The Wolverines will host Western Michigan in this Saturday's home opener, hoping to bounce back from last week's disappointing 24-17 loss at Notre Dame.
BroncoBlitz.com writer Alan Gerould swung by to give a little insight on WMU and explained what the Maize and Blue should be on the look out for this weekend.
Special thanks to BroncoBlitz's Jarritt Orlando for also contributing.
Projected Starters on Offense
• QB Jon Wassink (redshirt junior) — The veteran quarterback absolutely lit up Syracuse last weekend, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns. However, he only completed 53 percent of his passes (19 of 36), and will be facing a Michigan secondary that returns all four starters from a 2017 unit that allowed just a 48.8 completion percentage to opponents (third-best in the country).
• RB LeVante Bellamy (redshirt junior) — He is listed as a co-starter with fifth-year senior Jamauri Bogan, but stole the show last Friday against the Orange. The 5-9, 185-pound back led the team in both carries (11) and yards (120), while scoring two touchdowns and averaging a whopping 11 yards per carry.
• WR Drake Harris (redshirt senior) — Michigan fans are obviously familiar with Harris, who caught nine passes during his four-year Wolverine tenure from 2014-17. He made a minimal impact against Syracuse, though, hauling in just one pass for 12 yards.
• WR Jayden Reed (freshman) — The youngster stuffed the stat sheet in his first collegiate game, reeling in seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. He isn't overly large at 6-0, 170, but showed big-play ability in averaging 17.3 yards per catch.
• WR D'Wayne Eskridge (junior) — He was unstoppable against the Orange, bringing in eight passes for 240 yards and two scores. In fact, his 240 yards are the most by any player in college football in a single game this season.
• TE Odell Miller (redshirt senior) — He did not catch a ball in the season opener, but is a load to handle at 6-3, 270 pounds. His backup — redshirt junior Giovanni Ricci — is a sizable target as well at 6-3, 220.
• LT Jaylon Moore (redshirt sophomore) — The Detroit Consortium alum only played in five games last year as a redshirt freshman and is seeing his first substantial action at the position in 2018. Moore did a good job manning the left tackle spot in the opener and was a big reason the Orange only tallied one sack.
• LG Mike Caliendo (redshirt sophomore) — Despite his youth, Caliendo already has plenty of collegiate experience, having started 10 games last year. At 300 pounds, he is tied for the sixth-heaviest player on the team.
• C John Keenoy (senior) — He has been a staple throughout his entire career on the Bronco offensive line, taking the filed to begin the game in all 37 contests he's appeared in. Keenoy was tabbed to the second-team All-MAC squad in 2016, and then to the conference's first-team list last year.
• RG Luke Juriga (redshirt junior) — Like Keenoy, Juriga has also been a mainstay on the WMU front line. He has started all 26 career games he's played in and was a second-team All-MAC selection last year.
• RT Mark Brooks (redshirt sophomore) — At 6-6, he is tied for the second-tallest player on the entire roster. Brooks is a first-year starter in 2018 after appearing in nine affairs last season as a redshirt freshman.
Projected Starters on Defense
• DE Eric Assoua (senior) — The veteran has started nine contests over the last two seasons for the Broncos. His best campaign came in 2016 as a sophomore when he tallied 47 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
• DT Wesley French (redshirt junior) — He transitioned from the offensive to defensive line in the spring, and recorded three tackles against Syracuse in his new role. At 6-5, French is tied as the tallest defensive lineman on the Broncos' entire team.
• DT Ralph Holley (sophomore) — The youngster is still getting used to the college game, having only played in five games last year as a freshman. He recorded just three tackles all of last season, and one last Friday against Syracuse.
• DE Antonio Balabani (redshirt junior) — The redshirt junior stuffed the stat sheet in 2017, starting all 12 affairs and tallying 33 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Balabani added three stops with one tackle for loss in the season opener.
• LB Alex Grace (redshirt junior) — The 6-1, 220-pounder was all over the field last week, tying for the team lead with 13 tackles, including eight solo. He also added a stop behind the line of scrimmage in what was his first career start.
• LB Corvin Moment (redshirt freshman) — In his first collegiate game last Friday, Moment racked up five tackles, with two of them coming as solo stops. At 245 pounds, he is the team's heaviest linebacker.
• LB Drake Spears (junior) — His eight tackles were tied for the fourth-most of any Bronco against Syracuse. The contest was actually Spears' first career start, despite recording 31 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack in 2017.
• CB Stefan Claiborne (junior) — He racked up nine stops against the Orange, which were the third-most on the club. Claiborne helped play a big role in Syracuse quarterbacks — senior Eric Dungey and redshirt freshman Tommy Devito — only going a combined 11-of-26 passing (42 percent).
• CB Juwan Dowels (redshirt senior) — The veteran is actually in his first year in Kalamazoo as a fifth-year graduate transfer, having played the previous four seasons at Syracuse. His short 5-10 stature could potentially create a mismatch in the Wolverines' favor on Saturday if he goes against the likes of 6-4 sophomore wideout Nico Collins, for example.
• S A.J. Thomas (sophomore) — The sophomore tied for the team lead with 13 tackles last Friday, while also leading the group in passes defended (two). He stands 6-3 and should physically be able to match up well with Michigan receivers Collins and 6-2 sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones.
