Harbaugh: Stunting Minnesota's Passing Offense Will Be 'Great Challenge'
When taking a look ahead to what Minnesota's offense will look like this weekend, The Daily Gopher went in depth on what Michigan's defense needs to watch out for. That includes an accurate redshirt junior in Tanner Morgan, a pair of dynamic receivers in Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell and an experienced running back in Mohamed Ibrahim.
Michigan's ability to limit the Gophers' offensive success will play a pivotal role in the outcome for Saturday's contest, and U-M head coach is critically aware of just how great that looming challenge is.
"[Minnesota is a] really good, good football team," Harbaugh said on Monday. "So many good players that are really well coached. Rashod Bateman really jumps out immediately. He's so strong and made so many strong, contested catches. I think he averaged over 20 yards per catch in 2019. He's terrific-- kind of a real alpha type of guy and football player. A great challenge for us in the secondary, and there are other playmakers on offense, no question about that. I really like their quarterback. Tanner Morgan is very gifted, a very savvy quarterback. Excellent offensive line. Daniel Faalele, a big human being but super athletic as well. Really good running backs... It's going to be really important for us to be mentally sharp, to be playing us as well as we possibly can."
Coach Harbaugh highlighted a lot of the same areas that The Daily Gopher identified earlier in the day. It is very likely that Minnesota will look to challenge Michigan's young secondary, one that will possibly match Vincent Gray up on Bateman and Gemon Green on Autman-Bell at the Z position.
That will be one of the key matchups that dictates the outcome of the game, but Michigan's ability to bust through the Gophers' offensive line will be crucial in disrupting Morgan's rhythm with his wide outs. Michigan captain Carlo Kemp is privy to that particular matchup, and he gives their blockers a lot of respect ahead of Saturday's season opener.
"Besides obviously their size and their physical ability, it's how well they play as a unit, and you can see that they're a very cohesive group," Kemp said. "They've been able to run the ball last year I think for a thousand yards as well as to pass protect for two wide receivers to go over a thousand yards, which you got to remember because you just see the stats of the wide receivers and the running back running, but there's five guys on the line that provided them with time to do that, so you realize that they have tremendous size as an O-Line. They're all big and tall. You've got to remember that they play really well as a group and they've been able to provide their running back last year to run for 1,000 yards and get two wide receivers to receive for 1,000 yards, so it's going to be a great challenge heading into Week 1 with a really skilled and cohesive O-Line."
Given Minnesota's ability to score last year, which includes 10 separate 30-point performances, Kemp and other U-M defensive linemen will have to apply pressure and blow things up near the line of scrimmage. If that can happen, Michigan's linebackers, such as Cam McGrone and Josh Ross, can all flow more freely and attack the football. That alone would relieve a wealth of pressure from the Wolverines' young secondary, and that could be the most important factor in Saturday's game.
Coach Harbaugh and Kemp are both giving Minnesota its just due in the credit department. Time will tell if that credit shows itself in the form of an effective, suffocating defense this weekend.
How well do you think Michigan's defense contains the Minnesota offense? Which portion of their offense is the most dangerous in your opinion? Let us know!
