Michigan has a chance to beat Ohio State for the fifth year in a row on Saturday — something that hasn’t been done in a century by the Wolverines. A win for Michigan could have massive College Football Playoff implications, but what do the Wolverines have to do to pull it off?
Jake Butt, a former NFL and Michigan tight end who is now an analyst for the Big Ten Network, knows exactly what his alma mater needs to do to pull off the upset. He revealed the keys for Michigan’s success during an appearance on the Triple Option Podcast.
“They need to to get after Julian Sayin defensively. That’s that is the most important thing,” Butt told co-hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram and Rob Stone. “If he’s standing back there in clean pockets and throwing to those guys. I mean, it doesn’t matter if you cover them. Carnell Tate and Jeremiah (Smith) are two of the best contested catch wide receivers.
“They have got to get after him. If Ohio State scores 30 points, Michigan can’t win this. Michigan’s defense has to hold tight, and they got to force some turnovers.”
Michigan has not allowed 30 points in a game this season. The most the Wolverines have allowed was 27 points against Nebraska on Sept. 20. In the seven matchups since, they’ve held teams to 15.4 points per game on average.
On the other side of the ball, however, Butt has more concerns. Ohio State boasts one of the best defensive units in the country and is led by longtime NFL defensive mind Matt Patricia and arguably the best defender in college football, Caleb Downs.
Couple that with true freshman QB Bryce Underwood‘s first matchup against the Buckeyes, and turnovers are another reason to feel uneasy for Michigan. Underwood comes into the final game of the regular season with a 9-5 touchdown-interception ratio.
“They have an 18-year-old freshman quarterback. Schematically, that changes your calls,” Butt continued. “It changes your protection. We all saw what happened to arch Manning and (Steve Sarkisian) Week 1, they were lost trying to figure out what Matt Patricia was throwing out their coverage-wise. That’s that is the most important thing here; Can Bryce Underwood lead this team to scoring 21 points while avoiding turning the ball over? You can’t give Ohio State any short fields.”
Butt also said that Michigan will need some help on special teams. Particularly, he pointed toward freshman return specialist Andrew Marsh, who Butt said needed a “Desmond Howard-type play.”
“He needs to return a punt back for a touchdown,” Butt said. “A momentum swinging play on special teams is going to be required for Michigan.
Michigan and Ohio State will kick off at Noon ET on Saturday. The highly-anticipated matchup will air live on FOX.