• S Justin Tranquill (redshirt junior) — This will mark the second straight week the Wolverines will be facing a member of the Tranquill family, having gone up against his brother, Notre Dame fifth-year senior linebacker Drue Tranquill (seven tackles), last week. The Broncos' Tranquill recorded eight tackles and a quarterback hurry against the Orange.
Projected Starters on Special Teams
• K Josh Grant (sophomore) — He did not attempt a field goal in the season opener, but connected on all six of his extra points. Grant struggled as a freshman last season on field goals, only making 15 of his 23 attempts (65 percent).
• P Nick Mihalic (freshman) — The collegiate debut did not go as planned for Mihalic last Friday, who punted five times for a less-than-stellar 36.6 yard average. That mark has placed WMU 101st in the nation in average yards per punt.
Biggest Offensive Strength
"The Broncos' biggest strength the last several years has been their running game," Gerould explained. "That has been due to consistent play by a talented offensive line and a bevy of great running backs. This year is no different.
"The team's center, John Keenoy, has been a starter all four years, and the Broncos also have experienced depth at both guard and tackle spots.
"WMU's running backs averaged nearly nine yards per carry [242 yards on 28 touches] on Friday. Speedster LeVante Bellamy led the way and runs a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash."
As Gerould noted, the Broncos' rushing attack impressed against the Orange.
Granted, Syracuse's run defense was weak in 2017 (99th nationally, 196.7 rushing yards allowed per game), but the fact that WMU was able to torch an ACC foe's front seven like that was still impressive.
Bellamy's 120 yards was the headliner last Friday, but Bogan was impressive as well. He ran for 68 yards on just six carries (11.3 per touch), while freshman running back Chase Brown added 40 yards of his own.
Keenoy (senior) and Juriga (redshirt junior) are both experienced veterans on the Bronco offensive line, but it'll be interesting to see how three relative youngsters in redshirt sophomores Moore, Caliendo and Brooks hold up against the Wolverine front seven.
Biggest Offensive Weakness
"The Broncos' passing game is still unproven, although quarterback Jon Wassink threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns in the loss on Friday," Gerould recalled. "D'Wayne Eskridge was on the receiving end of eight of those balls, while Drake Harris — the grad transfer from U-M — also caught his first pass as a Bronco."
If the passing game is the biggest weakness on WMU's offense then that side of the ball is in phenomenal shape.
Eskridge was a proven commodity coming into the year (30 catches for 506 yards last season), but there were major question marks on the unit behind him.
The team probably didn't know what it was getting in Reed, but it's safe to say his debut exceeded everyone's expectations (121 yards and a touchdown last Friday).
Harris is still a bit of an unknown at this point, and the only other player to catch a pass against Syracuse was Bellamy.
The unit does seem to be a little thin, so if the Wolverines can limit Eskridge and Reed, most notably, they should be in outstanding shape.
U-M's cornerbacks — juniors Lavert Hill and David Long, and fifth-year senior Brandon Watson — got off to a rough start last week against the Irish when they allowed 114 passing yards in the first quarter, but surrendered just 56 the rest of the game.
Biggest Defensive Strength
"Based on Friday's performance, I would say Western Michigan's strength is defending the passing game," Gerould noted. "Syracuse completed only 11 of 28 passes [39.2 percent].
"They actually defended the run pretty well, too, if you take Eric Dungey's 200 yards on 15 carries out of the mix. WMU held the rest of the Syracuse rushers to 150 yards on 47 carries, which equates out to just a little over three yards per rush."
The pass defense is the key here.
Syracuse had a tough time completing passes against the Bronco secondary, only averaging 8.7 yards per throw.
Michigan junior Shea Patterson actually connected on a high percentage of his throws last week (20-of-30 passing, 67 percent) against the Irish, but he and redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey only averaged a combined 6.9 yards per throw.
WMU's secondary should be a significant step below Notre Dame's, so it's fair to expect U-M receivers Collins, Peoples-Jones and senior Grant Perry to create big plays through the air.
Biggest Defensive Weakness
"Western Michigan's kryptonite last week was Eric Dungey," Gerould admitted. "When he was on the field, Syracuse outscored the Broncos, 55-14.
"When he was not playing, though, WMU outscored them, 28-0."
Orange head coach Dino Babers inserted Devito into the game when his team held a 34-7 lead, but nearly let it slip away.
It's no surprise that's when the Broncos made their run, although they weren't able to finish the job.
Dungey mainly burned the WMU defense with his feet, not with his arm, though, rushing for 200 yards on just 15 carries (13.3 per rush). The Bronco defense didn't have an answer for him.
One would assume that Michigan's rushing attack should be able to have similar success on the ground, though the Wolverines' offensive line wasn't able to consistently open up holes against the Irish last weekend (58 net rushing yards on 1.8 yards per carry).
If the unit is to get on track, though, this would appear to be the week to do so.
Gerould's Final Score Prediction
"I suspect the Wolverines to play as though their hair is on fire, and that doesn't bode well for the Broncos," he explained. "What doesn't kill them makes them stronger, and I'm sure the coaching staff is just hoping to get through this one without any major injuries.
"I’m taking the Broncos and the points [28], because the final score will be Michigan 31, WMU 17.
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