Is Michigan in Trouble After a Weak Showing Against Fresno State

The Sherron’s Moore era got off to a bit of a bumpy start yesterday, as the highly rated Michigan Wolverines narrowly edged out Fresno State. Michigan has been through a lot of change this past offseason with Jim Harbaugh, JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, and others departing from the program for the NFL. With Sherron Moore taking control of the Wolverines, many believed that Michigan would have a drop off from last year's National Championship team. So is there a reason for concern for the Wolverines with a series of tough opponents in the near future, including #4 Texas next week?

First, let’s start with what went well for Michigan against Fresno State. This defense still looks as good as it did when they won the National Championship last year. This group provided a great pass rush all night. That pass rush combined with the secondary talent that includes one of the best college football players, Will Johnson, means there is little concern for this team’s defense moving forward. Another bright spot was the kicker Dominic Zvada who drilled several 50+ yard field goals to provide most of the offensive scoring last night for the Wolverines. Colston Loveland, the standout tight end, also showed up, pulling in 8 receptions, 87 yards, and a touchdown in the victory. The combination of a reliable kicker, a standout tight end, and a stout defense will certainly win Michigan a lot of games this season. However, that alone won’t be enough to bring them back to the National Championship game.

The real concern for Michigan is this offense. With Michigan starting a completely new offensive line, they didn’t look as dominant as they should have last night. Their star running back, Donovan Edwards, got absolutely bottled up in the backfield with him only getting 2.5 yards a carry. Unfortunately, this passing game wasn’t much better. New starter, Davis Warren, threw for 118 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT with a mediocre 60% completion percentage. Of Warren’s completed passes, over half of them went to Colston Loveland. Loveland is a great safety blanket in the middle of the field, but this type of overreliance on one player won’t work sustainably as teams will quickly shift their attention to stopping him.

Next week will be a true test for both the Longhorns and the Wolverines as both teams look to make a deep playoff run this year. If Michigan can’t get Donovan Edwards and the ground game going, then Warren will likely struggle as a result. Texas will come into the Big House with a mission to put up a lot of points and although the Michigan defense should hold up well, they can’t hold them scoreless. This offense needs to improve, and fast, if they have big hopes of making it back to the biggest stage in college sports.