IF YOU DON'T THINK THIS WEEKS GAME IS IMPORTANT, THINK AGAIN

It was this same time last year that Michigan was 2-0, just coming off two impressive victories over UCONN and ND. Stepping onto the field against an inferior UMASS squad was a confident Michigan football team. This was the game where you build some depth and tighten the defense up before heading into the conference schedule. Unfortunately, UMASS piled up roughly 450 yds of offense and any objective Michigan fan became skeptical immediately. Yes they won the game, but damage was done, they were exposed by a 1AA team. This game was followed up by another offensive explosion against Bowling Green and a squeeker with Indiana. Michigan would then lose 5 of the next 7 games, including MSU and ohio.

Game three last year was a turning point in the season in my mind. UMASS rushed for 217 yds and threw for 222, a nice balance of offense against a confident Michigan team, on the road. This cannot happen again this year. If this team plays down to EMU's level then this may be another long season. An impressive win for Michigan would go something like this. Offensively - 250 - 300 yds on the ground, led by Toussaint but spread between Shaw and Smith as well. Maybe even a Rawls sighting would be a sign of an OL domination. A couple hundred yards passing with no problem of finding open recievers. Devin Gardner would be a nice changeup in the second half with no worries of a tight game.
Defensively - 250 yds of total offense and most of that in garbage time. There is no reason this defense should have struggles against EMU. Alot of pressure from the front four should be expected without a ton of blitz packages. Also, plenty of playing time for backups and freshman players would be a relief to see around halfway of the 3rd quarter mark.

It may sound corny but these are things to keep an eye on. The last thing I want to see is a struggling running game looking to Denard to get them out of another jam as if they are playing a top tier Big-Ten team. Would be discouraging to watch a defense that has to cause turnovers to win a gimme like this. There is no reason to platoon guys every other play competing against Easter Michigan. So with some interesting games this coming weekend, FSU and OK, Miami-OSU, let's keep in touch with this nooner and hope there are no signs of struggle. They are favored by 29.5 folks. Anything less than a 30 point victory would be a shame.