5 Things Kyle Whittingham Said Ahead of Michigan's Game vs. Iowa — And What They Mean

The Wolverines are set to take on the Hawkeyes to begin Big Ten play this weekend. Here's what Whittingham had to say.

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Following a 52-17 win over UTEP on Saturday, Michigan will host Iowa this week to begin Big Ten play. Both programs are undefeated and it's going to be a battle of two top-20 teams.

Here are five important quotes from Kyle Whittingham on Saturday, along with what they mean.

Whittingham's thoughts on the O-line

"I think they definitely played their best game this past week. They all graded out pretty darn good, especially when you think that we didn't have one day of work with that configuration. Very proud of the way they came out and played. 

"Evan Link at left tackle, having no reps during the week, and flipping Blake Frazier over to the right tackle spot. I think they've been coming along week by week. I expect they're going to continue to get better as we continue to work with Coach Harding and get more familiar and comfortable with the offense."

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Our take: Pro Football Focus isn't the be-all, end-all, but PFF did grade Michigan's pass blocking and run blocking better in Week 3 than it did in either Week 1 or Week 2. And the Wolverines did that without RT Andrew Sprague, who had an undisclosed injury ahead of the game.

The Wolverines opted to move Evan Link back to LT and Blake Frazier slid over to RT after starting at LT last season and in the first two games of this year. While it might've been UTEP, the Wolverines' pass blocking was very good, but run blocking needs to continue to improve.

Michigan had its most yards on the ground this week, rushing for 185 yards, but the Wolverines want to be in the 200s and against inferior opponents, being able to run on them is important.

On the turnover issues

"We emphasize it every single day. There's nothing we can do more in that regard. We're teaching it; we're coaching it; the expectations are the same each day. 

"We have put the ball on the ground six times in three games, which is way too excessive. We've got to continue to work on that. That's a really slow start. This past Saturday was due to two of the first four possessions putting the ball on the ground and losing those fumbles. We've got to get that corrected. You can't win a championship or even hope to be in the mix with that type of putting the ball on the ground that often."

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Our take: There's not much to say here other than Michigan has to get this issue corrected. The Wolverines have a -2 turnover margin in three games and Bryce Underwood has just one interception on the season. It's all been to fumbling the football, and thankfully, not all of them have gone to the other team.

Underwood had fumbled the ball five times in nine quarters after his lone fumble in the game against UTEP. He wasn't alone, though. Savion Hiter lost a ball and Jordan Marshall also fumbled, but the ball was recovered by Michigan.

With the Big Ten slate starting, the Wolverines are going to suffer losses if they keep putting the ball on the ground. This has to get corrected if Michigan is going to make a run.

The battle for WR3

"The more guys you can go to, the better. Right now, Salesi Moa is battling for that third spot. Channing Goodwin is in there as well. Who else have we got over there? Kendrick Bell is getting some time.

"It's a jockeying position, so to speak, with three or four guys to get that third-most reps or wide receiver three spot. If we can get guys to step up and have another option or two in addition to JJ and Andrew, that just makes us better at football....Jaime Ffrench, he's another guy that's battling for that third wide receiver spot that really has the ability to stretch the defense."

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Our take: Entering Week 3, only Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan had caught a pass in Michigan's WR room. But, against UTEP, both Travis Johnson and Salesi Moa managed to catch passes and now four Wolverine WRs have catches next to their names.

Goodwin earned the WR3 nod to begin the season, but Moa started against the Miners and he hauled in a TD pass from Tommy Carr in the game. It appears the Wolverines are settled on who their guys is going to be next to Marsh and Buchanan, but once Jason Beck opts to start passing the ball more, that guy is going to emerge.

We would still like to see more from Jaime Ffrench, who was expected to compete for the WR3 job when he came to Ann Arbor.

Production from the TE room

"That room is still a work in progress. It was good to get Hogan back. He brings some things to the table that the other guys don't. It's kind of a collection of guys that all have different skill sets. I thought Zack Marshall did some good things on Saturday as well.

"Having Hogan back, particularly in the throw game, he's a target, another big catch-radius guy that Bryce can go to and runs good routes. It's great to have him back, and we're looking forward to Mason Bonner's continuing progression and trying to get him a little more integrated as he's ready for it."

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Our take: The TE room has been largely underwhelming this season. Jalen Hoffman, who backed up Max Bredeson last season, has been the main TE in the room and he's the lone player to record a catch from the TE position.

Zack Marshall is starting to see an uptick in snaps, but he's yet to log a catch, or a target. Hogan Hansen finally returned to action and he showed flashes up being a playmaker in 2024. But the one TE who could become a threat in the passing game is Mason Bonner, who Kyle Whittingham wants to see more from.

Bonner is tall and athletic, and if Michigan ever does open up the pass attack, he is someone you'd want on the field.

Potential of a low-scoring game vs. Iowa

"That's how they'd like it. I think that's their M.O. They shorten the game and beat you with defense and win it at the end. That's kind of how they've done it, in my estimation, for a lot of years. 

"We're playing really good defense right now as well. It could very well come down to a low-scoring game, but as soon as you think that's what you're going to get, then you get a 38-35 game. So who knows? Based on the first three weeks, there's a high likelihood of that."

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Our take: Iowa has the best defense in the country, statistically. The Hawkeyes allow 4.3 points per game, and give up 176.7 yards per game. But it's important to note that Iowa has played both Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa this season, along with a new-look Iowa State team.

Regardless of who they've played, the Hawkeyes are going to bring in an elite defense into Ann Arbor. We've seen Michigan's offense become shaky this season, and Bryce Underwood is going to need to play smart against Iowa.

Feels like a game that whoever runs for more yards and wins the turnover battle will win the game.

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