The Michigan football team is headed to the Big Ten Championship for the third straight season and they will take on Iowa football in that game for the second time in those three years. The two teams met in the 2021 title game, and the Wolverines won that one 42-3. Michigan had to take down #2 Ohio State last weekend to get back to the championship, and they got the job done. A big reason for the win was crucial interception from Will Johnson in the first quarter. That set up the first touchdown of the game. Johnson is a key player on defense, but he might not be able to play for the Wolverines this weekend.
“Hopefully, (Will Johnson) gets close to being able to (play), to give us some snaps,” Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said, according to an article from Blue By Ninety. “What a credit to the other guys. (Johnson) didn’t play from about the eight or nine-minute mark of the third quarter. For us to still to be able to maintain what we were able to do, make some plays at the end with Ja’Den McBurrows hugely stepping up and sliding in and playing nickel. Mikey (Sainristil) has the ability to go from inside to outside.”
The good news for Michigan is that they are huge favorites this weekend against the Hawkeyes. The spread currently favors the Wolverines by 21.5 points, and Iowa doesn’t have a very good offense. Anything can happen in college football, but most people are expecting Michigan to easily when this game with or without Johnson. They are obviously giving the Hawkeyes their attention, but the Wolverines don’t want Johnson’s injury to get worse as they have a potential College Football Playoff game looming. Minter has a plan in place to do the best thing for the defense.
