3 Things To Watch: No. 12 Michigan vs. Minnesota

Coming off a huge win last week, the Wolverines look to build momentum with the Golden Gophers coming to Ann Arbor...

Matt Lounsberry | 2 Hours Ago

Oct 7, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Josaiah Stewart (5) celebrates a tackle against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In this story:

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan grinded its way to a 27-24 upset victory over USC last weekend, and now the No. 12 Wolverines (3-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) look to build momentum with Minnesota (2-2, 0-1) headed to Ann Arbor this Saturday.

There were improvements on both sides of the ball for Michigan in the win over the Trojans, but there are still areas for the Wolverines to clean up in order to build momentum and stack wins in Big Ten Conference play. Here are three things we'll be watching closely against the Golden Gophers...

1.) Can Michigan avoid busted coverages?

The Wolverines' secondary improved by a large margin from Week 2 against Texas to Week 4 against USC. The most notable improvement came from redshirt freshman cornerback Jyaire Hill, who had his best game in the Maize and Blue this past weekend. Despite the defensive back play clearly being better, Michigan still suffered several coverage busts against the Trojans. Most of these seemed to come when the Wolverines tried to play zone coverage, and nickelback Zeke Berry was involved in many of them.

Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and DB coach LaMar Morgan need to figure out the miscommunication that's happening on these plays and get them corrected. It's hard to say whether Minnesota will be a good litmus test for this particular issue, however, as the Golden Gophers rank 82nd nationally in passing yards per game (218).

2.) Can Michigan's offense match Iowa's vs. Minnesota?

Who would have thought this would be an aspiration for the Wolverines? Last weekend, Iowa averaged six yards per carry on their way to 272 rushing yards and a 31-14 win against the Golden Gophers. That should be encouraging for Michigan, because the Wolverines' limitations on offense are very similar to that of the Hawkeyes. It stands to reason that Minnesota is going to double-down on stopping the run after what they saw from U-M quarterback Alex Orji last week, but it's not as though Iowa strikes much fear in opponents with their passing game either.

The Hawkeyes threw for just 62 yards against Minnesota, and were still able to have a lot of success running the football. Part of me questions whether Michigan will try to expand its own pass game at all in this game, but if running backs Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards can average six yards per carry, there's no reason to risk putting the ball in harm's way.

3.) Growth from QB Alex Orji?

We touched on it briefly in the point above, but I'm curious to see how head coach Sherrone Moore and the offensive coaching staff manages Alex Orji in this one. Obviously, priority No. 1 is putting the Wolverines in the best position to win this game. Period. That means continuing to grind out the run game and making Minnesota prove they can stop it better than they did last week against Iowa.

With that understood, a secondary goal should be to continue to develop Orji as a quarterback and work in passing concepts that he's comfortable with so that he can start to improve. Michigan's long-term goals hinge on the development of a viable pass game on offense. Quite frankly, the ceiling of this team is below their goals unless that happens. Minnesota nearly doesn't pose the same threat offensively as USC did last week. That's not cause of Michigan to take the Golden Gophers lightly — the Wolverines aren't good enough to do that with anyone — but it may allow U-M to see what it can get from Orji through the air.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -