Make that two wins in a row for head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines, who trounced UNLV 28-7 on Saturday. Harbough and his Wolverines face an uphill challenge ahead though. They face their first ranked team this season when they welcome the No. 22 BYU Cougars to the Big House.
It’s going to be interesting to see if Michigan’s running game can eat up enough clock to keep BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum and his cannon of an arm off the field. Read on for a breakdown of this thrilling college football game.
There’s no shortage of entertaining college football games to come this weekend. Check out the complete previews for Mississippi State vs. Auburn and Utah vs. Oregon.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]BYU Cougars vs. Michigan Wolverines Preview
Where: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor
When: Saturday, September 26, 12:00 PM ET
Line: BYU Cougars (+5.5) at Michigan Wolverines (-5.5) – view all NCAA Football lines
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the BYU Cougars
There was no comeback this time for the BYU Cougars’ young gun Tanner Mangum. After throwing late touchdown passes to rally BYU to victory in each of the past two games, Mangum threw a late interception on fourth down in a 24-23 loss to the UCLA Bruins.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Mangum has been pretty solid for BYU this season; he’s completed 63 percent of his passes for 664 yards and four touchdowns. But he’ll face one of the nation’s toughest passing defenses in the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan has limited opponents to just 144 passing yards per game through the first three contests of the year.
To draw pressure away from their freshman quarterback, the Cougars may choose to balance their offense by pounding the ball on the ground. Senior running back Adam Hine has had a pretty solid past two games, rushing for 242 yards and two touchdowns over that span.
The Cougars will have a manageable time if they can limit Michigan’s offense. BYU has a solid pass rush led by junior linebacker Harvey Langi with his three sacks this season. The pressure of coming from the pass rush should help in causing Wolverines quarterback Jake Rudock to make questionable throws.
Rudock has five interceptions this season, which should have BYU’s secondary to lick its chops. Junior safety Kai Nacua has four interceptions this year. His three interceptions, including a pick-six, in Week 2’s victory over Boise State set the BYU single-game interception record.
The Cougars are a perfect 3-0 against the spread through the first three games this season.
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Betting on the Michigan Wolverines
Head coach Jim Harbaugh remains firm that Jake Rudock is Michigan’s starting quarterback. Only problem is, he’s throwing more interceptions than he is touchdowns. Rudock has thrown five interceptions to three touchdowns this season. Thankfully, the Wolverines have a solid one-two punch in the backfield to give the offense a spark.
A pair of junior running backs has been busting their behinds to repeatedly pound the ball on the ground. De’Veon Smith leads the Wolverines with 206 yards and three touchdowns this season. All of his scores came in their Week 2 game against Oregon State, a team with a stout rushing defense (allowing just 3.8 yards per carry). When Smith slowed down in Week 3, Ty Isaac was there to save the day, rushing for 114 yards and a score on eight carries.
The Wolverines’ running back tandem should manage to find the holes left by BYU’s defense, which has allowed 162 rushing yards per game this year, 74th in the league. Keeping their rushing game going should help the Wolverines limit BYU quarterback Mangum’s time on the field. Michigan ranks 21st in the nation in time of possession per game.
While Michigan could use their rushing offense to eat up the clock, it also has very solid defense that could keep BYU’s offense off the field. Aside from their solid passing defense mentioned earlier, the Wolverines also have a solid front seven that could stall BYU’s running game. Michigan ranks 14th in the FBS in rushing defense (allowing just 93 yards rushing per game).
The secondary also deserves a mention, especially senior cornerback Jeremy Clark who has two interceptions this season. He may be able to exploit Mangum’s inexperience, intercepting some questionable passes. Mangum has thrown three interceptions through his last two games.
Michigan has won four of its last five at the Big House, going 3-2 ATS.
Writer’s Prediction
Rudock throws three interceptions max as the BYU Cougars (+5.5) spoil the party at the Big House.
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