Michigan Football: Areas That Must Improve In Final Six Games

The Michigan Wolverines are 5-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play as they head into Happy Valley tonight to take on Penn State. With three top-ten opponents in PSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State remaining on the schedule, U-M must improve in the following areas if it wants to win those games and reach its goals in the second half of the season.

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At the halfway point in the season, U-M has turned the ball over a staggering 13 times so far in 2019. Almost even more mind-boggling is the 17 fumbles (nine lost). The nine fumbles lost ranks U-M 126th out of 130 teams in fumbles lost throughout college football.

Last year, U-M was much better taking care of the ball only having 12 turnovers in its 13 games, with 10 fumbles (three lost), and nine interceptions.

Turning the ball over is one reason why the Wolverines being the 73rd-ranked team in offensive efficiency, according to ESPN Team Efficiency scores.

The last time U-M played a game without a turnover on offense was against Rutgers on November 10, 2018.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), U-M has the 64th-ranked passing offense.

The Wolverines rank 73rd in the country in passing yards per game with 231.2. They average a measly 7.66 yards per passing attempt. Getting the ball downfield complete to the receivers is the problem. When the Wolverines do connect on a pass, they average 13.73 yards per completion.

Senior quarterback Shea Patterson is 92-161 for 1246 yards. U-M's leading receiver is sophomore Ronnie Bell who has 20 receptions for 361 yards.

Increased production in this area will be pivotal to winning down the stretch.

Last week's 42-25 win over Illinois looked promising in the first half, as the Wolverines went up 28-0. But, 25 unanswered Illinois points made it a three-point game at one point, before U-M pulled back away. The loss of focus displayed when giving up 25 unanswered cannot happen against Penn State on the road, and can't at Indiana or Maryland, either, if the Wolverines want to come out of those games victorious.

Before the game against Illinois, U-M had lost three straight away from Michigan Stadium (Ohio State in 2018, Citrus Bowl vs. Florida and Wisconsin on September 21). U-M looked flat from the opening kick of the Wisconsin game. They were down 35-0 at one point, before scoring two touchdowns late to make it a 35-14 final score.

It's not easy to win on the road, especially in the Big Ten. But, it has been a different U-M team away from Ann Arbor in the last few years.

Michigan's Record In Home Games Since 2015: 27-5

Michigan's Record In True Road Games Since 2015* :14-7

*Doesn't include neutral sites

Winning close games can often come down to a big kick. U-M has plenty of big games remaining, and it's not easy to pull those wins off with field goal kicking being a liability.

U-M has gone with a revolving door rotation at kicker this season with sophomore Jake Moody and senior Quinn Nordin splitting the duties.

Nordin is 30/43 on field goals in his career, but is 0/3 this season.

Moody is 13/15 in his career, and 5/6 this season. His miss this season was a big one, however, a 34-yard attempt in a tight game against Iowa.

We put this in the areas that U-M needs to improve in because of the rotation that is currently in place. If it comes down to Nordin making a big kick against PSU, that doesn't give us much confidence, especially after he missed an extra-point the last time he played at Beaver Stadium. Additionally, Moody hasn't gotten quite enough work yet this season in games to be confident in. This area, at the very least, is one to watch going forward.

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