Michigan welcomes Fresno State to the Big House this Saturday for its night game home opener, which will kick off the 2024 season.
The Bulldogs are a sneaky good team out of the Mountain West with a veteran presence on both sides of the ball.
These are the three players to watch in Fresno State vs Michigan.
MIKEY KEENE
Fresno is led by returning starting quarterback Mikey Keene.
Keene is a shorter quarterback at only 5'11", but he was fairly accurate at 66% last season and for his career. He posts about a 2/1 TD/INT ratio, but most of his mistakes come under pressure, where his accuracy, yards per attempt, and turnover-worthy plays drop dramatically.
He isn't much of a scrambler, so this a great opportunity for Michigan's defensive line to show what they can do in terms of getting after the quarterback.
The secondary will be tasked with preventing the deep post route. When given time to throw, close to three seconds, Keene can hit deep shots. 12 of his 23 touchdowns last season came on throws over 20 yards.
Create pressure, keep the roof on will be the goal.
MALIK SHERROD
The Bulldogs relied heavily on their pass game last year, but they will look to find more balance this season and they may have the back to do it.
Malik Sherrod only had 172 carries last season but got 967 yards and nine touchdowns.
Wrapping up Sherrod is essential because he can do damage after broken tackles and get long runs. Last season, 25 of his carries went for 10 yards or more, and 419 of his yards came on breakaway runs.
Sherrod is also a weapon in the screen game with 44 receptions for 260 yards last year.
DEVO BRIDGES
There is a lot of chatter heading into this game about USC transfer Korey Foreman, but the player to watch in the trenches is the other defensive end, Devo Bridges.
A fifth-year player back for his third season as a starter, Bridges has talent and experience on the edge. While he sometimes struggles to finish sacks, Bridges creates pressures and hurries, which could force a QB panic out of early pockets.
Bridges is a force in the run game, with a ridiculous 78% of his tackles resulting in run failures for the offense.
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