In Saturday's 31-12 blowout loss at the hands of then No. 3 Texas, Michigan passed the ball 10 more times than it ran the rock. Granted, the Wolverines were behind by multiple possessions for the majority of the game, but it still seemed out of the ordinary for Sherrone Moore, a coach who coined the term 'SMASH' and once ran the ball 32 consecutive times last season.
After earning 15 carries and posting an impressive 6.1 yards per carry in the Week 1 win over Fresno State, Kalel Mullings touched the ball just six times against Texas. Senior captain Donovan Edwards, meanwhile, also saw a decrease in carries, from 11 to eight.
Through the first two games of the 2024 season, Michigan's offense has scored just three touchdowns (all passing) and currently has accumulated the fewest yards per game of any Big Ten team.
On Monday, Moore explained what he wants his team's offensive identity to be.
"I want us to be a physical offense that’s detailed, and we can score points," Moore said. "And for us to do that, we’ve got to be better running the football. We have to be more consistent running the football. And when you get games like that versus really good teams, if you get behind and it becomes a throw game, that doesn’t put you in the best position to win. Never, has never been a formula for us for that to be successful. So we gotta do a better job of establishing that and play action and run action and stuff off of it, which we will and just ready for us to get the work done."
Michigan was physically emasculated by the Longhorns on Saturday. The offensive line struggled to move the line of scrimmage, and the defensive line, one that was touted as perhaps the best in the nation heading into the season, was quiet as well.
Physicality worked all throughout 2023 and was the identity of the team that won the national championship a season ago, but the identity has evidently since departed.
Moore discussed the troubles with the rushing attack through two games this season.
"It’s a combination of things. The biggest thing is guys just got to get over it, because there’s enough good ones in there that you see that it can be done. It’s just sustaining those all the time. And if we do that, we’ll be in a better position."
"I think just for us, from a rhythm standpoint, and who we are and what we’ve done and how we’re built, I think, you know, we’ve got some really good running backs, so you get to use those guys, and it’ll help us, to help the play action and help the run action. They’ll help set everything up. So for us, that’ll be an emphasis, as it always is. Obviously not trying to run the ball 32 times in a row. But if it comes to that, it comes to that, so, but for us, really, it’s just to keep us balanced, to make sure that we can open up lanes for the passing game."
Moore added that Michigan is still evaluating what it has along the offensive line, noting that it's the team's goal to make sure no player gets comfortable in his position.
"I mean, we’re always going to challenge the guys and make sure that nobody’s comfortable in their position. So that’s always been the standard here. There’s competition every week, so we’re going to continue to do that, have that throughout the week, and see who practices the best and the best players will play. And then for us, it’ll just be who’s going to strain, strain in every phase that’ll determine who end up playing."
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
