Staff predictions: Michigan football vs. UNLV

For the veterans on our Michigan message boards — any around the country, really — the first thing that comes to mind when you hear UNLV is Jerry Tarkanian and the Runnin’ Rebels of the early 1990s. Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony … these guys were fun to watch, and they got up and down the floor with the best of them. 

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As for the football program … hold on … still thinking … well, how about that 1991-92 basketball season? 

Not to be too harsh, but you’re talking about a program that’s had one winning season since 2000, two since 1994 (that’s nearly three decades, folks). UNLV has only been over .500 in the Mountain West conference twice since 1998. That explains why they’re on their seventh coach in the same time period. And that’s … probably not good for stability. 

Yet these football Rebels come to Ann Arbor with high hopes, a new coaching staff, and some athletes capable of doing some damage. If you listened to some of the Michigan coaches Saturday, you’d think head coach Barry Odom was bringing the football version of Tark’s best teams to town. 

“UNLV is going to be a tough challenge,” second half Michigan interim coach Mike Hart said Monday. “They do a lot of different things. They’re multiple on defense … we’ll see odd, we’ll see open, we’ll see four-down. We do have to get prepared and obviously Coach Odom is an experienced head coach, he’s been around for a while at different schools and a great defensive coordinator before that. Really just looking forward to the challenge. They’re going to be prepared and come in here ready.”

Sticking with the Vegas theme … if we had to bet, we’d go all in on this one being all but over by halftime. It’s getting tougher to cover the spread with the new running clock on first down rules — while quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell believes that favors a team like Michigan that possesses the ball, it only takes a couple mistakes to be in a closer game that’s not going to last as long. By 2030, the broadcasts will probably be one long advertisement with commercial breaks for a few plays here and there (now — get off John Borton’s lawn!). 

Congratulations to last week’s winner, Anthony Broome, who comes out swinging. There’s clearly a new staff picks sheriff in town. This week’s winner receives a seat on the Detroit Lions bandwagon (prediction — Kansas City mops the floor with them tonight, opening a few more seats) and the last towel Tarkanian chewed up as UNLV head basketball coach. This week’s picks: 

CHRIS BALAS: If you didn’t realize it heading into last week, it seems pretty clear now — the new clock rules are going to make some of these crazy high spreads hard to cover. It should also be clear that final score isn’t always indicative of the level of domination. Michigan scores on all 6 of its possessions (including two field goals) to win going away.  MICHIGAN 41, UNLV 10

JOHN BORTON: The eye chart of overmatched opponents continues unabated. From ECU to UNLV, nobody can read this as anything but another rout.  MICHIGAN 52, UNLV 6

CLAYTON SAYFIE: UNLV runs the ‘go-go offense,’ but Michigan will get stop after stop Saturday. Bryant, an FCS team, rushed for 220 yards and threw for 230 on the Rebels last week, and Michigan will have its way with their 3-2-6 defense — stacked box or not. As long as the Wolverines keep quarterback Doug Brumfield from scrambling and can get their own pass game going, they should cover the spread and it will be a long day for UNLV, which will go runnin’ home with a loss and a $1.5 million pay day. MICHIGAN 52, UNLV 10

ANTHONY BROOME: All week, we’ve heard people yell to the mountaintops about the run game, hammered the term “stacked boxes” into the ground, and lamented the lack of sack production in the opener. I have zero concerns about either of those aspects of the 2023 Michigan football team. Water finds its level this week in a big way, and the pass game stays hot, too. Sherrone Moore is back, and U-M gets a step closer to looking like its most dangerous self. MICHIGAN 45, UNLV 6

DOUG SKENE: The Rebels are 117^th in passing offense after their opener but 13^th in rushing with an impressive 268 yards on the ground. Bad news for UNLV is that they’re not playing the Bryant Bulldogs this week. Michigan should settle in to a cleaner ground attack as stacking the box to stop the run won’t work against J.J. McCarthy and his downfield weapons. I look for Michigan to take care of business early so I can get a few extra holes of golf in Saturday.  MICHIGAN 38, UNLV 10