Who: Michigan Wolverines at Utah Utes
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah Capacity-45,807
When: Thursday September 2nd at 8:30 PM ET
Weather: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. South southeast wind around 20 mph.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports 1; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050).
Latest Line: Utah by 4 1/2
Mathcup: The day has finally come. We have all been waiting in anticipation for the biggest game in recent memory for the Michigan Wolverines; Jim Harbaugh’s debut game. National attention has been weighed in on the Wolverines bout with the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
There are many angles to look at in this matchup, none more important though than the performance of (allegedly) starting Quarterback Jake Rudock for the Wolverines. Part of the allure of Jim Harbaugh coming to Michigan was his fantastic track record of fixing or creating QB success wherever he went: i.e. Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, and Andrew Luck. Rudock looks to be yet another one of the many QBs that Jim Harbaugh is aiming to cultivate in his own image. Look for the Michigan offense to take the Harbaugh-typical West Coast Offense approach and put the ball in Rudocks’ hands a lot through the matchup.
Utah touts a powerful b
ackfield with RB Devontae Booker and Senior QB Travis Wilson. The Utes will be utilizing a lot of spread schemes in this matchup, especially considering the altitude
advantage they have. Nine times last season the Utes were able to score over 25 points and it will be a real challenge for the Wolverines to slow down such a talented offense Thursday Night. The matchups to watch for in this game will be the Utes array of WRs against Jabrill Peppers and CO. Utah will be planning a lot of deep passing plays, especially later in the game as the conditions begin to wear on the U of M side. It will be up to Peppers and the Michigan Secondary to contain Wilson and his crew from scoring on big plays in the second half. Look for this game to reach the high 20s/low 30s before the night is over.
Prediction: Utah 34, Michigan 26
