Michigan vs. Miami football preview

Wolverines look to get Rich Rod his 1st win in Ann Arbor

Usually when a program like Michigan plays a member of the MAC, they are hoping that nobody gets injured and that some younger players can get a few snaps for experience. But after their performance against Utah last Saturday, not only is making sure you win the game a priority for Michigan, but trying to find some offensive consistency to take into tougher games down the road is a must. For the Miami RedHawks (incorrectly called Miami of Ohio as Miami was a University in Oxford, Ohio before Florida was a state), their strong linebacker core was run over and around by Vanderbilt in a 34-13 loss. Now the RedHawks must regroup to show people why they were one of the pre-season favorites to win the MAC East Division.

With all the attention on the quarterback spot for the Wolverines, the main objective is for Michigan to find some sort of running attack. Utah has a good defense, but it is obvious that neither Nick Sheridan nor Steve Threet are not going to scare many teams with their running ability. Expect to see more Brandon Minor in this game, despite a fumble last week and missing most of fall camp with an injury, as his combination of power and speed should help the ground game. Threet looked to have the better arm in the passing game and despite holding onto the ball too long, he did not make the major mistakes that Sheridan did against the Utes. Greg Matthews is questionable with an injury at wideout, so they will rely on the younger players like Junior Hemingway and Darryl Stonum to help with passing attack.

On defense Michigan will look to carry over the second half performance last week and continue to be more aggressive attacking the line of scrimmage. If Michigan can get some early turnovers to set up the offense for some easy scores it would take some pressure off everyone by not letting Miami hang around, which if you are a Michigan fan you have seen that act way too often in the past few years.

Prediction: Michigan 31 - Miami 17

by Paul Rodman
BigTen-fans.com Michigan Correspondent

More 2008 Michigan football articles from Rodman:

• August training camp update for the 2008 Michigan football team
• 2008 Michigan Wolverines defensive position battles
• 2008 Michigan Wolverines offensive position battles