The prevailing theme after Michigan’s 24-17 loss to Notre Dame was that this Wolverine team is a 2017 redux. It was an understandable thought. Many problems that plagued U-M last season made a prominent showing in that Week 1 loss. The Wolverines’ ground game could not shift into second gear against a fierce defensive front, their pass protection failed to give their quarterback adequate time to comfortably locate receivers downfield, their defense allowed explosive plays and they routinely made untimely mistakes.
Thus, the sentiment was that Michigan would again be a fringe top-25 team headed for a mediocre eight wins, leaving many to wonder if U-M would rejoin the sport’s elite soon.
However, Michigan’s rout of WMU showed such hasty conclusions shouldn’t be made.
