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Michigan has a daunting challenge ahead of it on Saturday, with an Ohio State team coming in that’s not only beaten the Wolverines seven straight times, but also might be the most complete team in the nation.
The Buckeyes haven’t shown many, if any, weaknesses across the board, and have blown out all but one team, as Penn State kept it close en route to a 28-17 loss in Columbus this past Saturday.
Appearing on his weekly radio show, Inside Michigan Football, with host Jon Jansen, Harbaugh spoke about just how good this OSU team is.
“They’re a really good team, no question about it,” Harbaugh said. “They have one of the top defenses in the country. And offense is one of the top offenses in the country and they have a very potent ground game and also passing game. Really good on the special teams and all different units. A good team.”
From there, Harbaugh moved onto a litany of topics when it came to the Buckeyes, including key players on both sides of the ball.
Chase Young
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges Michigan will face on Saturday is keeping defensive end Chase Young at bay.
Harbaugh and some Wolverines players discussed Young earlier on Monday, but the Michigan head coach elaborated a little more with Jansen on the radio show.
“He’s really athletic,” Harbaugh said. “He’s one of the best pass rushers I’ve seen in the college game in quite some time. Physical in the run. Can take on blocks. Can also shrink the edge. Also athletic enough to get penetration, flow down the line of scrimmage.
“In all those ways, he’s really good.”
Justin Fields
But most of the talk is about how the Wolverines defense — no slouches themselves at No. 4 in the country — will be able to handle Ohio State and the No. 6 offensive attack in the nation.
It all starts with quarterback Justin Fields, the former five-star who was rated nearly as high as Clemson star Trevor Lawrence. Fields started his career at Georgia but transferred to OSU this offseason and has been a difference maker with both his arm and legs for the Buckeyes, with 2,352 yards passing (69% completions), and 33 touchdowns to just one interception. That’s just through the air — he also has 445 yards on 100 carries and 10 more touchdowns on the ground.
Harbaugh noted that the Wolverines will be on high-alert when Fields has the ball in his hands.
“He’s a good dual-threat guy,” Harbaugh said. “He can hurt you in the passing game. He’s got a lot of good receivers and tight ends. Also, if they’re covered, he can pull it down, make the yardage, make the first down. Extend the drives, extend the plays. A very good player.”
J.K. Dobbins
But Fields isn’t alone as the sole offensive playmaker.
While there’s still a bevy of receivers — Chris Olave, K.J. Hill, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack — there’s the backfield duo of J.K. Dobbins — the junior out of Texas — and Master Teague.
The two have combined for 2,197 yards on the ground, but Dobbins is the bigger threat of the two.
“(He’s an) explosive runner,” Harbaugh said. “Slashing type of runner, but he can be very elusive. And he’s got very good speed. He gets into the open, he can go a long way. Plus, he can make people miss.”
Team speed
Last year, the Wolverines got gashed mostly by what seemed to be superior team speed by the Buckeyes.
But, Harbaugh doesn’t feel like that will be an issue this year.
“Yeah, we’re pretty fast, too,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll just leave it at that, I guess! No question they’re going to tough to beat, but we’ll be tough to beat, too.”
Ryan Day
Harbaugh didn’t have much to say about his counterpart on the other sidelines in head coach Ryan Day, who took over the program after Urban Meyer stepped down at the end of last season.
This will be Day’s first year as the head coach going up against the Wolverines, and Harbaugh praises the job he’s done in Columbus to this point.
“He’s doing a heckuva job,” Harbaugh said. “Him and his entire coaching staff have prepared their team well and are playing really good football.”
Offense
Lastly, given the challenges of an ascending Michigan offense going up against the No. 1 defense in the country, the Wolverines will need to play close to perfect to have a chance to take down Ohio State.
But, if there’s one thing to like about the maize and blue heading into this matchup is that, not only are they not shying away from the challenge, they feel like there’s a lot to prove about their own team — especially on offense.
“We’re not gonna talk schematically at all, but all things are options,” Harbaugh said. “Wanna see our team play good, play good football.
“And like I said earlier, the team is playing good football, the team is confident. The players themselves believe that there’s even more for them. There’s more out there in the running game and the passing game from an offensive standpoint. And our defensive players feel the same way. They’re hungry to do even better.”
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