If you’ve had the distinct “honor” of watching the reigning National Champions play, you’d quickly realize that this is not the same team as last year. In fact, it’s possible that this 2024 team wouldn’t even score on the ’23 team.
There’s a lot of reasons for concern in Ann Arbor, but three stand out all above the rest.
Table of Contents
1. Michigan Isn’t Physical Anymore
The defining strengths of what set Michigan back on track in 2021 was a physical run game and a dominant offensive line. In 2024, Michigan has neither of those.
The back-to-back Joe Moore Award winners look like a shell of their former selves. What the O-Line specialized in in previous years was gap blocking. Although the most fundamental, superior gap blocking is what set Michigan apart from the rest of the country. Every play you watched, whether it was a run up the gut, or HB misdirection, or sometimes even on a flea flicker, there was always a glaring gap open on every play.
It would be easy to look at this and say, “Well there’s your problem, they’ve got one returning starter on offense.” But the O-Line lost guys in 2021, they lost guys in 2022, and they lost guys before 2023. The main factor here is that Sherrone Moore is no longer coaching what used to be the best position group in the country. The Wolverines looked more physical when Moore was coaching. Halftime adjustments were made and they worked, something we have yet to see this season.
Michigan has become exactly what they accused Ohio State of being for years.
Soft.
2. Davis Warren is the Worst QB since John O’Korn
I’m typically the last person to admit when I’m wrong. But boy, was I wrong about Davis Warren. I hyped this kid up to no end, said he had an arm as good as McCarty, and was the man to lead this team in 2024.
6 interceptions later, I was very, very wrong.
If you mention the name O’Korn to any Michigan fan born Pre-2010, they’re guaranteed to cringe and give you a look of disgust. Sadly, I believe this is the same way Davis Warren will be remembered. The kid has a great story. He beat cancer, came to Ann Arbor as a walk on, earned a scholarship, and the rest is history. The only problem is, along the way, he seemed to forget that he also needed to learn how to throw a football to the right team.
Warren already has nearly twice the turnovers as JJ McCarthy, a Top-10 Draft pick in 2024. Earlier this week, Head Coach Sherrone Moore announced that Alex Orji would be starting against USC. The problem? Orji seems to have more trouble throwing the ball than Warren.
3. The Players Just Don’t Seem to Care
Will Johnson is getting beat by inferior receivers nearly every snap. There are dropped balls by nearly every receiver on the team. Penalties are beginning to mount as Michigan ranks near the bottom of the country in penalty yards a game.
The fact of the matter is, the players don’t seem to have the same drive that they once had. There’s no pride to wear the winged helmet, or winning with class.
In 2021, QB JJ McCarthy, RB Donovan Edwards, and WR Andrel Anthony practiced at 3 in the morning following the blowout loss to Georgia. Why? Because they cared. Who stayed after following the loss to Texas? Where was the will to get better and to win?
The culture is dying at Michigan, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to save it.