Jedd Fisch shares what he's seen from the 2024 Michigan Wolverines

Trent Knoop | Oct 1, 2024

Sep 27, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch looks on during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

For the first time in the 2024 football season, Michigan gets to leave its friendly confines of the Big House and hit the road. The Wolverines travel West for a rematch of the National Championship Game when Michigan takes on the Washington Huskies on Saturday night.

The Jedd Fisch led Huskies are sitting at 3-2 on the season with close losses to both Washington State and Rutgers. Since arriving in the Big Ten, Washington is still looking for its first signature win in the conference. Fisch, the former Arizona head coach, knows his program has the chance to do that on Saturday when they host the No. 10 team in the nation.

Michigan, which is 4-1, escaped both USC and Minnesota who both mounted furious comebacks in the second half. The Wolverines have yet to play a full 60 minutes of football this season, which Fisch somewhat noted when speaking to the media on Monday.

“Well, they run the ball really well and they play great defense,” Fisch said. “I was watching the USC game before I came up here, and with 12 minutes left in the second quarter, USC had minus-3 yards and Michigan had 121 yards, but the score was 7-0. So that was an interesting one.

“You look at the Minnesota game, it was 24-3 before the game kind of went the other way there for a while. In the fourth quarter, Minnesota got hot, which you saw.”

Michigan has the 130th-ranked passing offense in the country, but the Wolverines have stayed true to their identity of running the football. Kalel Mullings has been one of the best running backs in the Big Ten through five weeks and has rushed for over 100 yards in three games in a row. Michigan has been very one-dimensional this season, but the maize and blue continue to put wins in the win column thanks to that run game.

“I think that they certainly run the football exceptionally well,” Fisch stated. “Sherrone has been there six years. That’s his run game. He got there after I left [Fisch was an assistant in 2015-2016]. He was the tight ends coach, then the O-line coach, then the O.C. During that time, you could see how he built it from outside in.

“The tight ends became an elite group, then the offensive line became an elite group and then the whole offense last year was very hard to stop. They’re continuing to run the ball at an exceptionally high level.”

Michigan was expected to thrive because of its defense in 2024. There were expected growing pains with a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback, and a brand new offensive line -- but the defense would win them games. While the Wolverines' defense has gotten better week in and week out, there might be more growing pains than expected. Communication breakdowns in the secondary and some depth issues have caused some second-half collapses from the Michigan defense.

But even with some lapses, the Michigan defense is ranked 43rd in the country in total defense. Long-time NFL defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has shown some willingness to change things up on a game-to-game basis and coach Fisch talked about Michigan running that Ravens' defense.

“Defensively, they really have run the Baltimore Ravens’ defense now since 2021,” Fisch said. “When [former Michigan DC] Don Brown came to Arizona, they hired Mike Macdonald, and then from Mike Macdonald to Jesse Minter, Jesse Minter to Don Martindale. All three of them were together in Baltimore, so they run the Ravens’ defense, so you’ve gotta deal with one of the best defenses I guess in the world, pro football.

“And then you’ve got to deal with, offensively, a team that’s really going to ground and pound you. And then as soon as you fall asleep, they’re going to hit you on a big one over the top.”

Anytime a team plays in Washington it's usually an electric atmosphere. On top of the game being played at 7:30 p.m. ET on national TV, Washington is holding a purple out for its fanbase. Fisch implores his fans to be loud and to make a difference when the defending national champions come into town.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Fisch said on playing Michigan. “It’s gonna be a great atmosphere. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t absolutely slammed in the stadium, with hopefully 70, 75,000 and we can get in trouble for having 2,000 over the limit or something like that. I hope every student comes out, stands on each other’s shoulders if there’s no space."

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