Ten Things I Thought Would Happen For Michigan Against Iowa

Michigan picked up a hard-fought win against Iowa on Saturday.

The Brownsville Herald

Michigan was a 3.5-point favorite heading into the game against Iowa and, even though the game was pretty ugly, they actually covered against a solid Hawkeyes team winning 10-3. I made some specific predictions on how the action would look on Saturday and actually saw things pretty well.

Player Predictions

Shea Patterson will connect with at least seven different receivers — HIT

Patterson wasn't very good on Saturday but he still managed to find exactly seven different receivers. Donovan Peoples-Jones (4), Nico Collins (3), Nick Eubanks (2), Zach Charbonnet (2), Tarik Black (1), Mike Sainristil (1) and Christian Turner (1) all caught at least one ball from Patterson on the day.

Cameron McGrone will record a sack — HIT

In fact, McGrone was in on two sacks and was officially credited with 1.5 of them. The redshirt freshman looks like one of the better linebackers on the field when he's out there and may not give up his spot whenever junior Josh Ross is ready to return to the lineup.

Hassan Haskins will score a touchdown — MISS

Haskins really looked to be coming on against Rutgers but wasn't asked to do much against the Hawkeyes. He carried the ball just two times for 22 yards.

Daxton Hill will play less than 29 snaps — HIT

Even though he's been really, really good in spot duty, freshman Daxton Hill is still figuring it out on some levels. He played 29 snaps against Rutgers and really flashed the speed and athleticism that made him the No. 1 safety coming out of high school last year. I thought he was called upon so much because of Rutgers' offense and that the Iowa approach would keep him on the sidelines a little more and that's exactly how it played out. Hill was only on the field for 20 snaps against the Hawkeyes but he made the most of them recording six tackles, including one for loss and a pass breakup.

Both Jake Moody and Quinn Nordin will make a field goal — MISS

Moody was able to knock through a 28-yarder but Nordin missed his only attempt, which was a 58-yarder as time expired in the first half. Nordin actually made a "practice shot" after a timeout had been called but then missed when it counted.

Team Predictions

Michigan will hold Mekhi Sargent under 75 yards rushing — HIT

How about the whole team? Iowa had just one yard rushing against Michigan on Saturday. One! Even if you remove the negative sack yardage from the equation, Iowa only had 72 yards rushing. Sargent entered the game as Iowa's leading rusher but he left Ann Arbor with just 12 yards on seven carries. 

Michigan will turn over Nate Stanley — HIT

Iowa's senior QB came into the game perfect in the turnover department but Michigan picked him off three times. Lavert Hill, Ambry Thomas and Josh Metellus all stole one away from Stanley and the Hawkeyes. The Michigan defense also sacked Stanley eight times on the day and really made things difficult for him from start to finish.

The Michigan defense will force a turnover on downs — HIT

This one is a little cheap because it was a desperation play for the Hawkeyes on their last offensive snap but it still counts in the books. Stanley actually completed the prayer of a pass with his left hand but the receiver was tackled well short of the line to gain giving the Wolverines the ball back and the victory.

Michigan will have six or less penalties — HIT

Not much to explain on this one. The Wolverines only committed one penalty on the day to Iowa's two. All in all, both teams played a very clean game from a penalty standpoint.

Michigan will cover the spread — HIT

The game obviously wasn't high scoring but Michigan was only favored by 3.5. The seven-point win was enough to cover the spread and move Michigan to 4-1 on the season.