What they're saying: 'Does Michigan's run-and-defend style travel?'

No. 10 Michigan Wolverines football will take on Washington Saturday evening in Seattle. Here’s a look around the internet at what they’re saying before kickoff.

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Ari Wasserman, On3: College Football Playoff Bubble Watch after Week 5: Ole Miss out, K-State back in the mix

First four out

Michigan: After being blown out by Texas at home, Michigan has won three-straight games, including a quality win over USC. The Wolverines, though, are so deeply flawed in the passing game that it’s hard to imagine Michigan just morphing into Iowa and winning 11 games. Maybe Alex Orji will progress in a big way down the strethc, but right now the Wolverines are in danger of losing every single week.

Bill Connelly, ESPN.com: College football Week 6 preview: Everything you need to know (and ask!) heading into the weekend

Does Michigan’s run-and-defend style travel?

Like Auburn, Jedd Fisch’s first Washington team has been brilliant at getting in its own way. The Huskies are 13th in offensive success rate and 16th on defense, They’ve gained 20-plus yards 9% of the time (28th) to opponents’ 5% (37th), too. All good things! But they’ve constantly come up short in the red zone, and special teams have been a disaster. That has contributed to a couple of devastating, tight losses to Washington State and Rutgers.

UW’s great pass defense will go mostly untested Saturday. Sherrone Moore switched to quarterback Alex Orji two games ago, and he was instrumental in a pair of 27-24 wins … despite going a combined 17-for-30 passing for 118 yards. Including sacks as pass attempts, the Wolverines actually average more yards per carry than per dropback. In 2024.

Tackle Mason Graham keys another great Michigan run defense, and while the pass defense hasn’t been perfect, it’s good and getting healthier. Michigan scored a big win over USC, survived against Minnesota last week, but those games were at home. With road games against Washington, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State coming up and probably only one more mulligan to use and remain in the playoff race, the Wolverines have to hope this style travels to earn a shot at a fourth straight CFP.

Current line: Washington -2.5 | SP+ projection: Washington by 0.7 | FPI projection: Washington by 2.9

Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press: Sherrone Moore’s Michigan football team is flawed. His face Saturday showed his concern

The veneer of invincibility that thickened over the previous three years, during an astonishing 40-3 run, has quickly vanished. It was almost completely stripped away by Texas in a devastating 31-12 rout on Sept. 8. But it further eroded the next two weeks as Michigan malfunctioned at different points during its 10-point win over Arkansas State and nearly crumbled in a 27-24 victory over USC. The triumph over the Trojans revealed the resilience and leftover championship DNA still coursing through Moore’s team, which marched 89 yards in the final minutes of regulation to prevail. But it also laid bare its thin margin of error as it works around a passing attack that has produced the fewest yards per game among all Power Four programs.

The offensive limitations forced Michigan to shift into survival mode in its last two games, and there is a growing belief among outsiders that the Wolverines could succumb to any of their remaining opponents if they don’t make marked improvements. That uncomfortable reality is reinforced by the fact that Michigan is an underdog in its first road game of the season against Washington, a two-loss team the Wolverines crushed by three touchdowns in the College Football Playoff title game only nine months ago.

The Athletic: September superlatives: Heisman, best coach, surprising and disappointing teams

Game of the year

Ralph Russo: USC at Michigan. I didn’t want us to all say Georgia–Alabama, but that’s the clear choice. Trojans at Wolverines in the Big House was the TV executive’s dream realized. A quintessential helmet game that had momentum swings, lead changes and a late touchdown to win it for Michigan.

Justin Williams, The Athletic: Week 6’s top 10 college football games: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?

It’s wild to think that just nine months ago, these teams faced off in the national championship. Now they meet as newly realigned conference foes in a game that couldn’t crack the top half of this week’s list. Both programs have had considerable turnover coming off historic seasons. Michigan — despite getting handled at home by Texas, pulling out some narrow victories and an inability to throw the ball — is still a top-10 team. Washington has suffered a pair of tough losses to Wazzu and Rutgers, but can claim a top-20 offense and top-10 defense in terms of yards per play. We’ll see how much an edge in continuity matters for Michigan and if it has enough winning DNA to get a road upset and hang in the Playoff discussion for another week.

The Athletic: Big Ten superlatives: MVP, best freshman, biggest mess as September ends

The last time a defensive back won the Silver Football as the Big Ten’s top performer was in 1997 when Michigan’s Charles Woodson took home that honor and the Heisman Trophy. While the Heisman talk is lofty for a one-way defender in 2024, Michigan cornerback Johnson has earned recognition to capture league MVP for September.

Johnson has two interceptions, and he brought back both for touchdowns. In the season opener, Fresno State was driving and Johnson brought back a pass 86 yards to put the game away. Against USC, Johnson’s 42-yard touchdown return was critical in a 27-24 victory. Had Johnson played against Minnesota, the Gophers’ last surge might not have happened.

Heather Dinich, ESPN.com: College Football Playoff 2024: Week 6 bubble watch

No. 11 Michigan Wolverines at No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers
Winner plays: No. 3 Miami

Explaining the seeding: This shows how different the seeding can be from the committee’s ranking on Selection Day, as Tennessee was ranked No. 3. Because seeds 1-4 are reserved for conference champs, and the SEC runner-up earned the No. 5 seed, the Vols get bumped to No. 6. They would still earn a first-round home game, but a bye isn’t out of the question moving forward. According to ESPN Research, Tennessee joins Texas and Alabama as the only SEC teams with at least a 15% chance of earning a first-round bye.