Can Michigan use Alabama's performance against Georgia as a blueprint? Kirk Herbstreit weighs in

Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis shot down the notion that Alabama, by beating Georgia, 44-21 in the SEC championship game, provided a blueprint to beating the Bulldogs, explaining that just one game

“If it only happens one game in a year, it obviously didn’t work too well for too many other people,” Gattis said. “But it does give you a little bit of confidence.”

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit feels similarly. While the Alabama game proved that the Bulldogs aren’t invincible and can be susceptible to allowing significant yardage through the air, their weaknesses are nothing that can’t be corrected.

“It wasn’t just the scheme,” Herbstreit said on a conference call with reporters. “It was two players. It was [Alabama quarterback] Bryce Young and [wide receiver] Jameson Williams — I mean you’re talking about two of the elite players at their positions one won the Heisman trophy [Young] and the other one, you could have made an argument had a good enough year to be right there to win it as well, but he’s on the same team.”

RELATED

• Michigan safety Daxton Hill ‘questionable’ for Orange Bowl

• Wolverine TV podcast: What to watch for, predictions — Michigan vs. Georgia

Young completed 26 of his 44 pass attempts for 421 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 40 yards and a score.

“So you’re talking elite players,” Herbstreit reiterated. “The one question on Georgia before the game [was the] Georgia secondary. Whether or not, if this Georgia front, which has been dominant all year, if they don’t get home or Bryce Young is able to create, how good are they really on the back end? We just haven’t seen them tested. And that ended up being, as we know, a big part of how that game unfolded was what happened in the secondary.

“I’ve gone back and watched that game probably six or seven times. I don’t think it’s fair to put it all in the secondary. I think the front looked fatigued, for whatever reason, they didn’t have the same juice that they played with most of the year.”

Michigan’s offense has been steady, leaning on the run game, and explosive, with more plays of 50-plus yards than any team in the country. But it’s not Alabama’s, even though the Wolverines have improved as the season progressed.

“I don’t think Michigan has an offense that necessarily you can just draw up a play or a sequence of plays and say ‘OK, we’re going to be in a good spot to run the exact same offensive scheme that Alabama did. Hey, Alabama gave us the blueprint let’s just do exactly what Bama did,'” Herbstreit said. “Just because that’s not their identity.”

At the same time, Gattis — the Broyles Award winner — and Co. have seen the Michigan offense hang 42 points on two very good defenses in Ohio State and Iowa to end the year, using an uptick of creativity in the process.

“While the perception of them is an old school, tough, tight ends, running between the tackles — and don’t get me wrong they are at times that way —but if you’ve really watched him this year it’s the wrinkles that they bring to the table that are what has made this offense complete,” Herbstreit said. “It’s a reverse, it’s misdirection, it’s a halfback pass for a touchdown, it’s bringing in [freshman quarterback] J.J. McCarthy as a little wrinkle. It’s just they do enough to not allow you to just, hey it’s Michigan here comes 25 [redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins] and 2 [second-year freshman running back Blake Corum], let’s put nine guys in the box. You can’t do that against Michigan.

“And so that’s what Georgia and [head coach] Kirby Smart and [defensive coordinator] Dan Lanning have got to be ready for. If they think it’s just going to be I-formation, two and three tight ends and ramming their head into a wall — there’s going to be plenty of that — but Michigan will find ways to be creative with the wrinkles and then get back to being who they are, which is Haskins, offensive line.

“But look out for wrinkles and early down play-action pass from [redshirt freshman quarterback] Cade McNamara, where they can try to attack the Georgia secondary. I’d throw on first and 10 if I were Michigan and not wait till third down against that pass rush led by [Georgia linebacker] Nakobe Dean, and those blitzing linebackers.”