bama’s passing game versus the Michigan secondary scares me. Michigan didn’t exactly shut down the Buckeyes in the air. They had hep from the weather and and offense that just ran over the buckeye defense. I think Georgia is a better matchup for UM.
Ohio State has a better passing game than Alabama....and Michigan didn't shut it down but they slowed it down. You can't shutdown these sort of passing games- you can only slow them down. Michigan's secondary has been a huge asset this year and has gotten better as the season has gone on. Ronald Bellamy and Steve Clinkscale have been incredible hires- these guys have turned around that unit in dramatic fashion. They are a
really good secondary. They don't give up anything cheap or deep, they keep everything in front of them and they are great at tackling. DJ Turner at CB by the way- has been a revelation the last 5-6 weeks once he came in to take over for the injured Gemon Green. Turner is
very good.
Against Ohio State- they had great coverage- and every time Ohio State WR's just made insane plays and catches and Stroud made some incredible throws. Perfect throws and incredible catches beat perfect coverage every time. Nothing you can do about that. But they made Ohio State earn everything and march up and down the field- didn't let anything go over top their heads and they didn't give up anything cheap or deep.
The weather aspect in that game was very over-stated, the weather was not
THAT bad, and in bad weather- passing offenses actually have the advantage as they know where they are going before the ball is snapped and defenses have to read and react on the fly- and they are the ones at the disadvantage. And the whole "running over the Buckeye defense" thingy- yes Michigan ran it down their throat but they ran it for big chunks- Ohio State had higher TOP than Michigan. Michigan front 4 was excellent at getting pressure- and did not have to blitz much- and the secondary kept everything in front of them and didn't blow zone coverages or get torched in man.
Williams was the 4th best WR at Ohio State. Which is why he's at Bama. Stroud has a higher NFL ceiling than Young. He's a lot bigger than him for one and he's got a stronger arm for two. Bama struggles to run the ball- OSU actually has a better run game and better RB. Bama also struggles in pass pro- meanwhile OSU has had one of the best pass pro OL's in all of CFB this year. Bama's #2 WR Metchie is done for the year, tore his ACL. This hurts their pass game tremendously. You roll coverage to Williams and don't give up anything cheap and deep to him, Bama will struggle to run the ball as they have all-season, and you get pressure with 4 and you can disrupt Young. Michigan is more than capable of doing this.
Georgia style of D plays right into the hands of what Michigan wants to do on offense. That's a bad-match up. Georgia is vulnerable in the secondary- they can stop the run. Michigan does not have the passing game of Bama or Ohio State to expose the Georgia secondary all-game long. Running right at them won't work.
