 17 plays of over 50 yards. And while the maize and blue haven’t faced the top-rated scoring defense in the country, they have managed to score on Wisconsin (ranked sixth), Penn State (seventh), Iowa (14th), Ohio State (25th), Washington and Nebraska (tied for 38th), Rutgers (57th), and Michigan State (61st). Against those teams, the Wolverines put up the second-most points on Wisconsin, the fourth-most on Penn State, the most on Iowa and Ohio State, the third-most on Washington, the second-most on Nebraska, the seventh-most on Rutgers, and the third-most on MSU.
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