Utah @ Michigan (-5) TV: ABC/ESPN2 3:30 pm Saturday
Daniel: Things aren’t exactly going swimmingly in Ann Arbor at the moment. Brady Hoke is on the hot seat, some fans want senior quarterback Devrin Gardner replaced and the Wolverines were blanked by rival Notre Dame two weeks ago and were sluggish against an exceptionally awful Miami (Ohio) squad last week. A loss to Utah wouldn’t help any of that, but it certainly is a possibility. The Utes, though relatively untested, are averaging almost 60 points per game and QB Travis Wilson has looked really good so far this season. I view this as almost a pick’em game, but I think Michigan, at home, will rally the troops enough to get a win this week. Winner: Michigan 34-28
Houston: After Michigan’s abysmal performance against Notre Dame two weeks ago, the Utah Utes coming to town should strike fear into the hearts of everybody wearing maize and blue. The Wolverines have turned the football over a lot this season, resting currently at -7 in turnover Margin and have frequently looked suspect on defense. Devin Gardner has a lot of talent but has never reached the level of consistency needed at quarterback for Michigan since he’s been the starter. Brady Hoke’s seat has been getting warmer and I have a feeling that it will be on ‘broil’ after this one is over. Utah and their high-flying offense has had a week off to prepare for this one and my guess is that the wheels start to fall off for Michigan late in this one. Travis Wilson throws for 300+ and three or more touchdowns as Utah stuns the Big House. Winner: Utah 38-34
Reed: There’s simply no question Brady Hoke is fighting for his job and a loss to Utah could just about do him in. The Wolverines have been underwhelming at the last couple of seasons, but they have been fairly solid at home under Hoke. Going back to last season, though, they’ve lost six of their last nine games and they weren’t impressive in last week’s win over Miami (OH). They look like they haven’t bought in to Hoke this year and Utah brings an explosive offensive into town. Is that enough for an upset? Utes win this one late and fans send a moving van to Hoke’s house. Winner: Utah 31-28
Patrick: Michigan improved to 2-1 with their win over Miami (Oh) last weekend where they only led 17-10 at halftime and didn’t look as dominant as you would have expected against a team that has not won since Oct. 27 in 2012, a span of 19 games. The Wolverines rushing attack was a bright spot with Derrick Green finishing with 137 yards and two touchdowns to rebound from the poor showing he had the week before in the shutout loss to Notre Dame when he finished with 25 yards on 13 carries.
Utah has one of the best offenses in the nation and have flown under the radar this season despite averaging 57.5 points per game, a number than ranks third nationally, through two games. Quarterback Travis Wilson leads a balanced offense that ranks in the top 30 in both passing and rushing and he’s coming off a five-touchdown performance against Fresno State.
Michigan and Utah have both feasted on inferior opponents in their wins this season to boost their stats, so I will be curious to see the No. 3 scoring offense of the Utes against the No. 7 total defense of the Wolverines and if those units are worthy of those ranks in this game in The Big House.
We’ve seen Michigan play down to their competition in the past and I’m gonna go with the upset here and predict that is what happens on Saturday afternoon based on the balance of the Utes offense and the lack of confidence I have in Devin Gardner. Winner: Utah 31-28
