Michigan vs. TCU: Three keys to a Michigan football victory
The Wolverines will take on a new foe when Michigan takes the field at State Farm Stadium in Arizona on Saturday. For the first time in program history, Michigan will play TCU and do so on one of the biggest stages.
For consecutive seasons, Michigan played its way into the College Football Playoff. Last season, the Wolverines lost one game during the regular season but ended strongly to make the playoffs, losing to Georgia in the semifinals.
This season, Michigan has gone unscathed. The Wolverines are 13-0 entering New Year’s Eve.
Jim Harbaugh stated Michigan had four goals entering the season: beat Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season, win the Big Ten and win the national championship.
The Wolverines have accomplished three of those goals so far, and Michigan is two wins away from accomplishing the biggest goal. For the maize and blue to get to the championship, they must defeat the Horned Frogs.
Here are three keys for Michigan to beat TCU.
Offense: Don't go away from what works
Photo: Isaiah Hole
On Tuesday, Matt Weiss talked about facing a different defensive scheme on Saturday when Michigan plays TCU. The Horned Frogs run a 3-3-5 base on defense, but while it may look different, the Wolverines will not go away from their identity.
Whether or not the people love it, Michigan is a running football team and it’s what has gotten the Wolverines this far.
The run game leaned heavily on Blake Corum this year, and he was a Heisman candidate because of that. Once Corum went down with an injury, Donovan Edwards really stepped up and showed why he was a high four-star or five-star — depending on the recruiting site. In the past two games, Edwards has run for 216 yards and 185 yards against Ohio State and Purdue, respectively. During those two games, he has rushed for three scores. While Michigan hasn’t seen a Big 12 defense in a while, the defensive scheme TCU runs may bode well for the Wolverines. The Horned Frogs have the country’s 64th-ranked run defense, giving up an average of 149.4 yards a game.
But Michigan hasn’t just run the ball well behind the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line. J.J. McCarthy has finally come into his own and has played exceptionally well to end the conference slate. McCarthy has thrown three interceptions the entire year. During the last five games, he has passed for 10 scores.
Michigan has done a great job of mixing in play-action passes once it gets the run game rolling. In order for the Wolverines to win against TCU, they will want to stay with the game plan and get the run game moving early.
Defense: Make TCU one dimensional
Photo: Isaiah Hole
When people think of TCU, they mostly think of Max Duggan and what he can do. Duggan was in New York this year as a Heisman Trophy finalist but lost to Caleb Williams.
The thing is, TCU is statistically just as good at running as it is passing. The Horned Frogs have the 25th-ranked passing offense and the 25th-ranked rushing offense.
Duggan is obviously phenomenal. He threw for 3,321 yards, 30 touchdowns and four scores this year. He also ran the ball for 404 yards and six scores. TCU also has a really solid running back to go along with its prolific passing attack. Junior back Kendre Miller ran for 1,342 yards (6.2 YPC) and scored 17 times on the ground this year.
The Wolverines’ defense was stifling on the ground this year. Michigan has the third-ranked run defense allowing 85 yards on the ground. The maize and blue were pretty good against the pass this season, too. Michigan ended the regular season with the No. 22 pass defense giving up 191.8 yards through the air. That number blossomed after facing Ohio State and Purdue.
Like what Michigan did against Ohio State: Make TCU pick its poison.
Duggan is great and he is going to get his. He will throw the ball to 6-foot-4 Quentin Johnston and his other targets, and he will probably get yards on the ground. But the Michigan defense needs to make the Horned Frogs beat them by either throwing or passing — don’t allow TCU to do both.
The TCU offense flows by passing and running. If the Wolverines can slow one or the other, that will hamper the Horned Frogs’ offensive game plan.
Stay in the moment and take care of business
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Saturday will make Michigan’s second time being in the playoff. Last season’s appearance was a debacle for the Wolverines.
Michigan was flat-out dominated last year against Georgia. The Bulldogs were clearly the better team and were ready for Michigan. Nobody can deny that.
No one can deny Michigan will be the more talented team when it takes the field on Saturday against TCU.
The Wolverines now have experience being in the playoff and the emotions that go with that. The Horned Frogs, however, do not know what it feels like to be on the big stage. This will be TCU’s first time in the College Football Playoff and it’s unknown how the players may respond to the bright lights.
We’ve been hearing from the Michigan players how this year will be different. It’s more of a business trip rather than an experience. The maize and blue had their experience last year and all season it has been about taking care of business and moving on to the next game. That same sentiment should ring true again here. Business is not complete if you are Michigan and it will not be complete until you are crowned champions.
If Michigan stays true to its identity and plays the way it has played the entire season, then things should bode well for the Wolverines when the clock his 0.
