Michigan Wolverines Football: Keys To The Game — Middle Tennessee State

Michigan kicks off the season Saturday night against Middle Tennessee State as a five-touchdown favorite and a near lock to start the season 1-0.

And before folks get up in arms and scream "Appalachian State," etc. ... MTSU is no App. State. Yes, the Blue Raiders won their conference last year, as U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh noted a few times this week, but they simply don't have the athletes to pull the upset in Ann Arbor.

Harbaugh still sung their praises recently during his weekly radio segment on 97.1 The Ticket, Detroit.

"We have a lot of respect for them," Harbaugh said. "They’ve done a really good job with that program, one of the nine bowl teams that we play this year. Coach [Rick] Stockstill has done a great job there. Scott Shafer, the defensive coordinator who I know well, coached with him at Stanford … very aggressive play-caller. Changes the fronts, odd and even, and likes pressure … likes to load a side. That’s his nature."

Shafer spent a year in Ann Arbor under Rich Rodriguez before being replaced, essentially before his first season even ended. He'll likely be fired up to face the Wolverines and his ex-boss.

RELATED

Special Teams Spots, Including Kicker, Open

Jay Harbaugh Talks Charbonnet's Progression, Overall Running Back Battle

Michigan Wolverines Football Podcast: Doug Skene With Chris Balas (Aug. 28)

This would be one of the true upsets of the century should Middle Tennessee leave Ann Arbor with a win. Here's what Michigan needs to do to prevent this one from being close:

Contain wide receiver Ty Lee: Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown is too good to let one player beat him the way Toledo's Nick Moore did Michigan in a 13-10 upset in 2008. U-M's offense was the real culprit that day, but Moore — an outside receiver — was given too much room (and respect) and hauled in 20 receptions for 162 yards in one of the worst losses in program history.

Lee is a much different type of receiver, and he's more dangerous in theory, given he's a slot guy, the position responsible for chunks of yardage against last year's Michigan defense. Lee caught 71 passes for 883 yards and seven scores last season, and is incredibly shifty, capable of making the first guy miss (regularly) and breaking the big play.

It's no secret that Michigan's defense struggled with crossing routes and slot receivers last year, particularly against capable weapons like Lee. Brown has supposedly implemented some new packages this year to combat these mismatches — in the past, overmatched safeties have sometimes been put in position to cover the slots — and they'll need to keep tabs on MTSU's No. 8 at all times.

Stockhill and Co. are looking for a new quarterback — whoever it is, they'll want him to get the ball out quickly to negate U-M's athletic advantage in the pass rush, and Lee will undoubtedly be the primary target.

Own the lines of scrimmage: Many non-Power Five teams have athletes (like Lee) who slipped through the cracks and ended up being guys who could succeed at a higher level of football. It's in the trenches that the gaps are most noticeable, and U-M should not just control, but also dominate, both lines of scrimmage.

On offense, MTSU ranked No. 111 nationally out of 129 teams in sacks allowed last year, giving up three per game. In 'stuff rate,' the measure of a team's rushing yardage at or behind the line of scrimmage, the Blue Raiders were No. 106 nationally.

There are some questions as to how well U-M's interior line will hold up this year against some of the league's better offensive lines. This won't be one of those tests, and it will be at least somewhat of a concern if Middle Tennessee is able to get any push up front.

MTSU returns a pair of linebackers in DQ Thomas and Khalil Brooks who were extremely disruptive last year in notching 28 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. Expect the Blue Raiders to be aggressive with their blitz packages. Redshirt freshman right tackle Jalen Mayfield is making his first start, and there have been rumblings fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. could be slowed, maybe even miss the game, due to injury. That could force redshirt frosh Ryan Hayes into action, too.

Exploit the revamped Middle Tennessee State secondary: The receivers are an obvious strength on this Michigan team, and they'll get ample opportunity to prove themselves against a team replacing three of its top four cornerbacks from a year ago. The safeties are a strength, especially returning star Reed Blankenship, and he's got a fifth-year senior in Jovante Moffatt next to him. The corners, however, will be green and untested.

Juniors Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones will be mismatches here, and they're not alone. Redshirt sophomore Tarik Black is due for a breakout season, sophomore Ronnie Bell has had as good a camp as any receiver and freshman Mike Sainristil has proven dangerous in the slot in practice. U-M senior quarterback Shea Patterson will be throwing more this season — Saturday is a good time to start with the unleashing against a team with unproven corners.

The Breakdown: Middle Tennessee State wasn't competitive against most of the better teams on its schedule last year with arguably the best quarterback in school history (Brent Stockstill, a four-year starter and the coach's son) and a conference championship team. The only exception — a 34-23 loss to No. 12 Kentucky. This year's squad will likely take a step back, and starting at Michigan is no easy task.

The Blue Raiders have some pieces on defense, a capable running back in Chaton Mobley (613 yards in 2018, 5.0 yards per rush) and Lee, but they're overmatched in all facets. It would be disappointing if this were still a game at halftime.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook