The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529264
DECEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan entered the 2024 football season ranked No. 9 in the polls, with most vot- ers citing the Wolverines' elite return- ing starters, strength on the defensive line and championship culture behind their reasoning. There were preseason All-Americans in defensive tackle Ma- son Graham, cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland, bud- ding stars in defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and edge rushers Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore, and many four-star recruits ready to make an impact. The areas that were lacking, though, were on display early in the year, and some of them have been slow to im- prove. It all came to a head in consecutive losses in early November to No. 1 Oregon (38-17) and No. 8 Indiana (20-15) that dropped Team 145 to 5-5 overall. Before the road clash with the Hoosiers, first- year head coach Sherrone Moore tried to explain what had gone wrong in a season that seemed to have a lot of promise. "Obviously, the record's not where we want it to be, but I love watching the fight," Moore said. "You go into the sec- ond half of that [Oregon] game, and a lot of teams would have laid down. A lot of teams would have just said, 'Ah, it's over.' Well, we told the team, we want to go get a three-and-out. Then we want to go down and score — and that's what they did. It takes a lot of pride to do that, and that's the standard that you want to live up to. "The record's not where we want it, but we want to keep fighting. That's the goal, and that's what we're going to keep doing." Asked what he would tell the disap- pointed fans who expected more, Moore didn't flinch. "I mean … 40 wins in three years," he said. "Yeah, we're just going to keep fighting. We can't worry about outside noise, praise or criticism for us in this building, … for these players. They're the most disappointed people in the world right now. "So, my job is to make sure that they're in a good head space, make sure that they're taken care of. We can continue to push forward in a positive way and continue to go try to win." OFFENSE HAS STRUGGLED SINCE WEEK 1 Heading into the season's second bye week in mid-November, the numbers did not paint a pretty picture for an offense that had failed to establish an identity through 10 games. Moore talked about his desire to "smash" before the season started — they even put it on a T-shirt for sale at the M-Den retailers — but the running game failed to do much of any- thing in the last three games. Against Michigan State, a 24-17 vic- tory, the Wolverines ran for 119 yards and averaged 3.8 per rush, with most of those coming from quarterback Alex Orji (64). The Wolverines managed only 105 yards on 3.8 per carry in the loss to Oregon and followed with 69 (2.0 per rush) in the setback at Indiana. Offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell has taken plenty of heat from the me- dia this month for the Wolverines' of- fensive woes, but Moore — the primary play-caller a year ago under Jim Har- baugh — said he had no plans to take over the reins. He also insisted it was no one man's fault. "It's got to be a collective effort on how we do this and how we formulate the of- fense," Moore said. "We've got to just be better as a whole group. It's not just him. It's got to be everybody. Everybody's got to be a team, and we've got to do every- thing together. We'll figure out what are the best ways for us to continue to move the football and be successful." They didn't do it, though, in the fol- lowing game at Indiana, unfortunately, managing only 206 yards of total of- fense, 1 touchdown and 3 field goals in a 20-15 loss to the Hoosiers. Moreover, the men up front allowed pressure on an unacceptable 61.8 percent of pass plays according to Pro Football Focus. While Davis Warren, back in as the starting quarterback after Orji's struggles and Jack Tuttle's sudden medical retirement following a start at Illinois, wasn't sharp, completing only 16 of 32 passes for 137 yards, it didn't help that he was running for his life or had a man in his face on many of his throws. "Just taking care of the football, no picks, he did a good job of that," Moore said. "Also, when he's got the pressure in his face, he's got to move around. That's ❱ Head coach Sherrone Moore "The record's not where we want it, but we want to keep fighting. That's the goal, and that's what we're going to keep doing."