ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit will be on the call for the Orange Bowl and he calls Michigan's offense "complete" with plenty of wrinkles that could give Georgia's defense, one of the best in the country, a hard time in the Orange Bowl.
Herbstreit says Michigan has the identity of an "old school" football team, tough, gritty, running the ball. While that identity rings true to Josh Gattis' offense, the trouble that Michigan poses is that they can also do much more than just that. Herbstreit said Kirby Smart and Georgia will have to prepare strategically and dynamically for the Wolverines.
"It's a reverse, it's misdirection, it's a half-back pass for a touchdown," said Herbstreit. "It's bringing in JJ McCarthy as a little wrinkle. They do enough to not allow you to just ' hey it's Michigan, here comes 25 and 2, let's put nine guys in the box.' You can't do that against Michigan."
On the other side of the ball, Michigan's defense is unphased by the hype of Georgia's defense. The Bulldogs have been singled out during the 2021 season as one of the nation's best defenses, but David Ojabo and DJ Turner made it clear to the media on Tuesday, that the Wolverines are focusing on themselves and Georgia's offense.
"Being on the defensive side, I don't watch too much film on the defense. We know what we have to do, and we believe in us, so that's the feeling we have going into the game," said DJ Turner.
"We're watching their offense," added David Ojabo. "Their defense doesn't have anything to do with us. We're out there just trying to execute and beat their offense."
A big part of Michigan's ability to make it to the college football playoff semifinal is their defense and a big part of their defense is the tandem between Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald says Ojabo is talented on his own, but working alongside a Heisman nominee has helped his development skyrocket.
"Aidan has had the same approach since really probably since he's been here, definitely the year that I've seen him, and then to see David's growth over the year since I've known him has been really impressive, and it's a tribute to him," said MacDonald. "I think what happened was he saw how Aidan approached everything and the success that he was having and he realized what it took to be great. He's going to be really good. He's a talented guy. But his approach really working with Aidan on a daily basis and the rest of our coaches, they've really taken on to the coaches, and then in terms of what it takes, weight room, practice habits, film preparation, all those things, he really upped his game, and like you said the chemistry is real out there, and I'm very proud of where David is at."
