Eyes on the Enemy is MBR's weekly preview of Michigan's upcoming opponent.

Here we go again, previewing an opponent far worse than Michigan.

UConn is the last cupcake of the season before Big Ten play serves the Wolverines their meat of the schedule. Maryland is on the other side of the week, and if the Terps handle sneaky-good SMU, then that game gets more interesting.

You can't look ahead, though, Coach.

On to Connecticut.

Head coach: Jim Mora

Offensive scheme: Pro Style

Defensive scheme: 3-4, 3-3-5

2021 record: 1-11

2022 record: 1-2

UConn is the first opponent of Michigan's season with a win and the third straight with a first-year head coach.

The Huskies beat Central Connecticut State. CCSU lost to Holy Cross a week later.

So ... yeah.

Don't let the record fool you. UConn is bad.

Syracuse ran through them 48-14, but the Huskies gave Utah State somewhat of a game on the road.

UConn is the "best" opponent in Michigan's non-conference schedule, but there's still a night-and-day contrast between both teams.

UConn's offense runs a pro set. The coaching staff compared it to the Rams' offense. Regardless of the inspiration, it's struggled to score in its early stages, averaging under 20.7 points per game, which ranks 107th in college football.

Zion Turner is the quarterback, and he's thrown for 373 yards and four touchdowns with a 53-percent clip on 70 attempts.

The back, Nate Carter, is averaging 128 yards per game, leading UConn's over 200 rushing yards per game, 34th-best in the country.

Turner is a freshman, but an experienced hybrid of returning offensive linemen and transfers allows the run game to create the passing game through play action with the pro set. That limits mistakes for Turner and allows the O-line, the offense's strength, to work.

The leading wideout, Aaron Turner, is the top returning wideout from last year and already has 160 yards after totaling 232 in 2021. Reminder: UConn was 1-11. At 5-foot-7, Turner is a slot guy who will get open underneath on play-action quick passes, probably a lot of them coming on bootleg designs.

After watching the tape, the offense is like extra, extra diet Michigan. A lot of sets, three-man backfield one play, five-wide with motion designs on the next. Far, far less talent and not as inventive as the Matt Weiss show.

A shockingly efficient rushing attack and a not-so-bad O-line still isn't enough to buy into any game-changing, sustainable success for UConn's run game.

Mazi Smith and Michigan's beefy interior with speedy linebacker Junior Colson behind it should counter UConn's strength just fine.

The freshman quarterback will have a tall task against arguably the best corner duo in the Big Ten in D.J. Turner and Gemon Green.

Expect this game to go much like the first two for the defense -- smooth and easy.

Giving up 48 to Syracuse is a bad look, and there's no justifying it.

UConn couldn't formulate any life in its pass rush, giving Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader all day to post 287 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

We're eliminating the 3-point showing for UConnn's defense against CCSU and focusing on the only opponent half as good as U-M in Syracuse, who might be less than half as good anway.

Overall, the Huskies give up 27 points a game, 84th in the country, along with 295 passing yards (104th) and 416 total yards (101st) per game.

They don't do anything well on paper besides a skewed 2.33 sacks per game stat that wasn't at all a factor in deciding moments against Syracuse.

Expect J.J. McCarthy & Co. to have another fun and easy day on the playground.

The only thing about Michigan's offense scarier than McCarthy is McCarthy with time in the pocket. He's proven to be surgical through two games with a completion percentage over 90 percent and only one incomplete pass, on a drop, in his first start.

Against another inferior opponent, expect the game plan to be centered around McCarthy's arm not only because of its talent but because the matchup calls for it.

Michigan's new regime, Weiss & Sherrone Moore, have proven they're game planning to strengths of the team and weaknesses of the opponent. Which sounds elementary but trust me, we all watched this football team a few years ago, and that did not occur.

It should be another 30-point first-half lead with the starters.

Michigan will have another easy day.

Even if UConn was a little good, the matchup of the trench play plays so obviously into Mcihgian's favor. Add in McCarthy as the starter and the ceiling is ridiculously high for the starters.

Once the 2s and 3s come in, I think UConn sees success running the ball. But not enough to make this anything but Paint Dry Theatre (tm) in the second half.

Score: Michigan 54, UConn 7

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