History vs. Michigan:
Michigan leads all-time series 7-0
Last meeting: 2018 at Michigan - 49-3 Michigan
Last Season:
at Akron - W 58-13
vs Toledo - W 41-38
at Central Michigan - W 52-44
vs Northern Illinois - W 30-27
vs Eastern Michigan - L 42-53
at Ball State - L 27-30
Eleby was 92/147 (62.6%) with 1,092 yards, 4 TDs and 3 INTs last year with a long of 68. He also had 3 rushing TDs with a long of 12 yards.
Running Backs: La'Darius Jefferson 6'1" 235 lbs (RS Jr.) & Sean Tyler 5'8" 185 lbs (So.)
In 2020 Jefferson had 112 rushes for 624 yards (5.6ypc) and 5 TDs with a long of 43. He also had 4 catches for 17 yards. Tyler had 40 attempts with 263 yards (6.6ypc) and 2 TD with a long of 29. He had 11 receptions for 68 yards and a long of 13.
Wide Receivers: Bryce Nunnelly 6'0" 195 lbs (RS Sr.), Jaylen Hall 6'3" 185 lbs (RS Jr.) & Skyy Moore 5'10" 195 lbs (So.)
Nunnelly is a transfer from FCS Chattanooga where he had 57 receptions for 794 yards with 5 TDs and a long of 61 yards in 2019 (only played 3 games in 2020). Hall had 12 catches for 323 yards and 7 TDs with a long of 68. Moore had 25 catches for 388 yards, 3 TDs and a long of 56.
Tight End: Brett Borske 6'5" 263 lbs (RS Sr.)
Borkse had 4 catches for 29 yards with a long of 12.
Left Tackle: Wesley French 6'5" 310 lbs (RS Sr.)
10 career starts.
Left Guard: Addison West 6'3" 305 lbs (RS Fr.)
0 career starts.
Center: Mike Caliedno 6'4" 309 lbs (RS Sr.)
42 career starts.
Right Guard: Dylan Deatherage 6'4" 310 lbs (RS Jr.)
8 career starts.
Right Tackle: Mark Brooks 6'6" 315 lbs (RS Sr.)
15 career starts.
Defensive Tackles: Ralph Holley 6'1" 285 lbs (RS Sr.) & Will McCabe 6'3" 290 lbs (RS So.)
Holley had 29 tackles with 9 for a loss in 2020. McCabe did not play in 2020 but started 12 games in 2019 where he totaled 42 tackles with 2.5 for a loss and a fumble recovery.
Defensive Ends: Ali Fayad 6'1" 243 lbs (RS Sr.) & Andre Carter 6'5" 245 lbs (RS So.)
Fayad's tackle total last year was 17. 6 were for a loss, with 4 sacks and a forced fumble. In 2020 Carter had 5 tackles with 1.5 for a loss, a half sack and a forced fumble.
Outside Linebackers: Corvin Moment 6'0" 250 lbs (RS Jr.) & Ryan Selig 6'2" 230 lbs (RS So.)
Moment totaled 37 tackles on the season last fall with 3 for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 pass breakups. Selig had a total of 10 tackles including 1 for a loss, 1 sack and a forced and recovered fumble.
Middle Linebacker: Harrison Taylor 6'1 205 lbs (RS Jr.)
Taylor finished 2020 with 24 tackles, 2 pass breakups and 1 INT returned for 4 yards.
Cornerbacks: Therran Coleman 6'0" 190 lbs (RS Sr.) & Keith Jones Jr. 5'10" 180 lbs (RS Fr.)
Coleman is a graduate transfer from Pittsburgh. He's had 18 tackles with 1 forced fumble and 1 INT in 3 years with the Panthers. Jones Jr. finished with 14 tackles and 2 pass breakups.
Safeties: A.J. Thomas 6'2" 215 lbs (RS Sr.) & Bricen Garner 6'1" 185 lbs (RS Sr.)
Thomas totaled 46 tackles with 9 for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup and 1 INT that he returned 38 yards for a TD. Garner concluded 2020 with 45 tackles with 3.5 for a loss, a half sack and 4 pass breakups.
Punter and Kicker: Nick Mihalic 5'11" 205 lbs (Jr.) & Thiago Kapps 6'0" 195 lbs (RS Sr.)
Mihalic had 18 punts with an average of 42.6 and a long of 68. 6 were fair caught and 6 were downed inside the 20. He also handled kickoffs with 14 touchbacks in 41 kicks. Kapps was 4/7 on field goals with a long of 50.
Returners: Jaxson Kincaide 5'9" 195 lbs (RS Sr.) & DaShon Bussell 6'1 195 lbs (RS So.)
Kincaide returned 2 punts for an average of 2.5 with a long of 4. Bussell returned 4 punts with an average of 6.0 and a long of 13 as well as 1 kick return for 22 yards.
Players to watch:
Sean Tyler - RB
Jaylen Hall - WR
A.J. Thomas - S
Prediction:Sean Tyler - RB
Jaylen Hall - WR
A.J. Thomas - S
Welp. First, throw those stats at the top of this thread out the window. They are a bit skewed as WMU played 6 games against bad teams and many clearly not great teams found themselves pretty high up on these stats (Kent State had the #1 offense in the country). Also believe it or not, things like pass yards allowed per game found LSU being dead last in all of college football and Ohio State sitting at 122nd. I can't wait to get to next week where I can at least use 2021 numbers even though they will be skewed as well early in the year. I am also of the belief that last year was an anomaly of college football and will be looked back upon as "oh yeah, well that was 2020" in a few years by most non-Alabama fans except when it comes to bragging about rivalry wins. With limited camp, no out of conference games and 0 fans in attendance it all just felt almost pointless and I think we would have been a much better team, albeit perhaps average (7-5 to 8-4) in a "normal" year last year. We were terrible but I don't think it will hold much relevance to this season. That said, I don't believe it can be forgotten and ignored. We have a lot to work on this year and it starts tomorrow.
Luckily for us, if we are to begin the quest to prove 2020 an anomaly, even if we're not an elite team, we should look close to one against Western Michigan. Their receivers is probably the scariest unit on the team, with a transfer, Bryce Nunnelly who's racked up nearly 2,000 yards in the FSC at Chattanooga from 2018 to 2019, Jaylen Hall who is a big target with a ridiculously high touchdown to reception ratio and even their slot receiver could cause some trouble with the speed. If there's one thing from last year that can not carry over, it's our secondary play. If it does, WMU could have some success through the air that will be quite embarrassing.
While the running backs put up decent numbers against their MAC foes, I don't envision much threat in this area, although the interior defensive line of course is a bit of a question mark for us. While technically the backup running back, Sean Tyler is a quick back who gets a lot of passing looks out of the backfield as well. QB Eleby isn't too much of threat you would hope against a Big Ten defense but he is capable if given time. There's not too much experience up front outside of the center position for the Bronchos and the size of course, is a bit below average.
Defensively, there's really not much to figure out with the Bronchos. They are primed to give up a lot of points, even in the MAC. There's no excuse for Michigan's offense not to look good. Safety A.J. Thomas is the best defender on the team and will be a threat at and behind the LOS as well as in coverage. However, Michigan shouldn't have much issues moving the ball if they can avoid him and of course, if they can avoid shooting themselves in the foot.
While I think WMU actually matches up decently in certain aspects on paper and given some of our weaknesses from last year, any team that's looking to be competitive in the Big Ten should have no problems with such a team. I think our offense should be effective and while our defense might give up a couple plays they'd really like to have back they'll come out looking okay for the most part.
Michigan wins 41-17
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