Michigan vs Fresno State: In-Depth Preview, Key Matchups, Bold Predictions, and What to Expect!!

this video is brought to you by bet us Sportsbook and casino what's going on everyone welcome back to another video I'm Michigan Sports Talk here and in this one we got the week one season opener Michigan vers Fresno State preview video going to be going over everything you guys need to know about this matchup key players key statistics and ultimately what to expect from both teams in this matchup so we're going to go ahead and get right into it here it is the season opener for both these teams it'll be kickoff at 7:30 p.m. eastern time in the big house coverage is on NBC in peacock now right now according to the ESPN matchup predictor Michigan has an 89% chance to win this Fresno State an 11% chance now currently the spread is Michigan by 20 A2 over under his set at 45 A2 and that is on the BET Us website which I do want to give a shout out to bet us the sponsor of this video in this channel throughout the football season guys they have all the odds you need this football season and if you're going to bet on Michigan this season you might as well use bet us because currently bet us is offering a 125% deposit match on your first three deposits up to $2,000 how can you pass that up they also offer 247 customer service in the fastest payouts in the industry so what are you waiting for click the link below to get started thank you I appreciate it but to start out here I did want to talk about returning production for both these teams because I think this is very interesting for no State they are 52nd in total returning production with 64% production returning meanwhile Michigan is 128th in total returning production with 36% production returning out of 134 teams so we kind of already knew that you know Michigan they losing a ton of starters from last season but Fresno State they rank 14th in offensive returning production with 80% returning and 106th in defense with 48% returning meanwhile Michigan ranks 132nd in off defensive returning production with only 24% and 109th in defense with 47% so right off the rip here um Fresno States offense uh if they want a chance in pulling the upset off their offense could be the reason why and I know you know Michigan's defense they are supposed to be absolutely Stellar this season one of the best defenses in college football and that's why I think it's going to be a nice early challenge for this Michigan defense because Fresno State has a lot of players returning on the offensive side including their quarterback Mikey Keane he was an all Mountain West honorable mention last season he was a UCF transfer before transferring to Fresno State last season and last season he completed 67% of his passes for 2,976 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions now he did get the ball out in 2.48 seconds on average last season now he did play through an injury uh last season that did end up hurting Fresno State I mean when you you look at their schedule from last season was a really good team they were 5-0 to start the season Mikey Keen started to have injury problems they lost but then they won three more in a row so they started out 8- one but then lost three straight to close out the season ending 8-4 and 4-4 in conference play they did win their bowl game against New Mexico State 37 to1 though and again they're also returning 80% offensive production which ranks 14th best in FBS so this is aett solid team that Michigan is going to open the season up against and last season Fresno State did rely heavily on the pass game they averaged 39.8 passes per game last season ninth highest while the Run game did struggle for them just 105.5 rushing yards per contest so Fresno State wants success uh at least offensive success it might have to come through the air with their experienced quarterback in Mikey Keane and they also have their wide receivers ma Delina uh they also have chadon James and Jaylen Moss now chadon James is a transfer Idaho State transfer and he led the FCS with 102 total receptions ranking fourth in the division with 1,45 receiving yards and had eight touchdowns and Jaylen Moss also had 706 receiving yards last season with six touchdowns for Fresno State as a freshman then at tight end they have Jake boost and also Cameron beum another thing Fresno State has going for them is is some pretty good experience on the offensive line although last season you know Fresno State weren't able to really run the ball too much but Fresno State also has their senior running back out of Malik sherid he carry the ball 172 times for 966 yards in nine touchdowns in 12 outings last season so those are some key players on the offensive side look for Fresno State to if they have any success potentially that success being through the air but you look at Michigan's defense they lost a lot of starters from last season obviously but they got dudes there were some banged up players ran Benny wink marale said potentially won't be 100% but he should be able to play as far as Mason Graham he was banged up during fall camp but he did say Tuesday night after practice that I feel good I was full speed today so he should be good to go against Fresno State and Michigan's defensive line I tell you what I almost feel bad for Fresno State's offensive line you got Mason Graham Kenneth Grant in the the middle and then on the outside Josiah Stewart and Derek Moore linebackers Ernest hosman jawn bham and then as far as cornerbacks uh will Johnson and Jer Hill should be your two cornerbacks and at Nickelback should be Zeke Barry and at safety it'll probably be mcari Paige and Quinton Johnson so like I said earlier in the video should be a good challenge for Michigan's defense given the fact that Fresno State has 80% returning production on the offensive side but I still think they're going to dominate in this game and it would be a huge toone Setter for them if they have good success leading up to the Texas game really what I'm looking for in Michigan's defense is seeing who is going to step up um you know deep down in the depth chart we know the starters are good but who's going to