OGT: utah at MICHIGAN 8/30, 3:30, ABC
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MICHIGAN
Last year: 9-4
Big Ten: 6-2
Bowl: Capital One Bowl; beat Florida, 41-35.
Coach: Rich Rodriguez (first year at Michigan; 105-62-2 overall, 15 years)
The good stuff: The Wolverines feature a veteran defense, particularly on the line where returning starters Terrance Taylor, Will Johnson, Brandon Graham and Tim Jamison will be hard to handle. Punter Zoltan Mesko and kicker K.C. Lopata are top-notch specialists.
To be determined: Whether an offensive line and backfield decimated by graduation can be successfully filled by inexperienced players.
Camp update: A bunch of freshmen will play based on what they've shown in training camp. Rodriguez said he expects as many as 10 first-year players to see game action early in the season. Some may even start.
Newcomers to watch: A pair of running backs, Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw. They're fast, shifty and versatile enough to be plugged into a variety of spots in coach Rich Rodriguez's spread offense.
Pivotal players: Quarterbacks Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan, and redshirt junior left tackle Mark Ortmann. Ortmann - who has started twice in his career - will be protecting the blind side of Michigan quarterback tandem.
Make or break game: The season opener against Utah - which went 9-4 last year and returns 16 starters - should be telling. A victory will be meaningful, while a loss could forecast a rocky first year for Rodriguez and the Wolverines.
In the end: No matter how outstanding the team's defense might be, an offensive line consisting of four new starters and a shaky situation at quarterback can't inspire confidence. Michigan will win enough to extend its consecutive bowl streak to 34, but won't be playing on New Year's Day.
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Utah Utes football: Utes begin preparation for playing at Big House
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the Utes "got a lot of good work" in Thursday at the practice fields.
The first full day of game preparation for the Aug. 30 season-opener at Michigan went well. The Utes incorporated a lot of live work while facing the scout team in various situations.
Near the end of practice, they did so with crowd noise blaring over speakers near the field — an attempt to replicate what's expected at Michigan Stadium.
"It gives you a taste of it. You can't replicate it exactly, obviously, but it does give you a game-day atmosphere to some extent," Whittingham said. "You do the best you can do. I wish we could get 111,000 people to surround practice, but it isn't going to happen. So that's the next best thing."
Utah's fall practices, it should be noted, are closed to the public and open only to the media.
LET THE NEW ERA BEGIN :BARWIS:
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