I’m going to be beyond lazy and not even format this.
September 9
Central Michigan
Offensive Starters Returning: 7
Defensive Starters Returning: 6
Specialists Returning: 2 (P,K)
Offense: Central Michigan is in desperate need of a replacement for their quarterback, Kent Smith. He was just a decent MAC talent, but he did a whole lot for this offense. Expect this team to mostly run the ball, will RB Ontario Sneed returning, and a running QB threat if Duane Brooks starts over Dan LeFevour. The talent on this team is nothing above MAC-level, however, but two of the best players on the unit are WR Damien Linson and another decent tackle for the Des to go up against.
Defense: The key player on the CMU D is DE Dan Bazuin. This guy is an All-American contender, and likely the best player Michigan will face OOC (except against Notre Dame). If he doesn’t have a good game, the Chippewas will struggle. If he can be stopped without double teams, I will feel quite comfortable at our tackle situation, despite the impending presence of Ruben Riley (who inexplicably seems to have his only good games against the best talent he faces). Linebacker Thomas Keith is good, but second-team All-MAC is not quite on par with Big 10 talent. The secondary should be pitiful, so expect Henne to throw the ball all over the place if the line can keep Bazuin out of the backfield. In this game, the offense will probably be able to work on finding that tough receiver to go over the middle (my leading candidate: future badass Adrian Arrington), and maybe getting Steve Breaston some touches in space, getting the ball to him like he should be used, instead of running the fly route.
Special Teams: Punting and Kicking are going to be handled by returning players, though I wouldn’t expect them to happen at a high level. WR Damien Linson willl handle return duties.
Other: The Wolverines will probably be looking forward to Notre Dame, but this team probably isn’t anywhere near good enough to pull off an upset despite that fact. This is probably CMU’s circled game on the calendar, but that won’t be enough either.
Conclusion: Another probable win for the Blue, with another game that they should use to experience the game at full speed, and against real opponents.
Posted under Analysis
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