Neither Michigan nor Michigan State football figures to be a player on the national stage this year, at least as it pertains to the playoffs, and both are in rebuilding mode. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes the Wolverines have a quicker path back to relevance than Michigan State, which had surprising success in the Mark Dantonio era.
MSU finished last in the Big Ten East Division last year, but still managed to beat a disinterested Michigan team in an empty Michigan Stadium. No U-M season is a ‘good’ season without a win over the Spartans, so there’s plenty at stake in this year’s game even if there are no championship implications.
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“I’d give Michigan a nod on getting there sooner,” Herbstreit said. “I feel like Jim Harbaugh’s been close. They just need more consistent play at quarterback, more dynamic offense to be able to be more explosive. I think that’s the name of the game in college football today. You can’t win the old fashioned way with defense and field position and the running game. You’ve got to be dynamic.
“I know Josh Gattis as the O.C. is trying to take them in that direction. If you look around at Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma, what do you see? You see quarterback play. It jumps off the screen. You see receivers; you see running backs. In order to get there, that’s where Michigan has to go.”
Interestingly, the Wolverines seem to be going in the opposite direction this year. ‘Speed in Space’ has given way to offensive coordinator Gattis saying he didn’t feel the Wolverines ran the ball enough last year, adding intrigue to the 2021 offensive storyline.
“I think we were productive at times. I think the issue is that we didn’t run the ball enough,” Gattis said. “When you … break down average-per-rush, it actually went up in 2020 more than it did in 2019. We just had two or three games where we had under 20 carries a game, so your numbers, comparatively — when you look at the end of the season — they’re going to be low.
“That’s got to be a commitment — to run the ball. You’ve got to start games fast. We’ve got to play great, complementary football, and I’ve got to stick to it. There were times last year where, per game, I kind of got away from it, and that’s a bit of an acknowledgment. We’ve got really good running backs. Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards – those guys need the ball. We’ve got to make a firm commitment to run the ball more. That’s how your numbers go up from that standpoint.”
But will it help them compete for championships? That’s the big question. Michigan State actually used that formula to win a few titles under Dantonio, and Harbaugh and Co. were a run first team in his first two years and nearly won a title, but Herbstreit believes it’s the young personnel and playmakers that can “maybe” get Michigan over the top.
With MSU, he said, the Spartans are starting from ‘ground zero’ and trying to build themselves back up.
“There were moments last year even in the middle of a global pandemic that showed you signs of things to come,” Herbstreit said. “He’s kind of a hard nosed [guy] … Mel Tucker is a guy that played for Barry Alvarez, coached with Nick Saban, has been around Kirby Smart, has his own way about him as a guy and is a chip-on-your-shoulder kind of person, which I love as a head coach. You could see signs of that last year.
“But you have to recruit. Mark Dantonio I don’t want to say was on autopilot, but it was rolling for a number of years. For it to start to come down — some of the issues hurt the brand on the field, and I feel like they’re just starting to get things back up and going.”
Between that and U-M’s ability to recruit nationally, the Wolverines should have the advantage in the future.
“I’m not saying they can’t get there,” Herbstreit said. “I just think the work ahead of them is more significant than what they’re facing in Ann Arbor.”