Michigan football snuck into a New Year’s Six bowl, earning a date with South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. Should the Wolverines be worried about an upset?
More: Complete 2017-2018 bowl schedule
To the surprise of many prominent college football analysts and writers, the Outback bowl took Michigan over Michigan State. That sent the Spartans to the Alamo Bowl and set up a matchup in the Outback Bowl between the Wolverines and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Both teams enter the game with identical 8-4 records, but most oddsmakers list Michigan as a 7.5 point favorite. The Wolverines are certainly the bigger brand, but that won’t matter when these two teams take the football field on January 1. Not only will Michigan struggle, they are officially on upset alert against South Carolina. Here are five reasons Michigan fans should be worried about an upset.
1. Michigan won’t play penalty-free football
Michigan ranks 95th nationally with 6.7 penalties accepted per game. Those infractions cost them an average of 58.6 yards per game. Toughness and physicality have been calling cards of the Wolverines, especially on defense. Discipline, however, has been noticeably lacking.
That could be exacerbated by the efficiency of South Carolina. The Gamecocks ranked fourth in the nation, giving up 35.5 yards of penalties per game. The 20 yard difference might not seem like a lot, but the Gamecocks have a track record of playing clean football while Michigan does not. In close games one personal foul, false start or pass interference penalty can be huge.