What They Said: UNLV Head Coach Barry Odom Breaks Down The Michigan Wolverines

UNLV coach Barry Odom knows it's going to be a challenge taking on Michigan this week. He's having a hard time trying to find the weakness of the Wolverines.

For the second time in the program's history, Michigan will host UNLV. The last team the two teams met on the gridiron was back in 2015 when Michigan defeated the Rebels, 28-7, in Jim Harbaugh's first season as the head coach at Michigan. 

When the two teams meet on Saturday, it will be Barry Odom's second game as a head coach at UNLV. Odom, in his first season with the Rebels, came from Arkansas where he was the defensive coordinator for the past three years. He previously was the head coach at Missouri from 2016-19. 

UNLV is coming off of a win in Week 1 against Bryant where it won, 44-14. 

But Odom knows it's going to be a much more difficult task in his second game as the head coach of UNLV. When he spoke with the media about Michigan, Odom was fairly brief, but he gave a good overview of what he thinks about the Wolverines -- he's still trying to find a weakness on the team. 

They’re explosive on offense," said Odom. "Obviously, they have got the skill and the scheme to stress you in every area. Run game, pass game, play-action, moving the pocket, quarterback run game. They do it all and they do it at a very, very high level. They’ve obviously recruited really well, they’ve got great coaches, great players, and their scheme is tough. We've got to do a tremendous job of getting our guys in position, understanding there's going to be times that we make a call that they counter that and have a good call as well. The goal doesn't change in trying to eliminate explosive plays. We've gotta be good against the run, we can't allow there to be chunk yardage in the run game and through the air. Their quarterback is a special player. We've got to do a great job in our coverage, we've got to have tremendous eye discipline. We've gotta understand and be able to change zone and match up man concepts. Also, we've gotta be in a position to be able to load the box to try and stop the run. If they’ve got a weakness, I haven’t found it yet. They’re really solid and a great team."

Odom says he has a ton of respect for Michigan and the program Jim Harbaugh has built. But he says UNLV will attack the Wolverines' week just like they would any other week -- by saying it's a nameless, faceless opponent. 

"We are going to take the approach every single week and I know it's boring and it sounds like coach talk but it's a nameless, faceless opponent just like last week was," said Odom on facing Michigan. "We've got to prepare, we understand and have great respect for our opponents but it's how we prepare. The approach we take on from the time the game was over on Saturday to getting ready for a Monday practice, which we had a really good one today and trying to build a gameplan in all three phases to give our kids a chance to be successful. You get into the arena and you should be so prepared and so ready to go play there's not a pregame talk or a motivational tactic that our team needs. Our motivation is built intrinsically throughout the week on how we prepare. Our motivation is to play our best and to be the best versions of what we can be. And then we want to go play at a high level and take the opportunity we have in front of us and go make the most of it. Obviously, we have got a lot of respect for our opponent. It’ll be a great atmosphere to play in. I’m happy for our student-athletes to be in that environment. We know that it’ll be loud, 110-plus, which is awesome. I have got a lot of respect for Coach Harbaugh and the program he has built."

Michigan and UNLV will square off on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.