Michigan Football's Three Biggest Matchups Against UTEP

It’s week three, and Michigan is in its final week before Big Ten conference play will begin. Michigan has one more tuneup game against UTEP before welcoming the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Big House next weekend for the conference opener.

Michigan is 2-0, and despite the controversy surrounding their Week 1 win over Western Michigan, that is not changing.

That week does serve as a reminder, however, to not take any opponent lightly. Any worry about Michigan suffering a letdown game against UTEP should be squashed pretty easily by this coaching staff in the wake of what nearly happened in their first game of the season.

That is the section that leads off our key matchups for this week.

Michigan Vs The Trap Game

As mentioned at the top, it feels pretty clear at this point that Michigan took their Week 1 game for granted. After their first series where they went right down the field for a touchdown, the Wolverines were largely silent for the rest of the night. Their offense was anemic. The defense was good enough, but worn down by the end of the game.

They responded to their good fortune after converting a hail mary late in the game to JJ Buchanan with a dominant defensive performance against Oklahoma in the Big House.

Michigan’s response was as impressive as the defensive performance against John Mateer and a powerful Oklahoma offense.

This week, they face a similar conundrum. UTEP is not on the same level as Michigan. This should be a game where Michigan wins comfortably. Then again, Western Michigan should have been a game like that as well.

That game serves as a warning to Michigan, don’t take anyone lightly, or get caught looking ahead at Iowa.

Michigan Run Game

It’s been tough sledding for Michigan’s run game through two weeks. Yes, they ran for 152 yards against Oklahoma last week. It’s also true that a large majority of those yards came from Bryce Underwood’s legs.

Underwood is the team’s leading rusher through two weeks. Underwood’s legs are supposed to be a supplement to the run game, not the primary cause.

Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter have to get going. Hiter talked this week about needing to be more patient, but thinks the team could be lethal once they get into a rhythm.

“During the season, I feel like we could get in a rhythm more in the run game,” Hiter said. “That also goes with the patience and the linemen and the timing with that, too.

“As soon as I get in that rhythm, I mean, it’s game over.”

So far, the game has not even started for Hiter or Marshall. Neither player has topped 50 yards in an individual game this season, and their usage has been odd to say the least.

Michigan is running side-to-side too often, especially with a running back like Marshall who is best suited with his shoulder pads square to the line of scrimmage.

Hiter is a tough runner as well. Michigan needs to go back to its roots and start moving people out of the way. That includes the interior offensive line, which has struggled through two weeks to open holes in the run game.

Michigan needs something they can hang their hat on offensively when conference play begins.

Mason Bonner vs UTEP Defense

Mason Bonner made his first prominent appearance last week against Oklahoma. It was an incomplete pass, but it was a glimpse into the skill set that Bonner could give Michigan’s offense.

His frame makes him a matchup nightmare for the opposing defense. At 6-foot-7, he can be a factor on 50-50 balls down the field.

Michigan’s tight end position has been a bit of a black hole early in the season, and Kyle Whittingham sounded like a man searching for answers at that position this week.

Bonner is not the most polished at the position, but he is the most talented. Michigan needs to add more punch to its passing game outside of JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh. That could mean giving up some blocking ability at that position for more dynamic ability in the passing game.

This could be a good week against UTEP to see how Bonner handles an extended amount of snaps in hopes of having him ready for bigger games when the calendar turns to October.

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