Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Michigan Wolverines Betting Preview
A weekend showdown between two unbeaten teams is set for Saturday as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are on the road to face the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House. This will be the first meeting between the two teams. Take a look to this Scarlet Knigts at Wolverines betting preview.
Michigan Wolverines Preview
The No. 19 Michigan Wolverines are looking very good heading into conference play. They are 3-0 to kick off the season with wins over Western Michigan, Washington and their most recent win coming against Northern Illinois.
The Wolverines feature one of the most electric rushing attacks in all of college football. They dominated on the ground rushing for 373 yards and 606 yards of total offense. Blake Corum led the way with 125 yards and three touchdowns. This was Corum’s third 100-yard rushing game of the year. Hassan Haskins and Donovan Edwards each had a pair of touchdowns and combined for 144 yards.
The rushing game has been in the spotlight in the early going, and while that’s been for a good reason, the quarterback play hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been bad either. Cade McNamara has had a very quiet season completing 24/37 pass attempts on 371 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Wolverines are 18.5 point home favorites in this game.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Preview
If you haven’t heard yet, you are about to now. Rutgers are a very improved football team and are currently 3-0 heading into their Big Ten opener against Michigan. This is the first time since 2012 that Rutgers have seen a 3-0 start to start the season.
Quarterback play has been solid for the Scarlet Knights as Noah Verdell was 21/25 with two touchdowns on 323 yards through the air. Wide Receiver Bo Melton had a big game against Delaware, coming away with five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Pacheco ran for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
The Scarlet Knights’ defense allowed 162 rushing yards on 4.8 yards per carry against the Blue Hens. This defense was much stronger in the first two wins over Temple and Syracuse and will have to be better at containing the rushing attack of the Wolverines.
These two teams met last season in a wild and high-scoring affair that ended in a 48-42 Wolverine win. One of the big takeaways from the game was how strong the Rutger defense was at containing the rush. They allowed 147 yards on just 3.4 yards per carry. This defense has improved but was shaken last weekend; they’ll need to wake up if they want to avoid getting blown out on the road.
These two programs have met just seven times dating back to 2014, with Rutgers getting the first win of the head-to-head series. Since then, the Wolverines have run off six straight wins that included a 78-0 win in 2016. Last season’s contest was the most exciting of the season in the triple-overtime thriller. This game could be another exciting one but expect Michigan to come away with a win.