The Michigan Wolverines' Woes and Potential Solutions

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Michigan is 5-5 with two improbable victories ahead of them. That is a nice way of saying probable losses.

However, I am not sure that they are completely without hope, particularly this weekend. Wisconsin has a talented defense and is playing at home, but Michigan has an arsenal of young weapons and for some reason I smell a shootout this Saturday.

Maybe I am wrongly going with a gut feeling, or sensing something will materialize with scant evidence. Still, I can't shake the feeling, the vibe if you will. There is a sense that this young offense is letting loose and getting creative at just the right time.

Although he has been banged up, Brandon Minor is probably as healthy as he is going to get, and his performance last week was quietly ridiculous. Minor collected 154 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, and is running more violently than ever.

Not only are he and Carlos Brown moderately healthy, but both are going to run as hard as they have ever ran the next two weeks. Tate Forcier is healthy (see downfield passing) and Denard Robinson is due for another breakout game.

On top of these observations, I am witnessing a greater willingness by the coaching staff to run some option plays to the outside, maybe because it is working in practice better. IF these plays are executed nicely, the run game could become quite effective. After all, Michigan does have weapons at running back and quarterback.

Lastly, the ground game is complimented by an emerging go-to threat in Roy Roundtree, and Martavious Odoms could add to the passing game if he plays. Michigan did have a nice screen game going against Penn State a couple weeks ago. Look for that to reappear.

This team played poorly at times in last week's loss to Purdue, but showed some of the resilience on both sides of the ball, that we saw earlier in the year. I think that will carry over to the next couple weeks. Expect aggression, trickery, and desperation from these young kids.

On a defensive note, the Wolverines need change in order to be successful. I believe firmly, that selling out is the key. The Wolverines have been getting burned in man to man coverage on passing downs, because they are being too "balanced." Michigan isn't good enough to play balanced defense.

The answer, in my humble opinion, is selling out on blitzes occasionally, and then playing max zone coverage on the majority of downs. Particularly on passing downs there needs to be a three man rush.

Against Notre Dame, we dropped eight men back and put out a spy. I suggest Michigan does this when at all possible. If Wisconsin wants to run, then force them to run.

This Michigan defense needs to sell out, or convince the opponent that they are selling out to either the run or the pass. This will actually cause opposing offenses to do what the Michigan defense wants them to do. Michigan CAN dictate the opponent's game plan to them, at least to a degree, as opposed to getting manhandled every down.

I certainly am not predicting any upsets at this point, as that would be too bold at this point, but look for a shootout at Camp Randall this Saturday. Go Blue!

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