Michigan’s injury report for Rutgers is shorter than the one the Wolverines carried into the Indiana game, but it still comes with plenty to watch.
The good news starts with Jake Guarnera, who is listed as probable after being questionable the past two weeks. He has played in both games, and that designation at least points to his health trending in the right direction. As always, there’s no NFL-style practice report here, so there’s no way to know whether he’s dealing with any real limitations behind the scenes.
Troy Bowles also shows up on the report this week after not appearing on it last week. He’s listed as probable, so there doesn’t seem to be much alarm there, even if players can still slide from probable to questionable.
The one Michigan starter already ruled out is Andrew Sprague, who remains unavailable at offensive tackle. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether he returns at all this season.
A cluster of key names is sitting in the questionable category: Dom Nichols, John Henry Daley, Rod Moore, Jordan Young, Enow Etta and Blake Frazier. Nichols was out against Indiana, while Frazier missed that game as well.
If either one is back this week, that would be a notable boost. Without Frazier and Sprague last week, Michigan had to start freshman Marky Walbridge.
He held up, but the drop-off was obvious.
Andrew Babalola is not on the injury report again. He has been healthy for the past two weeks, though that still doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready to jump back into action after nearly two years away from football.
The bigger development on the Rutgers side is that the Scarlet Knights will be without starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan. That likely pushes AJ Surface into the role, and his numbers tell the story: six touchdown passes, five interceptions, 539 passing yards and a 56 percent completion rate.
Surface’s interception rate is seven percent, which sets the table for Michigan’s secondary. The Wolverines were the first team to pick off Josh Hoover last week, and another interception-heavy night would not be a surprise here.
In Other News...
Michigans Next AD Could Decide More Than Wolverines Fans Realize
Warde Manuels decision to step down at the end of December has put Michigan into the kind of search that tends to ripple well beyond the athletic department. The Wolverines are looking for a new athletic director at a time when the football program is already under pressure, and that means the hire will not just be about administration or fundraising. It could shape how the school approaches one of its biggest public-facing decisions in the months ahead.
Among the names circulating are Candice Story Lee of Vanderbilt, Katie Fraumann, who has ties to Michigan, and David Benedict of UConn. Each brings a different background, but the common thread is the same: this is a hire that may define the direction of the department as much as any move on the field. For Michigan fans, the real intrigue is not only who gets the job, but how quickly that person decides the Wolverines need a different path in football. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Still Has One Problem It Must Solve Before Rutgers
Michigan still has one major decision hanging over it before Rutgers, and it is the sort that can shape everything else on the field. Kyle Whittingham has not settled on a starting quarterback, with freshman Tommy Carr and sophomore Bryce Underwood both in the mix after uneven recent showings. Carr flashed some promise even while dealing with turnovers and sacks, while Underwood has struggled in his last two starts but still carries a leadership presence inside the program.
The next few days of practice will go a long way toward sorting it out, with the staff planning to use those reps to narrow the competition and make the call closer to game time. For Michigan, it is more than just a roster question. The Wolverines are trying to find the steadier option before a conference game that can help set the tone for the stretch ahead, and the answer at quarterback remains the biggest unresolved piece. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Run Game Faces Its Biggest Test Yet At Rutgers
Michigan is heading into a game at Rutgers needing its ground attack to do a lot of the heavy lifting. The Wolverines have leaned on the run game as the most reliable part of an offense that has struggled in several areas this season, and the matchup looks favorable on paper, with Rutgers sitting near the bottom of the Big Ten in run defense. Even with Michigan favored by 14.5 points, this has the feel of a game where the Wolverines need their identity to show up early rather than rely on another tight finish.
The broader concern is that Michigan has already spent much of the season playing closer games than expected and surviving on the margins more often than it would like. Against Rutgers, the path is fairly clear: establish the run, control the pace and avoid giving an underdog enough chances to hang around. If the Wolverines cannot do that against the conferences weakest run defense, it would say plenty about where this offense really stands heading into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]