No. 4 Texas football will face its toughest test of the non-conference slate this coming weekend in Ann Arbor against the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines. Michigan and first-year head coach Sherrone Moore could have the most NFL talent of any team Texas faces on the road during the regular season despite turning over much of the roster during the offseason.
The Michigan defense will gauge the physicality and willingness of Texas football’s offense for Steve Sarkisian in Ann Arbor in Week 2
Michigan lost a lot of its two-deep from the title-winning squad last year to the NFL Draft and the NCAA Transfer Portal after the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the pros to take the head coaching job with the LA Chargers.
Regarding the matchups for the Michigan game in Week 2, the Longhorns will have their toughest challenges up front in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Michigan’s offseason roster turnover didn’t really impact the strength of its defensive line. And the offensive line still brings plenty of physicality and body-movers along the interior for the power ground game.
Michigan’s defense is also the real deal at all three levels. This could be one of the best two defenses the Longhorns face this entire season and possibly in the postseason.
Here are three problematic Michigan players that the Longhorns must be prepared to face in Week 2 in Ann Arbor.
Colston Loveland, TE
Junior Colston Loveland is one of the best tight ends in the P4 this season. He’s a big and lethal 6-foot-5 and 245-pound tight end who consistently handles his blocking assignments well blocking for the ground game and threatens opposing defenses as a sizable passing game target with a large catch radius and good speed and clean route running.
Loveland is a much better than average tight end regarding his abilities to create separation while running his routes and using his insane athleticism to pick up tough yards after the catch and get out in space to generate big plays for the receiving game.
The Michigan offense will line Loveland up in multiple spots pre-snap, including H-back, inline, slot, and out wide. Loveland’s versatility can be a matchup issue for Texas’s defense in preparing for the game plan to face Michigan’s offense this weekend.
Michigan will rely heavily on getting the ball to Loveland in the passing game, regardless of who’s starting at quarterback against Texas this upcoming weekend. In their opener last weekend, half of all Michigan’s team completions and over 75 percent of their passing yards went to Loveland at tight end against Fresno State.
4 reasons why Texas will defeat Michigan
Texas football is preparing to take on the Michigan Wolverines this Saturday afternoon. It will be an early tough matchup for the Longhorns as they begin their first season in the SEC. This game will help the Longhorns prepare for scenarios they could face when they take on teams like Georgia during conference play.
Even though the Michigan Wolverines had a rough home opener last week, expect them to look better this week. Here are four reasons why the Longhorns will beat the Wolverines.
Why Texas Football will beat Michigan: 4. Texas has a better offense
One reason why the Longhorns will win against the Wolverines is that they have a better offense. The Longhorns recruited well during the offseason and showed up on the field against the Colorado St. Rams last Saturday.
Quinn Ewers has already developed a lot of chemistry with the receivers, and they looked great last week. The fact that wide receiver Isiah Bond could fix his helmet mid-route and score a touchdown says a lot about how good the Longhorns’ offense will be.
3. Quinn Ewers is more experienced
The Michigan Wolverines are still trying to find out who their quarterback is after J.J. McCarthy declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. The Longhorns don’t have that issue with Ewers leading the offense this season. Arch Manning would take over the offense if Ewers were to get hurt. It’s another reason why the Longhorns shouldn’t have an issue against the Wolverines on Saturday afternoon.
2. Longhorns rushing attack
The Texas Longhorns entered the season with a glaring issue at the running back position. C.J. Baxter tore his ACL during fall camp and is out for the season. Someone needed to step up, and Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson did that.
While the Longhorns found the endzone many times through the air last week, you can expect the one-two punch to score a couple on Saturday. The Longhorns’ rushing attack will be another reason they beat the Wolverines on Saturday afternoon.
1. Great wall of Texas
The defense is the last reason the Longhorns should beat the Wolverines on Saturday. After losing key players to the NFL Draft, another question would be how well the Texas defense played. They responded to the critics last week by shutting down the Rams’ offense.
The fact that the Rams couldn’t even run up the middle without getting wrapped up speaks volumes. The Wolverines could be held to a one-dimensional offense if the Longhorns’ defense shows up.
Mason Graham, DT
Michigan’s best position group arguably on the defensive side of the ball is the interior defensive line. The Wolverines boast the best defensive tackle top duo in the nation in college football this season, Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham.
Grant and Graham are two future early-round NFL Draft defensive tackles who can wreck shop for Michigan’s defensive line with the interior pass rush and run defense this season.
I realistically could’ve included either one or Graham and/or Grant in this spot on the list among the “problematic” Michigan players that the Longhorns have to deal with on offense in Week 2. Graham’s advanced proficiency as a disruptor and dominant tone-settor for Michigan’s interior defensive line is why I wanted to talk more about his game entering the Texas contest this weekend.
Graham, at 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, is a big-time two-gapper who excels in clogging lanes and causing major disruptions for opposing interior offensive lines. He is a really effective and disruptive interior run defender who utilizes his strong lower base and hand usage to quickly get off blocks and hold his ground against double teams.
As an interior pass rusher, Graham is a seriously disruptive presence who knows how to shrink the pocket from the middle out. He also is good at feeling out the timing of plays and where to read and react to chase the play down with an extremely high motor.
Graham was the third-highest-graded defensive tackle in the Power Five last season, behind only Texas’s T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II.
Will Johnson, CB
Another future early-round NFL Draft pick along Michigan’s defense is junior star cornerback Will Johnson. The big and lengthy 6-foot-2 and 205-pound Johnson is one of the best man-to-man coverage corners in all of college football this year.
Johnson has a great combination of size, length, and athleticism that allows him to match up with just about any size and speed of wideout on the outside or out of the slot. He’s got quick hips and excellent agility, allowing Johnson to hang stride-for-stride with opposing wideouts in pass coverage assignments in and out of their breaks running routes.
Texas won’t face many corners that are better timing as ball hawks in the secondary than Johnson. He does a great job of tracking the ball in the air and making the right timing play on the ball. His length and ball skills make Johnson a big play turnover threat whenever he’s targeted in pass coverage assignments in the passing game.
From a physicality perspective, Johnson is willing to use his length and hands to jam wideouts close to the line of scrimmage. And he knows how to play physically in the secondary in pass coverage without getting too aggressive or risking penalties for pass interference or holding.
Michigan really put Johnson out on an island in their opener last weekend against Fresno State. He did pretty well, granted Fresno State still threw for over 70 yards while targeting the receiver Johnson was assigned to cover last weekend.
Johnson had a long pick-six that essentially locked up the double-digit victory for the Wolverines in the fourth quarter against a scrappy Fresno team last Saturday night.
We’re probably going to see Texas try to target Michigan’s other corners, along with their free safety and nickel, in the passing game with Quinn Ewers this upcoming weekend on offense to stay away from Johnson in the Wolverine secondary.
