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Michigan Wolverines Football: Breaking Down Every Phase Of The SMU/U-M Game

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SMU is 0-2 with losses to North Texas and TCU.
SMU is 0-2 with losses to North Texas and TCU. (AP Images)

Coming off their 49-3 blowout win over Western Michigan last weekend, the Wolverines will next turn their attention to the SMU Mustangs.

We break down every phase of tomorrow's matchup, and explain which team has the advantage in every phase.

Michigan's Rush Offense vs. SMU's Rush Defense

Michigan's rush offense finally exploded in a big way (as to be expected) against WMU last Saturday.

The Wolverines racked up 308 yards on the ground, led by senior running back Karan Higdon's 156 and junior Chris Evans' 86. Heck, even junior Tru Wilson — who has emerged as the team's No. 3 back — even chipped in 54.

Higdon now has 228 yards and two touchdowns on the year, and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry, while Evans has also racked up two scores and a 7.3 yard per carry average.

However, the bigger story from the WMU blowout was the play of the offensive line.

They were finally able to open some holes and maintain their blocks, something they didn't do against Notre Dame.

Granted, it was against a Bronco front seven that currently ranks 127th (321 rushing yards allowed per game) in the country, but it was progress nonetheless.

"I thought they were a little better," longtime Michigan assistant coach Jerry Hanlon said on John Borton's Thursday podcast. "I saw a few guys moving their feet and getting movement, but I didn't see it across the entire line.

"I want to see them coming off the ball as a unit — there are two or three guys moving their feet and getting better positioning, but some of the others don't seem to be at that point.

"It causes problems when you don't work as a unit. Again, there was improvement, but is it enough? I'd hesitate to say that."

Radio host Doug Karsch, meanwhile, liked what he saw from the group, and explained on Borton's Tuesday podcast how excited he is about first-year position coach Ed Warinner leading the charge.

"There's a reason why Warinner's resume is so decorated with offensive line coaching," Karsch said. "On some of those runs against Western, the running backs weren't getting touched until they were 10 yards downfield. There were a lot of positives on the offensive side."

SMU's run defense shouldn't pose much of a challenge on Saturday.

Their line will consist of freshman Shabazz Dotson and redshirt junior Delontae Scott at the defensive end spots, with redshirt junior Chris Biggurs and junior Demerick Gary maintain the tackle spots.

At linebacker, sophomore Trevor Denbow, redshirt junior Richard Moore and redshirt junior rover Patrick Nelson (an Illinois transfer) will get the starts.

The front seven as a whole has been subpar.

They held North Texas to just 68 yards on the ground in the season opener, but couldn't duplicate that performance against TCU, surrendering 239 yards (5.8 per rush) on the ground.

Combining the two games, SMU's rush defense ranks 77th nationally, allowing 150.5 yards per game.

Higdon and Evans — and even Wilson when given a chance — ran wild on the Broncos, and should have no problem duplicating that performance against the Mustangs.

Advantage: Michigan

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