Keys to the Game: Michigan football vs. Washington 

Washington travels to Michigan for yet another meeting, the fourth in five years. The big one, of course, came in the National Championship game in Houston a few years back. And while last year’s didn’t really matter in the grand scheme — both teams were average — the 31-10 Michigan victory in 2021 set the tone for the program’s turnaround. 

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Saturday’s game is a different, but similar. The Huskies’ program seems to be ascending under head coach Jedd Fisch and has an opportunity to take a huge leap forward — and yes, even stay in the Big Ten race — with a win in Ann Arbor. Michigan, meanwhile, limps in after a very disappointing loss at USC in which the defense was shredded and the offense stagnant. 

“I think the message is pretty simple … the guys understand what happened,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said. “They understand it’s a loss, and nobody’s hurt more for a loss than the players and us as coaches. Those guys, they’ve been grinding, trying to get better.

“So, the message really is simple — we’ve got to go back to work … there’s no pouting. There’s no worry about it. There’s no making excuses for it. That’s all we’ve got to do, and that’s all I know. That’s what we’re going to do right now.”

They’ve also got to play much better football on both sides of the ball. Here are the keys to a Michigan win Saturday against the Huskies.

Michigan Key No. 1 — Every man does his job on defense to contain Demond Williams Jr. 

Michigan was non-competitive defensively at USC, a major disappointment. We thought it might be a higher-scoring affair, but we also thought the Trojans would have to work for their points. Instead, they often marched the field with little resistance, took advantage of bad pass coverage and poor run fits, and even won the physical battles with the Wolverines. 

Williams Jr. will be a nightmare for this defense if it doesn’t play team ball Saturday. He can run, he can throw, and he has weapons at the skill positions to burn an undisciplined defense. Edge containment will be huge here, in addition to not letting him get out of the pocket. They need to keep him bottled up and maintain rush lanes to not allow him to escape when they do. 

“When you’re facing a team like that, you’ve just got to be ready. He’s dangerous,” Moore said. “He’s dangerous running the ball. He’s dangerous throwing the ball. He’s dangerous when it’s a scrambled play. So, we’ve got to do a great job containing him and making him uncomfortable in whatever facet we decide to do that in.”

Last game, too many guys were trying to do things not required of them to make plays. This week will require everyone on the same page. Then they’ll find the trust needed to play good defense. 

Key No. 2 — Win third down

The Wolverines have struggled here on both sides of the ball, and that’s where games are often won and lost. Seventy-fifth on offense and 71st on defense isn’t going to cut it. 

But it’s not just about third down, either. The Wolverines have faced an inordinate amount of third-and-longs due to first- and second-down failures, while the defense has been an equal opportunity disappointment. It’s been third and shorts up to last week’s insane third and 26, 49-yard run allowed — you can excuse the first, though you’d like to see it tighter, but the latter, along with several other third and long conversions this year, just can’t happen. 

Book this — if the Wolverines lose this stat badly Saturday, they’ll fall to 4-3 … and then things get dicey. 

Michigan key No. 3 — Limit yards after contact

In other words, tackle, dammit. The Wolverines missed 14 tackles in the 31-13 loss at USC and have whiffed on 56 this year, simply not good enough. Safety Brandyn Hillman can hit, but he needs to wrap — he leads the team with 7 missed tackles — and against good teams, this will get you beat.

Good offenses are going to get their yards, but you’ve got to hold teams to field goals, one, and two, not give up the easy scores. That means getting guys on the ground, even the outstanding playmakers Washington has.

“It really comes down to angles — the angles that we take, the pursuit angles that we take, and trusting those angles,” Moore said. “There’s so many examples as we go through it, and as we’ve gone through the [USC] tape — been through it many times, how we’ve got to fix it — the players have been in numerous times already to look at it and fix it. Those are the big things we’ll continue to attack as we go through the week.”

Michigan vs. Washington — The Breakdown 

This one feels like a “crossroads” game for this year’s Michigan team, and some would argue even more than that for the direction of the program (though we still believe that’s premature). Win, and just about everything is still on the table, including a potential Big Ten championship game berth. Lose, and it’s entirely possible the wheels might fall off given what we’ve heard about the “fragile” nature of the team following the USC loss. 

The Wolverines have generally fared well at home in games like these, especially under former head coach Jim Harbaugh. This is not last year’s Oregon team coming to the Big House, nor is it Texas. This is a middle-of-the-road opponent with some dangerous weapons. If the Michigan defense is what it was sold as before the season — and yes, it still has that potential if they don’t overthink things — and the offense plays the way it did at Nebraska, for example, U-M will win this game. 

Worst case, though, is that the fundamentals and technique that were lacking, and may become exacerbated by a few key starters out, lead to a more potent Washington offense and perhaps an early deficit. Early drives in this one are going to be paramount … U-M simply can’t get behind and try to play catch-up. 

What’s this Michigan team made of? We’re about to find out.