It doesn’t take a defensive coordinator to figure out that Michigan’s offense is all about being physical and establishing the run.
But it does take Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to make clear to his players that this is the identity of the Wolverines and what the Bulldogs must slow in the Orange Bowl national semifinal on Friday in Miami Lakes. Both teams are 12-1, Georgia has the nation’s third-ranked run defense, and Michigan is ranked 10th in rushing.
Hassan Haskins leads the Wolverines with 1,288 yards and a program single-season record 20 rushing touchdowns. Blake Corum, who missed three games late because of a high ankle sprain, has 939 yards and 11 touchdowns, including a 67-yard score in the Big Ten Championship Game. Freshman Donovan Edwards has 158 yards and three touchdowns and also 17 catches for 216 yards.
“Hassan and really their whole backfield, those guys are extremely physical,” Lanning said Monday from Florida in a videoconference with reporters. “They run tough. I know for us personally, we've shown a lot of film of these guys breaking tackles and the way they run. They run hard.
“Very rarely are they running to avoid contact. They're running to create contact. I think that shows up in the way that they play week in and week out, but they have a real disciplined approach. They're going to make sure they emphasize running the ball, and that's shown up a lot with Hassan and all their running backs.”
The statistic that perhaps goes unnoticed is the three Michigan backs have combined for a mere 15 lost yards.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has used the word “gritty” to describe his team throughout the season, and that works when looking for a description of the running backs. Haskins has hurdled his way to some runs, and dragged defensive players on a memorable one. Corum has breakaway speed and even on a not-yet-healed ankle had a significant 55-yard gain in Michigan’s win over Ohio State. At Maryland, Edwards made his debut as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.
Bottom line: Michigan’s offensive line and backs want to run over defenses. That will be tough to do against Georgia, which has one of the best units in the country, ranked first in scoring defense and No. 2 in total, allowing an average 254.4. The Bulldogs don’t let a lot of people run on them and have allowed an average 81.7 yards. Florida gained the most rushing yards against Georgia, 161, and that was in a 34-7 loss.
“It’s going to take all four quarters, it's going to take 60 minutes,” Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said Monday. “Just talking about a heavyweight matchup, it's about wearing down the opponent, not necessarily going out and striking a knockout because both teams are going to respond early on in the game. For us, it's about sustaining success, taking positive plays, obviously creating explosive plays, but even if we don't take or create explosive plays, just taking positive plays is going to be the key.
“It's going to be a train wreck inside. I mean, it's two smashmouth teams kind of going against each other and endurance is going to play a big piece in that, who's able to win the fourth quarter. Who's able to win the line of scrimmage late in the game is going to be the key to who wins the game.”
Lanning, who has been named Oregon’s next head coach but is remaining with the Bulldogs during the postseason, said his defensive players relish the opportunity to play a physical team like Michigan. The Bulldogs are coming off their worst defensive performance of the season, a 41-24 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game during which the Tide had 536 yards of offense, including 421 passing.
“You’ve gotta give coach Harbaugh and coach Gattis credit with the way they have running backs that can run the ball, they use tight ends — a lot of people don’t use tight ends today, in some ways similar to what our offense does,” Lanning said. “They run smashmouth football plays. They demand some physicality up front, which I know we’re excited to see, and then they have the ability to attack you downfield. It’s gonna be a physical football game, which I know we certainly appreciate.”
Georgia’s highly lauded tackle Jordan Davis said he can’t compare Michigan’s offense to any the Bulldogs have faced this season but said he is eager for the physical challenge. Linebacker Quay Walker said they are confident going into this matchup.
“At the end of the day, this is pretty much why you play football,” Walker said. “That's pretty much the name of the game, just run to hit, make sure we wrap up, drive our feet, as well. Just swarm the ball and do what we do and that will take the place of everything, but they're really good backs.”
Corum said Monday his ankle is now completely healed. He also feels confident going into the national semifinal, because even against Ohio State's tough run defense, the Wolverines gained 297 yards rushing and Haskins scored five touchdowns on the ground.
“Georgia is a pretty stout defense,” Corum said. “They have a good front seven. We've just got to continue doing what we do. There's no need to change anything. We've had a wonderful year. Offensive line has done great, our tight ends have done great, our receivers, everyone has done great. Just continuing to prepare and watching film on them and just keep going.”
Just like in a heavyweight fight.
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIS
— Kickoff: 7:30, p.m., Friday, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
— Records: UM 12-1; Georgia 12-1
— Line: Georgia by 8
