GBMWolverine: GBMW: Eastern Michigan at Michigan --Preview and Predictions

Eastern Michigan at Michigan

Go Blue Michigan Wolverine Preview:

Welcome back to reality and the tough world of college football continues the grind this weekend. We believe it is quite possible for Michigan to see a little bit of a let down early on with the Notre Dame hangover being a real possibility, not only for the players and coaches, but for the now newly respected “loud house“ fans as well. Will the fans go back into their historical shell, since most believe Eastern Michigan is a lesser opponent and that Michigan should beat them easily, or will we see UM and its fans, like last week, excited and into the game?

With the above snooze and cruise reaction a real possibility but not a certainty; things may or may not be sloppy early on. This match-up of UM and EMU brings about several interesting questions for Saturday’s game.

First, as implied above, how will Michigan react to an inferior opponent after the emotional win against Notre Dame?

Second, how will the older defensive players react to playing against Eastern Michigan head coach and former UM defensive coordinator Ron English?

Third, who will replace Moosman this weekend at right guard?

Fourth, how much playing time will Denard Robinson get at quarterback this weekend?

We think it is only human nature for the team to not be as excited to play Eastern Michigan as compared to last week’s opponent Notre Dame. The Michigan offense could fuel both players and fans by breaking big plays early and often, racking up pinball like numbers.

However, regardless of emotions, by the second quarter things should start to get rolling. We really want to see a lot of Michael Shaw’s talent showcased this weekend, and only a steady diet of carries over an extended time period can achieve this goal.

Everyone is really ready to see Denard Robinson run more of the offense, which we think he will. UM needs to get him a lot of reps just to get him comfortable at quarterback, in case something does happen to Tate Forcier. UM also needs to show opponents that D. Robinson is about more than just running the ball. Almost every time Denard has been in the game he has kept the ball and tried to run. UM needs to get Denard in rhythm with the offense by throwing the ball, along with just managing the offense by perfecting minute but critical skills such as simply handing the ball off to the running backs.

One thing we all have been really impressed with the first two games is the balanced rushing and passing attack.

What have we learned the first two weeks?
1) Tate is a player and a ton better than what he was in the spring.
2) The running game is better with B. Minor in the game.
3) UM can run inside/outside zone anytime, now that the team has a quarterback who is a true dual threat.
4) Stevie Brown has found his place and is playing his best ball in four years.
5) Obi Ezeh struggled Saturday against Notre Dame and teams that run right at him could cause UM problems.
6) Craig Roh is our second best freshmen and it is not even close, future stud.

Eastern Michigan returns most of last season’s high-powered offense. Lead by quarterback Andy Schmitt this unit is capable of scoring a lot of points. EMU also returns leading wide receiver Stone and a good tight end, LeDuc. The running game is led by talented tailback Priest. Eastern Michigan returns four offensive linemen and basically the entire special teams corp.

Defense is where Eastern Michigan needs to shore up. Michigan’s offense should have a big day against Eastern Michigan and we should be able to see a lot of players in the game this week, a step to building for the near-term and long-term future.

EMU can score points but can give up a ton as well. The final score, like in the Western Michigan game, may depend on how the coaches wish to use the second half offensive opportunities. But first, UM needs to jump ahead early and obviously stay ahead, allowing more missions to be accomplished.

Go Blue Michigan Wolverine -- Predictions

CoachBt:
Eastern Michigan 10
Michigan 38

MaizeMan:
Eastern Michigan

Michigan

Coach Webb:
Eastern Michigan 13
Michigan 41

Doc4Blu:

Eastern Michigan 17

Michigan 41

Steve:
Eastern Michigan 10
Michigan 54

ErocWolverine:
Eastern Michigan 10
Michigan 42

Special guest this week -- Sean from Michigan Sports Center:
Eastern Michigan 10
Michigan 45

He runs the blog site: Michigan Sports Center