🏈 Bama Michigan matchup

[bamaledge]

Some have said that we matchup well with Michigan. Can a much better armchair analyst preview that matchup, please and thank you?

 

[Rolltide24]

I’m excited for this matchup but don’t know much about the Wolverines this year. And I’m definitely no analyst, armchair or otherwise!

Just looking at their results, Michigan appears to be a run first team. I didn’t watch them outside of about 1 quarter of the Ohio State game. The only competition that played was the final 4 games (Penn State, Maryland, Ohio State, Iowa). The QB averaged 125 yards per game. They averaged 28 points per game, 11 of those points (3 per game) were non-offense points. Corum averaged 22+ Carrie’s per game for 88 YPG in those last 4 games. He totes the rock a lot.

The Michigan D has been solid. The PPG increased at the end, likely because they played stronger competition. Or was it because Stallions was gone? They gave up 16 per game in those last 4 games but the Iowa shut out brought that down. Iowa has a terrible offense.

One thing I’m thankful for, their QB isn’t much of a runner. He had a good run against OSU and a coupes against Penn State, but overall he’s not one that takes off much.

 

[Crtuneman]

will be honest I don't know what to make of this Michigan team. Their schedule has been an absolute joke. The only decent offenses they faced were Maryland and OSU, and they gave up 24 to both. They played only three ranked teams: OSU, Penn St (who has a terrible offense) and Iowa (they still don't believe in the forward pass). I just have this feeling that they are vastly over rated and that if you give Saban a month to prepare Bama will annihilate them. I really don't see them scoring much on our defense, and Milroe is going to have a field day against their defense. But that is just my take.

 

[bama alum]

Ryan Brown from JOX and The Zone said the other night -- with firm conviction! -- that Bama blows Michigan away. I don't disagree at all.

 

[Justneedme81]

Michigan has a real good RB. Their offense doesn't work without him. We couldn't ask for a better matchup than this. SHut down their run game, and force Michigan to throw more.

 

[alabama mike]

UM will line up a lot with a heavy formation of at least 2 TE's. They are the old style ground and pound. They are athletic when they need to be with a very nice QB in McCarthy, RB, Corum and decent WR's. In other words they can pound or throw.

Defense is a 3-4 or the old 5-2 for us older guys. Main difference here is in the 3-4 the DE's stand and in the 5-2 the DE go out of a 3 point stance.
Very solid DL, impressed with one DT particular. Overall a good team.

 

[252BAMA]

2023 Michigan is most likely no better than 2022 Michigan. 2022 Michigan lost to 2022 TCU. TCU! 2022 TCU!?

Made this type comparison in 1992 with Bama and Miami and went to the '93 Sugar Bowl confidently assured that Bama would win. Comparison was with the 1989 teams. 1989 Bama lost to 1989 Miami in no small part because of two disallowed Bama fumble recoveries on Miami TD drives that would have been overturned with IR. 1989 Miami was much better than 1992 Miami. 1992 Bama was much better than 1989 Bama. So if 1989 Bama should have won the '90 game then it was a foregone conclusion that 1992 Bama was going to win the '93 game.

 

[Justneedme81]

UM will line up a lot with a heavy formation of at least 2 TE's. They are the old style ground and pound. They are athletic when they need to be with a very nice average QB in McCarthy, RB, Corum and decent average WR's. In other words they can pound or throw when playing teams with bad defense.

Defense is a 3-4 or the old 5-2 for us older guys. Main difference here is in the 3-4 the DE's stand and in the 5-2 the DE go out of a 3 point stance.
Very solid DL, impressed with one DT particular. Overall a good average team.

I saw few mistakes in your statement. I corrected it for you.

 

[musso]

With the coaching carousel starting up, could we be vulnerable to teams like Michigan which may have already stolen our signals? Could it be more difficult to alter our signals with coaches coming and going?

 

[Justneedme81]

With the coaching carousel starting up, could we be vulnerable to teams like Michigan which may have already stolen our signals? Could it be more difficult to alter our signals with coaches coming and going?

No.

 

[BamaFan334]

Michigan's offense revolves around Corum as @Justneedme81 stated. He's a tough/strong runner. Not a big guy, but very strong lower body that gets good push. Donovan Edwards has all of the ability, but seem a big dip in production. I wouldn't downplay McCarthy's speed and ability to run either. I've seen him run and he's faster than people think. Always a good reminder on those plays where we the quarterback can pull it on a short distance situation. McCarthy can be accurate when he has time to throw, and he's protected by a pretty solid line. Their center did get hurt and lost for the rest of the season during the Ohio State game with a broke leg, so they have a backup there, but otherwise they have a solid line. Probably to the effect of Georgia's if I was being comparable. Their receivers are very meh. Nowhere near the talent we faced against LSU or against Georgia.

Defensively, they have a pretty solid roster. You definitely need to take into consideration the opponents which bring just about zero challenge, but the fact still stands that they did what they needed to do against that competition. They showed struggles against Maryland which boasts a dual threat quarterback with Taulia that ate them up pretty good. As well as one of the more solid guys they faced in McCord and Ohio State that pushed them. basically they have a good front seven, but if your guy can move he can see success. Running the ball will be a challenge and we will need to keep up the current trend of less penalties and simply dominating the guy in front of you.