step up and provide depth this season for Michigan that is the main question mark we know they got talent we went went over guys on the depth chart all off season but now it's time to see them in action then you look at Michigan's offense again uh returning just 24% returning production on the offensive side uh one of the worst percentages in all of FBS 132nd out of 134 teams they had to replace their whole offensive line which that offensive line is still going to be good and they have a chance to prove it you know this Saturday against Fresno State but obviously the main question mark is at quarterback we expect Alex ory to be the starter to start out Davis Warren has not gone away though and we could potentially see them both playing in this game and you know I I've said it before obviously Michigan's running back room you know they are loaded they got Donovan Edwards Kell mullings that onew punch is going to be nasty as far as running back three they got Jordan Marshall The Freshman coming in who could take that over but they also have Benjamin Hall Cole Cabana terier Dunlop and at wide receiver they got Talon they got samaj Morgan Tyler Morris Frederick Moore and also transfers of Walker CJ Charleston I also think pton oi has a chance to add some depth um as well as sophomore Kendrick Bell but at the end of the day the offense all comes down to the quarterback can Michigan have a quarterback that leads him down the field can go and score points and potentially in the close games this season you know potentially early in the season against Texas if they're down a possession can the offense respond and keep them in this game so the offense this season is going to revolve around the quarterback play and this Saturday we get a a first look at the quarterback play and if I was Fresno State you know obviously Michigan their identity is running the ball if Michigan is able to run the ball a lot you you could potentially see very few possessions in this game because I honestly don't know if Michigan will really even show that much on offense due to the fact they play Texas in week two so to start out the game I would not be surprised if you see Fresno State stacking the Box you know just prepping to stop the run early in force who we assume will be quarterback Alex orgy to throw the ball and uh Force Michigan do have Success Through the air rather than on the ground Fresno State they do have an experienced group of linebackers and a deep defensive line last season they had 2.3 sacks per game which ranked 49th in the country so pass rush was a strength of theirs last season and the defensive line they got depth they can go about 10 Deep at defensive tackle they have Gabriel L foot um and kavika bumgartner hopefully I said that name right and all these names for that matter but at a defensive end they got Cory foran and dvo bridges those will be your starters Cory Foreman was actually a USC transfer former five-star in the 2021 class so they definitely Got Talent at the defensive line dvo Bridges is a sixthe senior uh bumgartner total 13 tackles one quarterback Curry as a backup last season and Lightfoot has started 15 career games including 12 last season and had 20 tackles one and a half for loss three quarterback curries in 2023 then at linebacker they have maachi Langley to a CI num namora and also Phoenix Jackson and it also looks like they have a pretty experienced defensive back group as well including senior quarterback uh cam Lockridge who did get injured last season but he had five interceptions in the 2022 season so with all that taken into consideration uh this Michigan offensive line is going to be challenged early in the season not only obviously against Texas which they have lost some people in the defensive line from last season but also by this Fresno State team they have a deep defensive line so the keys to the game for me is first quarterback play for Michigan whoever the quarterback is you cannot turn the ball over early in this game and give Fresno stay any momentum and early Advantage because this is a pretty good team obviously Michigan has the better talent but they also can't go into this one it just you know sleep walking and I'm sure you know shiron Moore in his first uh game as full-time head coach he'll get the players ready to go it's the first game of the season so I'm sure they'll be ready to go as far as Fresno State though um you know getting pressure on the quarterback forcing Michigan's quarterback to throw the ball make them have Success Through the air rather than on the ground and if they have to like I said they could potentially be stacking that box early on in the game forcing you know whoever the quarterback is Alex orgy Davis Warren to throw the ball again I expect it to be Alex orgy and for michan defense it's going to be a nice challenge for them like I said but the secondary you know has to be ready also Michigan's defensive line cannot let Mikey key and have time to throw the ball getting pressure on him will be key and obviously the defensive line just living up to the expectations stopping the Run it'll only help the Michigan secondary and help wink marale with defending the pass if Michigan's front can stop the run with you know just four people in the front so let me know what you guys think about this one and what you guys think about this Fresno State team I do have Michigan winning 34 to7 though and I think Fresno State you know they'll keep it close early but I think Michigan ultimately takes over let me know your guys' score predictions to this one in the comments section how you see this game going can't wait for Saturday to get here but uh with that that's going to wrap up today's video again shout out to bet us make sure you go ahead check them out down below in the description I would appreciate it and hey make a bet on this game I think Michigan will cover this one but with that hope you guys all have a great rest of your day if you did go ahead to enjoy make sure you drop a like comment down below and subscribe for more if you're new around here I greatly appreciate it other than that we'll see you guys in the next video go Blue