Michigan doesn't plan to overlook Eastern
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan made a mistake when it overlooked Appalachian State and paid for it with a loss that will linger for at least the rest of this season.
The Wolverines don't plan to do that again Saturday when they host Eastern Michigan.
"The younger guys realize with as hard as we worked in the offseason that anything can happen," quarterback Chad Henne said. "And, any team could beat us on any given day if we don't come out and perform like we're supposed to.
"It's tough because we're the seniors and we never want an inferior team to come in and beat us."
Henne said it was "tough to swallow" losing in the opener to the second-tier Mountaineers and allowing the hangover to lead to a loss to Oregon.
"Hopefully, we learned our lesson," said Henne, who played last week after being sidelined with a knee injury earlier in the season.
Michigan (3-2) has bounced back from its first two setbacks with three straight wins.
The Eagles (2-3) opened the season with lopsided losses to Pittsburgh and Ball State, then responded with wins at Northern Illinois and against Howard. They lost 30-7 at Vanderbilt last week, but they're hoping their spread offense gives Michigan problems as it has in the past.
"In watching the Appalachian State and Oregon games, teams that have three and four wide receivers and sometimes five have been able to spread the field," Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk said. "If you have a playmaker at quarterback or at running back, there's just more room or more lanes to run.
"Where it gets challenging when you're running the spread offense is when you get down into the red zone to be able utilize that offense. So that's the whole key."
The Wolverines hope to keep Eastern Michigan off the field with running back Mike Hart, who likely will become the school's all-time leading rusher.
Mike Hart is just 32 yards away from Anthony Thomas' career record of 4,472 yards rushing.
The way Mike Hart is running, he might break the mark on Michigan's first drive. He is averaging 152.5 yards rushing a game, ranking second in the nation, and has scored seven touchdowns.
Michigan is 22-0 against Mid-American Conference teams, including all seven matchups with Eastern Michigan by a combined score of 248-20 -- including six shutouts.
The Wolverines are favored to beat Eastern by more than four TDs, but insist they will be intensely focused.
"When you're supposed to be better than the other team and you come out relaxed, you're not going to make the plays that you normally do," Henne said.
While Michigan wants to prove it can dominate a team it is expected to, the Eagles are looking forward to finding out more about themselves after playing about 10 miles from campus.
"Playing in front of a big crowd on television against topflight players, I think it's kind of a gauge as far as where you are as an athlete," Genyk said.
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