It looks like the concerns about Michigan’s passing game are very real. This is the first I’ve heard about it from a Michigan insider with connections to the program.
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“I was asked this on the radio this week if Michigan "needs" the downfield passing game to beat OSU. It's the million-dollar question, isn't it? What I can tell you is that Michigan internally has had a desire to show this on film to the Buckeyes but for a few weeks now, it hasn't worked, and while publicly it's quiet, inside the program there is a frustration that 10 weeks into the season they still can't complete a throw down field. The blame-game narrative seems to have shifted some from "JJ throws a bad deep ball" to "receivers don't make plays" and we saw more of the latter last weekend against Nebraska.
How necessary is a big throw in THE Game? Maybe not important at all if U-M uses the middle of the field more. For all the knocks on Cornelius Johnson and there are lots of legitimate ones, he, Ronnie Bell and Luke Schoonmaker are all pretty good at crossing routes and getting upfield. Yet those plays have all but vanished in recent weeks. Has it been strategic so there are fewer crossing routes on recent film for OSU to review? Potentially but this staff also seems to just forget sections of its playbook for stretches at a time.
What Michigan thinks it does know is that Ohio State has spent an entire offseason and an entire season gearing up to stop the Michigan ground game. That doesn't mean the Buckeyes will - there's evidence this season that the front seven is not very stout (again) - but the intensity will be different, the run fits will be different, and OSU will use its safeties closer to the line of scrimmage than several of U-M opponents have (that's still a head scratcher to me). That Michigan has NOT shown it can complete passes downfield gives Ohio State even greater reason to move its safeties into the box. To that end, all the work the past few games to hit the deep ball have had a double-whammy negative effect. Not only can’t Michigan go to that well but it has also demonstrated there is zero cause for concern for a secondary that U-M will take advantage if they crowd the LOS.
As my source inside Schembechler Hall noted this week, "I'm sure Ohio State is thinking, 'if they beat us with a deep ball or two, good for them. But they're not going to outman us at the line of scrimmage.'"
To call this group of wide receivers a disappointment is an understatement, but for all the clamoring for younger players to get their chance, it ain't gonna happen. Bell and Johnson, especially, are too important as blockers for U-M to give their snaps to a trio of freshmen. So the receiving corps is what it is at this point in the season and it's up to the coaches to take advantage of the skills they do possess. Something the staff has done poorly since the start of Big Ten season. Again, it may not matter if the ground game, which includes McCarthy, is the stronger team up front (and they believe they are), but if Michigan needs a big play in the passing game to flip field position, they're not sure at this point in the year who, if anyone, can deliver.
The good news: expect some wrinkles on both sides of the ball. Michigan hasn't played vanilla on purpose but they have been saving a few new looks and play designs for the Buckeyes offensively, and Jesse Minter is preparing to unleash hell on earth defensively. If you've noticed, U-M has not been using a lot of pressure packages in recent weeks but I expect we'll see plenty in Columbus as the game plan is out there: get to CJ Stroud and he becomes very mortal.”
All that being said, they are still very confident they are going to be able to win again with a similar formula as last year.
Apparently both of their backs are a bit dinged up but are expected to be 100% barring any setbacks between now and then.
Take it for what it’s worth 🤷🏼♂️
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