UNLV coach Barry Odom on Michigan team without weakness, 'special' J.J. McCarthy, loading the box
Michigan Wolverines football took care of business in the season-opener, defeating East Carolina 30-3, and will welcome in UNLV Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. First-year Runnin’ Rebels head coach Barry Odom is aware of the stiff challenge awaiting his squad against the No. 2 team in America.
“If they’ve got a weakness, I haven’t found it yet,” Odom said Monday. “They’re really solid and a great team.”
At the same time, and while respecting each team they play, Odom said Michigan is another “nameless, faceless opponent.”
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A face that stands out to Odom on film, though, is Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a third-team All-Big Ten pick last season who threw for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns last week. The Maize and Blue had eight passing plays of 15-plus yards and five rushes of 10-plus yards. ECU stacked the box, selling out to stop the run, but the Wolverines still averaged 7.2 yards per play through three quarters, when the starters were in.
“They’re explosive on offense,” Odom pointed out of Michigan. “Obviously, they’ve got the skill and the scheme to stress you in every area — run game, pass game, play action, moving the pocket, quarterback run game. They do it all, and they do it at a very, very high level.
“They’ve obviously recruited really well and have got great coaches and great players, and their scheme is tough. We’ve got to do a tremendous job on getting our guys in position, understanding that there are going to be times that we make a call that they counter and have a good call, as well. The goal doesn’t change on trying to eliminate explosive plays.”
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Michigan’s run game produced its fewest rushing yards (122) since the 2021 season in the season-opener. To that extent, ECU’s defensive approach worked, and UNLV — which is very multiple under Odom, known in part for a 3-2-6 scheme — may go with something similar.
“We’ve gotta be good against the run,” Odom said. “We can’t allow there to be chunk yardage in the run game and through the air. Their quarterback is a special player, so we’ve gotta do a great job in our coverage, we gotta have tremendous eye discipline. We’ve gotta understand and be able to change zone and matchup man concepts. And then also, we’ve gotta be in a position that we can load the box to try to stop the run.”
The opportunity is an exciting one for UNLV, which beat FCS opponent Bryant, 44-14, last weekend.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere to play in,” Odom said of Michigan Stadium. “I’m happy for our student-athletes to have a chance to be in that environment. We know that it’ll be loud, there will be 110-plus [thousand], which is awesome. I’ve got a lot of respect for [Michigan head] Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and the program that he’s built.”
The Wolverines are 26-3 since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, have won the last two Big Ten championships and appeared in back-to-back CFPs. Michigan is 1-0 all time against UNLV, with the lone win coming in Harbaugh’s first season, 28-7.
