Their offense stalls a lot, but is really good at answering scores by opponents and they're efficient in the fourth quarter. They have a difference maker on offense and they scheme the offense around him (In the Tressel era it went from Clarett, Troy Smith, Beanie, Pryor). Tressel's teams would lull you with small gains and then hit 2-3 huge plays a game. This team is a little like that. The defense, as much as I was hoping it would never get fixed, looks to be very stout and start by slowing down the run game. The secondary still feels a little untested, to be honest. But they are winning games with scores of 17-14, 20-12, 24-10. Those look like Tressel ball scores to me. Who would have thought a Ryan Day team would like like this?
So how does Michigan beat a Tressel ball team? It's pretty much the same recipe for winning big games, which makes this all the more weird:
So how does Michigan beat a Tressel ball team? It's pretty much the same recipe for winning big games, which makes this all the more weird:
- No turnovers
- Win the rushing battle
- Limit their big plays (MHJr will get his 2-3 but keep Henderson in check)
- Few penalites