The Michigan football team improved to 5-0 over the weekend with a big 45-7 win against Nebraska football. The Wolverines have looked good up to this point so far this season, but they looked like perhaps the best team in all of college football on Saturday. JJ McCarthy had a near flawless performance, Roman Wilson had another monster game, Blake Corum was dominant in the rushing game and the defense was smothering the entire game. It was certainly the best performance of the year so far for this Michigan football team, and the performance earned them some very high praise from Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt.
Joel Klatt hosts a college football show called The Joel Klatt Show and he gives his top 10 each week. There was a new number one this week as the Wolverines took over the top spot.
“Michigan is a boa constrictor,” Klatt said on the show. “This is a team that moves slowly and moves methodically. It’s not explosive. It’s not flashy, it’s death eventually, and inevitably, that’s what it is. It’s like being in a small cage with a boa constrictor. You will eventually die.”
That's quite the analogy from Klatt. Working with Fox, Klatt has seen Michigan up close a lot over the past few years due to the Big Ten's media rights deal with the network, and he believes that this year's team is better than the past two Big Ten title winning/College Football Playoff squads.
“They’re better this year than they have been over the last two” Klatt continued. “Their defense has yet to allow more than seven points and I get it who have they played, I 100% understand. They’ve allowed 13 points all year outside of garbage time in the fourth quarter. They gave up a touchdown to Rutgers on their first drive and then two field goals versus Bowling Green, that’s really it. Their first game against East Carolina, they scored the first 30 points, their second game against UNLV, they scored the first 35 points. Their third game against Bowling Green they scored the last 24 points. And in the fourth game against Rutgers, they scored the last 31 points. In the fifth game at Nebraska, they scored the first 45 points. Like — good luck with Michigan!”
Joel Klatt is sending a warning to the rest of college football. The Wolverines have a couple tough tests on the schedule as Penn State and Ohio State are both ranked inside the top 10, but Klatt doesn't see anyone stopping this Michigan football team.
“I’m just telling you again, not flashy,” Klatt said. “Who’s stopping that run game? Who’s stopping them? I don’t know, maybe Penn State, maybe Ohio State. I don’t know. Nebraska was the No. 2 rush defense in the country coming into this game this last week. They were allowing 46 yards per game and 1.8 yards per carry and Michigan ran it 51 times for 249 yards at 4.9 yards per carry. Good luck. Good luck with Michigan.”
This Michigan team is legit. The run game is good, the pass game is good, and the defense is physical and dominant. Like Klatt said, good luck with Michigan.