ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football will be the best defense that TCU and its vaunted offense will have faced thus far this year. And while the Horned Frogs are eager to show off their pass game, it isn’t a team that shies away from running the ball like many other Big 12 teams.
RB Kendre Miller was no slouch this season, rushing for 1,342 yards — No. 18 in the country. TCU has the No. 25 passing offense and rushing offense, so there is some balance to what the Horned Frogs are trying to do.
Wolverines freshman defensive tackle Mason Graham thinks that’s given them an advantage against defenses primed to stop the pass in the Big 12, but against Michigan, he isn’t so sure that that approach will be as successful.
“The Big 12 is known as a passing type of league but I feel like TCU really wants to try to run the ball,” Graham said. “And I hope they try to test us with that so we can make like a statement that they’re not gonna run the ball on us.”
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For the Wolverines, the confidence comes not just from being the nation’s third-best rushing defense while playing in a run-heavy conference, but also because the defense has had to contend with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards on a weekly basis in practice.
Graham believes that greatly helps whenever Michigan sees a team that has an enigmatic rusher.
“Just knowing that we’re going against the best of the best every day in practice,” Graham said. “You know this is what you’re getting, you know what you’re gonna get in the game from other teams.”
Graham’s confidence isn’t any kind of evidence that Michigan is taking TCU lightly — it’s the exact opposite, actually.
The Wolverines know that it has to get past the Horned Frogs if they want the big prize of a national championship. So the confidence comes more from knowing what the maize and blue have and what they’re capable of, and less of just expecting to win because they’re the favored team.
“I feel like this team is really determined to take TCU seriously,” Graham said. “Obviously, everyone’s talking about looking ahead and stuff like that, but (we’re) really locked in on TCU right now. We know we have the opportunity to win the national championship at the end when it’s all said and done.”
The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl kicks off at 4 p.m. EST on Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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