Three keys: Michigan football vs. Hawaii
The No. 4 Michigan Wolverines are off to a 1-0 start after they dismantled Colorado State in Week 1, 51-7.
Now in Week 2 the Wolverines will host Hawaii under the lights — another Mountain West Conference team. The Rainbow Warriors are off to a very poor start after getting destroyed by both Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky. Hawaii has been outscored 112-17 in the first two weeks.
This is usually the segment where we list three keys to a victory, but Michigan is favored by 51 points and a loss here would be a catastrophe like no other.
So we are still going to stick with three keys, but we are going to give three keys to what we think Michigan needs to do to have a good game. Not just win the game, as it should, but three things that we want to see the Wolverines do well at.
Here are our three keys for Michigan football this Saturday.
List
Michigan football vs. Hawaii: Rainbow Warrior depth chart, personnel, stats, and more
Someone take control of the quarterback position
Photo: Isaiah Hole
The Wolverines will be starting their second quarterback this Saturday when they take the field.
As we know, Cade McNamara started game one since he is the incumbent starter. But hearing how he has played the best football of his life, it didn’t show on the field. There were a couple drops early, most notable was the Ronnie Bell drop on third down, but it seemed that he was a little errant and didn’t have good timing with the same receivers he threw to all of last season. McNamara finished with 136 yards and one touchdown while completing 50% of his passes. His touchdown was just a one-yard screen pass to Roman Wilson who then took it to the house, so if you take that play away, it was a mediocre performance.
Now, back to the Hawaii game, sophomore J.J. McCarthy will be making his first career start. He looked extremely impressive in a limited sample last week against the Rams. He led two scoring drives which both resulted in touchdowns. Due to his running ability, McCarthy just brings a new dynamic to an already high-powered offense.
We know that McNamara will get some playing time this Saturday, Jim Harbaugh has said so, but we need to see someone take control of the position and take the job. While it’s nice that Michigan has two quarterbacks that can win games, it’s best if a starter can be named sooner rather than later.
Hawaii is allowing 234 yards-per-game thru the air so this is a great game for McCarthy or McNamara to air it out. If the Wolverines struggle in the passing game against this Rainbow Warrior defense, then things may not bode well for Michigan in the future.
Let's see the defensive line cause more havoc
Photo: Isaiah Hole
The Wolverines recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss last Saturday against Colorado State. For comparison, last year in the opener against Western Michigan, the Wolverines had just one sack.
For all the talk that the Wolverines weren’t going to be as productive along the defensive line with the loss of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the Wolverines looked arguably better in Week 1 of 2022 as a team.
Hawaii has been sacked five times thru two games, but neither Vanderbilt nor Western Kentucky have a very fearful defensive line. While Hawaii coach Timmy Chang said that the offensive line is the best unit on the offensive side of the ball for the Rainbow Warriors, this should be a game that the maize and blue can cause some havoc.
On Wednesday, Mike Elston said that he believes that the Michigan D-line can make an even bigger stride in Week 2. While that is hard to believe after seeing the destruction it caused against the Rams last week, it would be awfully scary for the opposing offensive line if it’s true.
Michigan did a great job of rotating its edge defenders last week, and we should anticipate the Wolverines to do the same against Hawaii. It would be great to see the maize and blue get at least eight sacks against the Rainbow Warriors to make that stride that Elston was talking about.
Don't stall in the red zone
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Michigan put up 51 points against Colorado State last weekend, but at times, it felt that the offense was just a little bland. The Wolverines stalled three times in the red zone last weekend which led to three field goals.
When facing an inferior opponent, like Michigan will take on this weekend, the Wolverines should be able to score touchdowns when they move the ball within the 20-yard line.
Scoring touchdowns in the red zone was an issue for Michigan in 2021, especially early on in the season. The Wolverines reached the red zone 67 times last season, but only scored touchdowns in 41 of those.
All three of the field goal attempts came with Cade McNamara under center, so another big key for McCarthy will be to score touchdowns. Obviously, points are good whether it’s three or six, but when facing stiff competition it’s important to score touchdowns.
