3 Areas Of Concern For Michigan Football Heading Into Ohio State

In five days, No. 3 Michigan football (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) will face No. 2 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) with everything at stake. A win for either program will send them to the Big Ten title game and likely the College Football Playoff; however, a loss likely eliminates the Wolverines or Buckeyes from playoff contention and sends them to a regular New Year’s Six Bowl game. Without Jim Harbaugh and JJ McCarthy struggling last week, here are three areas of concern heading into “The Game” this weekend.

Michigan football will be without Jim Harbaugh

Later today, we will hear from both Sherrone Moore and Jim Harbaugh during their Monday afternoon press conference. Still, regardless of what is said later today, there is a simple truth that no one can get around right now: Harbaugh won’t be at the Big House on Saturday due to the Big Ten’s regular-season suspension of the 9th-year head coach.

So far, Michigan football is 5-0 without Jim Harbaugh this year, with Sherrone Moore — the team’s acting head coach — boasting a 3-0 record, including wins over Bowling Green (31-6), No. 10 Penn State (24-15), and Maryland (31-24). While Moore has been doing just fine as head coach, not having Jim Harbaugh for the team’s biggest game of the year against an elite opponent with a bone to pick, will be a massive loss.

If JJ McCarthy finds himself in a rut, or the game comes down to a fourth down call (etc.), not having a battle-tested coach like Jim Harbaugh could be a deciding factor. We have a lot of faith in Sherrone Moore, though no one in the country will deny that Harbaugh’s absence will be a factor to some degree this Saturday as Michigan chases a third-straight Big Ten title game appearance.

What is going on with JJ McCarthy?

Last weekend, for the second game in a row, Michigan football took the ball out of JJ McCarthy’s hands and decided to run the ball over and over in hopes of draining the clock and gaining an edge against Maryland. While the Wolverines ultimately won the game by a touchdown, it was largely due to the team’s two safeties and a pick-6, not Michigan’s struggling offense.

Against Penn State, the story was much of the same — Michigan football did not attempt a single pass in the second half against the Nittany Lions, though ultimately won by two scores regardless. Right now, it sounds like either Michigan is hiding its hand from Ohio State or JJ McCarthy is battling an injury — likely an ankle sprain.

We are sure that Michigan football will be working to get JJ McCarthy back to 100% before the Buckeyes come to town; however, if he doesn’t get his groove back, there may not be much that the Maize and Blue will be able to do against an elite Ohio State defense on Saturday.

JJ McCarthy is INTERCEPTED pic.twitter.com/IdHqXUXKmu

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) November 18, 2023

Offensive tackle play has not been Big Ten title-level

Over the past two seasons, Michigan football has won the Joe Moore Award — given to the nation’s best offensive line — twice in a row, becoming the first college football team to ever accomplish the feat. That said, this fall, the O-Line has not lived up to that standard, and it was quite evident against both Penn State and Maryland that the offensive tackles are going to be an issue.

All season long JJ McCarthy has been forced to run and roll out to make plays due to reassure off the edge, and few teams have a better pass rush than Ohio State does. With JJ McCarthy potentially limited running-wise, the offensive tackles have to find a way to be better than what we saw against Penn State and Maryland, especially since it looks like Myles Hinton could miss this weekend’s game.

The good news here is that LaDarius Henderson — a transfer tackle from Arizona State — will likely be starting again this weekend after missing the Maryland game with an injury. Still, if the tackles don’t play well, the Wolverines will be severely limited against an Ohio State defense that is already elite across the board. If Michigan wants to beat OSU and win the Big Ten title again, tackle play must improve this week.

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