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| There aren't any attractive women at EMU, so here's a random girl wearing green. Her name is Nicole Rivera. |
Rush Offense vs. EMU Rush Defense
Aside from Denard Robinson, who's the best running quarterback in history, Michigan has a few capable running backs in the forms of Michael Shaw, Vincent Smith, and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Toussaint is the nominal starter and missed last week's Notre Dame game with a shoulder injury, so he may have a chance to add to his gaudy statistics (11 carries, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns) again this week. Neither Shaw or Smith did particularly well running the ball against Notre Dame, but Carlos Brown housed a 90-yarder against the Screaming Eagles a couple years ago, so this game sets up well for a speedster like Shaw. Meanwhile, EMU has been allowing 1.6 yards a carry so far this season, but that has been to the likes of Alabama State and Howard. Expect that number to jump significantly.
Advantage: Michigan
Pass Offense vs. EMU Pass Defense
Robinson struggled throwing the ball against Notre Dame last week, completing less than 50% of his passes. But he still threw for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns, largely because receivers Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree, and Jeremy Gallon bailed him out on some jump balls. Robinson isn't an accurate downfield thrower and - come to think of it - he's not very accurate anywhere on the field, but he does have receivers who can stretch the field and who will come down with the ball if he tosses it up to them enough. The short passing game, however, should be effective against EMU because Michigan's short throws can turn into big plays against the inferior athletes in EMU's secondary. The Screaming Eagles have 10 sacks and 1 interception on the season, but Michigan's offensive line is pretty solid in pass protection.
Advantage: Michigan
Rush Defense vs. EMU Rush Offense
Two Eastern Michigan running backs are averaging over 7 yards a carry, not to mention quarterback Alex Gillett. The opponents surely have something to do with that, but Michigan is giving up 5.1 yards a carry, too. The Wolverines haven't been adept at stopping the run in a few years, and I'm not expecting that to change on Saturday. Defensive tackle William Campbell showed some signs of coming to life this past weekend, and hopefully that was due to his technique work and not a one-time thing brought on by the adrenaline of playing Notre Dame under the lights. If Campbell can get some penetration from his 3-technique spot, that would go a long way toward getting some stops in the run game. Eastern Michigan likely won't get big plays in the run game, but they should be able to move the ball, just like everyone else.
Advantage: Eastern Michigan
Pass Defense vs. EMU Pass Offense
Despite the 41-9 victory over Howard last weekend, quarterback Alex Gillett is still the only QB to attempt a pass for the Screaming Eagles. So far on the season, he's 19-for-40 with 176 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. I think Michigan's going to try to get some pressure on Gillett with the front four and try not to use linebacker and safety blitzes quite as often as they have for the past couple weeks, so we'll see if the defensive ends can finally create some havoc. Michigan has produced 2 sacks (both by safety Jordan Kovacs) and 3 interceptions thus far, and I would expect a few more sacks and one or two more interceptions by the end of Saturday. Gillett is a talented athlete, but he's not very accurate or strong armed and he lacks big play ability from his wideouts. Western Michigan and Notre Dame carved up Michigan's secondary to some extent over the past couple weeks, but this should be a less embarrassing day for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan
Predictions
- Michigan's starting running back goes for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns
- Denard Robinson throws a silly pass that an Eastern Michigan defender drops
- Courtney Avery grabs his first career interception
- Michael Cox trucks all 11 defenders, Ron English, and the back judge on his way to a 200-yard touchdown run before disappearing into the ether and then joins the cast of Dancing with the Stars in 2025
- Michigan 49, Eastern Michigan 14
