The message around Schembechler Hall this week has been simple:
"We can't let Alabama beat us twice."
After last weekend's embarrassing loss to the Crimson Tide in the national spotlight, the Wolverines have devoted this week to learning from their many mistakes and putting the lessons to use Saturday against the Air Force Academy.
The Falcons are coming off a 49-21 victory over Idaho State, an FCS school. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since Michigan beat Air Force, 24-7, in 1964.
Brady Hoke faced the Falcons twice during his days at San Diego State, splitting the games against current Air Force coach Troy Calhoun.
MICHIGAN OFFENSE VS. AIR FORCE DEFENSE
Denard Robinson will have Fitzgerald Toussaint back and won't be facing one of the best defenses in college football, so Robinson needs to have a much better performance than his struggles against the Crimson Tide. Air Force doesn't have the athletes to shut down Roy Roundtree and Devin Gardner, nor does it have the speed to match Robinson's running ability.
The Falcons gave up 431 yards of offense against Idaho State, including 355 yards passing by Bengals quarterback Kevin Yost, so the Wolverines should be able to move the ball almost at will.
If Michigan struggles with the ball, it will be the sign of much bigger problems than anyone has expected.
AIR FORCE OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN DEFENSE
This is the tricky part of the game. Although Air Force doesn't have Alabama's future NFL players on the field, the Falcons do have one of the most bewildering offenses in the college football.
Instead of just the triple-option running attack out of the wishbone, Calhoun has added a large portion of the zone-blocking scheme that he learned as an assistant under Mike Shanahan in Denver.
Tailback Cody Getz rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns on just 17 carries against Idaho State, and quarterback Connor Dietz had 216 yards of total offense in the easy victory.
Air Force doesn't rely on size, but like most service-academy teams, it has a precision-blocking attack that forces the opposition to stay on assignment.
That was something Michigan struggled with against Alabama, and the Wolverines will need to step up that part of their game. Even with starting cornerback Blake Countess missing with a season-ending knee injury, Michigan will have a huge advantage if it forces Dietz to throw the ball.
Air Force threw the ball only 11 times against Idaho State and will be facing a bigger, faster secondary against Michigan.
PREDICTION
It will probably take the Michigan defense a while to adjust to Air Force's complicated running scheme, so don't be surprised to see the Falcons get on the board a time or two in the first half. In the end, though, Greg Mattison will be able to make adjustments.
Air Force isn't going to be able to match up to Michigan's speed and size on either side of the ball. In the second half, the Wolverines will take out a week of frustration on the overmatched Falcons.
Final score: Michigan 48, Air Force 17.
