Staff Roundtable: Takeaways from Colorado State and predictions for Michigan

Predictions for Michigan

Coming off of a victory over Colorado State in which the team had 3 turnovers, allowed 6 sacks, and missed a field goal, there are many things that the Wolverines need to clean up before they travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines in their second game of the season. Here are a few things that we learned from the victory over the Rams.

Tighten up the quarterback situation. Cade McNamara struggled in his first career start as he finished the game 9 of 18 for 136 yards and an interception. Much of his struggles could be tied to the offensive line not giving him much time to throw. There were times where he did miss some guys who were open and there were times where he missed some throws. While McNamara is expected to start again on Saturday, it's clear that if he plays like that again, he could be in danger of losing the job to J.J. McCarthy.

Offensive line has to play better. The unit struggled to open up holes for the running backs which resulted in the team only rushing for 114 yards on 32 attempts. They also allowed 6 sacks which led to McNamara being pressured all game long. With Ronnie Bell out for the season with an ACL injury, the offense is going to need the running game to be a big part of it this year and that starts with the offensive line creating some holes.

The defense played well. While there were some breakdowns in coverage, the defense played well enough to win the game. The pass rush was able to get consistent pressure on the quarterback and the secondary was able to force 2 interceptions. The defense is going to need to play even better this week against Michigan as they will be facing one of the top offenses in the country.

Takeaways from Colorado State

The Rams showed some fight in the game against Michigan but were ultimately overmatched. Here are a few things that we learned from the defeat to the Wolverines.

Isaiah Ifanse is a playmaker. The sophomore wide receiver had 6 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. He was the most dangerous player on the field for the Rams and is a player to watch going forward.

The defense needs to improve. The Rams gave up 414 yards of offense to the Wolverines and missed a lot of tackles. They are going to need to play much better this week against South Dakota State if they want to come away with a victory.