3 Keys to Victory: Michigan Football vs Oklahoma
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Wow. What a start to the season. Although Michigan probably didn’t want to be in such a tight battle against Western Michigan, a close battle would be great this weekend as No. 11 Oklahoma comes to Ann Arbor.
Last week, the Wolverines really only accomplished one of the three keys to victory, and it nearly cost them. Michigan was able to limit the run game, but couldn’t get its own going and also lost the turnover battle. Thus, the keys for Week 2 should look eerily similar to last week, considering Oklahoma boasts a dual-threat quarterback similar to Western Michigan’s.
The Wolverines and Sooners kick off a little after noon to begin Week 2. Here are the keys to victory for Michigan to avenge last season’s loss down in Norman:
Make John Mateer one dimensional
John Mateer is currently in the top-10 for most Heisman watches as one of the most dominant dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. Last year against Michigan, Mateer had 270 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception to go alongside 74 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Mateer essentially did it himself, and Michigan needs to find a way to remove him from the game. Removing him from the game entirely is an incredibly tall task, but limiting his abilities on the ground could go a long way to winning the possession battle, something Michigan didn’t do last week.
In Oklahoma’s two regular season losses last year against Texas and Ole Miss, Mateer ran for five yards on 14 carries and 17 yards on 13 carries, respectively. He still had more than 200 passing yards in each game, proving he’s capable of having a good game throwing and not on the ground. He averaged a bit less than 36 rushing yards per game over the course of the season.
If the Wolverines are to have a chance at winning, they have to limit what Mateer can do on the ground, because that’s been a greater indication of an Oklahoma win than what he can do through the air.
Establish the run game
The biggest surprise from last week, in my opinion, was how Michigan wasn’t able to establish its run game whatsoever. Quarterback Bryce Underwood didn’t live up to his offseason praise, but the offensive line and running backs also didn’t live up to theirs.
UTEP finished with more rushing yards against Oklahoma last week than Michigan did against Western Michigan, 112 for UTEP and 102 for Michigan. That’s simply unacceptable for the Wolverines’ standard and identity for years.
The run game obviously needs to start with the offensive line and tight ends executing their assignments when needed, but Michigan’s offense could use more from running backs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter.
Last week, Marshall had 44 yards and Hiter had 15, both less than Underwood’s 47. Marshall has had only one game with less yards than last Saturday when carrying the ball 10 or more times, and it was in the season opener last season when he finished with 29 yards on 11 carries as the backup to Justice Haynes.
Michigan doesn’t need Underwood to look like a Heisman contender for the Wolverines to come away with the win, so long as they can turn to the run game when Underwood inevitably makes more mistakes.
Finish with a positive turnover margin
Last week, Michigan gave up three turnovers, including a near-costly fumble by Underwood with 1:50 left in the game. Almost as bad was how the Wolverines’ defense didn’t come up with a single takeaway after averaging almost 1.5 forced turnovers last season.
In last year’s game, Michigan’s defense made Mateer uncomfortable early in the game and forced him into an interception in the first quarter. Special teams also came up with a fumble recovery that kept the game alive in the third quarter, taking it from 21-7 to 21-10.
Michigan won the turnover battle last year and established the run game, but it couldn’t slow down Mateer — proving how important it will be to accomplish the first key in addition to the last two.
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