In the end, Michigan will be a decent opponent, but nothing more than anything we have already faced this year. We can lose this game with arrogance or overconfidence towards our opponent, but we are so dynamic at the moment that this is a great team for us to play to hopefully move to the Natty. They remind me of that old school bruising Big Ten teams of the past where they want to control the game by running the ball. not having their head coach for six games this year and still dominating their opponents means they can focus and are well coached. These are my opinions of what I have seen with my eyes and statistics, but I probably watched them as much as some here, but I was more focused on us and the SEC over them.

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

Bama by 30

 

[TerryP]

With the coaching carousel starting up, could we be vulnerable to teams like Michigan which may have already stolen our signals? Could it be more difficult to alter our signals with coaches coming and going?

This is not what this game is going to be...based on what I'm thinking right now.

Let me bring receipts for a second. When Bama played ND in '12, I said they can't tackle. I don't know what word to use right now...but this is similar, but different.

Follow along with this mind wandering rant...

The Michigan football team is a lot like Michigan softball fans. Remember when Michigan was in the Rhoads?

 

[bamafan9201]

https://www.si.com/college/michigan/football/early-stat-comparisons-michigan-football-alabama-crimson-tide-jim-harbaugh-nick-saban

Here's an article with stat comparisons. I did a spreadsheet for Georgia and some stuff on that but don't think I will for this game. It's another situation much like Georgia where Bama's stats seemingly are worse and Michigan has the advantage in a few departments but once again if you factor in the SoS Michigan's stats are over-inflated. They're a good physical football team but they've not seen physicality like ours and I think they'll be in for a bit of a shock on that aspect.

They're typically a run first offense with a strength between the tackles. They like to play action and sit their QB back there. He's not a big scrambler but he can move like Beck did against us. He's not seen much pressure this year as far as good DE who can put him under a clock on every down, so I'd like to see that be an emphasis. Force him to throw off-platform and force him to scramble. Two things he's not been comfortable with.

Bama on offense is facing a defense that's probably one of the best in the nation. I'd put them on par with Georgia except they've got some better cover guys on the back-end. I'd expect to see some shots taken and of course Milroe using his legs. Unless they run that 2 spy front that Georgia ran, then let Milroe sit back there and wait for someone to mess up in coverage.

 

[UAgrad93]

Borrowed this from the Rant. Seems like a well thought out and studied piece.

e lost 6 straight bowl games.

Have given up at least 34 in 4 straight bowl games (all losses).

Have not beaten a top 10 team in a bowl since the 1997 season.

JJ McCarthy has thrown 1 TD in his last 5 games.

Michigan has played 13 teams. Their combined record is 77-74.

The average ranking for their opponent's offense as measured in yards per play is 93rd.

The average ranking for their opponent's scoring per game is 86th.

The best offense they have played was either Penn State or Ohio State. Penn State is 81st in yards per play and Ohio State is 18th. After that you have UNLV as the best offense they've faced.

7 of Michigan's 13 opponents are ranked 105th or worse in points per game and yards per play. Alabama has one opponent that's outside the top 100 in points per game (Miss State) or yards per play (Auburn).

The median offense they have played would be Nebraska. Half the teams they've played have better offenses, and half are worse, but that's the median. Nebraska! Alabama's median offense would be Tennessee.

So yes, Michigan has the #1 scoring defense. Alabama is 17th. Alabama has played several good offenses, Michigan has played zero.

So it looks to me like Michigan is in for a rude awakening.

 

[64Tide]

Keep in mind easy schedule means they are well rested and not beat up.,,for one shot at us….

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

My take: Michigan's offense is going to find it difficult to find a lot of consistency against the Alabama defense. Despite their strong OL, I think the Tide matches up well with them there, especially on the outside. Also think Harbaugh and Michigan's propensity to get stubborn on offense plays right into Alabama's hands. On both sides of the ball, they will have issues with UA's speed, and not just Milroe. There's an expanded role for Kendrick Law that they've only scratched the surface on... he could be a guy that gives them fits if Rees leans more into that. Another advantage is the Tide has more depth and the better coaching staff. Lastly, while Bama has stumbled at moments since the 1st half of the Tennessee game, overall it has shown a steady upward trajectory of improvement across the board. A couple more weeks of practice and healing time should only continue that trend. By the way, ask yourself, which player has improved the most since September? Milroe or Proctor?

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Keep in mind easy schedule means they are well rested and not beat up.,,for one shot at us….

I wouldn't disagree if they were playing this weekend, but I think a month to rest greatly lessens the advantage of an easier schedule.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

My take: Michigan's offense is going to find it difficult to find a lot of consistency against the Alabama defense. Despite their strong OL, I think the Tide matches up well with them there, especially on the outside. Also think Harbaugh and Michigan's propensity to get stubborn on offense plays right into Alabama's hands. On both sides of the ball, they will have issues with UA's speed, and not just Milroe. There's an expanded role for Kendrick Law that they've only scratched the surface on... he could be a guy that gives them fits if Rees leans more into that. Another advantage is the Tide has more depth and the better coaching staff. Lastly, while Bama has stumbled at moments since the 1st half of the Tennessee game, overall it has shown a steady upward trajectory of improvement across the board. A couple more weeks of practice and healing time should only continue that trend. By the way, ask yourself, which player has improved the most since September? Milroe or Proctor?

Proctor. At some point the constant wearing of Bama's depth, strength and speed is going to make that ass quit.

 

[Rolltide24]

Have not beaten a top 10 team in a bowl since the 1997 season.
.

We’re we not in the top 10 when Tom Brady led that crazy comeback on Shaun and the boys in 2000?