The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529264
8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 H oneymoons don't last very long, when it comes to Michigan foot- ball. For Sherrone Moore and the 2024 crew, the limo didn't make it out of the parking lot before folks started throw- ing shade instead of rice. Texas popped the Wolverines in the facemask in Game 2, and ever since, Michigan teetered on a win-one, lose- one footing. That's not what built the winningest program in college football history, and they're all well aware of it. From the national championship glow to a fight to make a bowl game, they've been faced with too tough of a schedule for a personnel-plundered squad. They put up a battle at Indiana, a team now riding a 10-0 record and a top-10 ranking, in a Big Ten world suddenly plunged into The Twilight Zone. The Wolverines lost, 20-15, despite holding the Hoosiers to fewer than 20 second- half yards and less than half their scoring average entering the game. Moore and the Michigan offense — 118th in the nation in scoring points, averaging 20.4 per game — took no shortage of heat afterward. Senior quarterback Davis Warren and his teammates entered a second bye week at 5-5, hoping for something to feel good about. "No pointing fingers," Warren said. "Just look in the mirror, figure out what you need to do better physically and men- tally, because we've got two games left. I know we've got a lot of guys with grit, a lot of guys that care and a lot of guys that aren't going to go down without a fight. These last few games, we're going to give it everything we've got, and we know the opportunities we still have in front of us." Warren pointed to the micro, but the same applies to Michigan football in the macro sense. Look in the mirror, figure out what you need to do better. There's no shortage of fixes available. We've said it before, but if Curt Cignetti can turn historically horrific Indiana from 3-8 into 10-0 and College Football Playoff contenders in one year, well … Michigan remains a rather attractive place to come play football, one year re- moved from the mountaintop. Most wins in college football history, biggest sta- dium, oozing tradition and basking in the national spotlight. Moore needs to marshal all of Michigan's resources — in- cluding the millions emanating from do- nors' wallets — in the weeks and months to come. Restock the shelves in recruiting and in U-M's heaviest dive to date into the transfer portal. The latter should prove particularly vital in bolstering much- needed experienced talent at quarter- back, along the offensive line and at wide receiver. Recent conversations indicate Michi- gan won't be reticent in offering high school players funds to come to Ann Ar- bor, someone close to it noting "things have changed" with regard to NCAA oversight and enforcement. Michigan can take a more no-holds-barred approach to matching the talent of a Texas, Geor- gia and yes, Ohio State, out of the high school ranks. No, Moore won't be pulling 31 players out of the portal like Cignetti did last year, for a host of reasons. But the Wolverines can, and must, go big there. The investigative work has started. But there's more that must be done. Moore will be giving his coaching roster a long look in the days to come, figuring out what tweaks need to be made. His prede- cessor went from six seasons as confer- ence also-rans to three straight Big Ten titles and a national championship, after he employed the right defensive coordi- nators, with a star quarterback and crush- ing offensive line. Moore knows what it looks like. Now he has to make it happen. His crew can also get better on clock management, coach's challenges and other game mechanics, a point underscored especially down the stretch in Bloomington. It can all be accomplished, despite the harshest of the knee-jerk shade throwers. But it starts with that long, hard look in the mirror. In the meantime, there's a football sea- son to finish. After the Indiana loss, senior edge rusher TJ Guy pondered Michigan's struggles this season. He's one of many who this year fought their way to more time on the field, only to suffer more on- field defeats than any squad since Jim Harbaugh's quarterback-bereft 2017 crew went 8-5. Before that, Brady Hoke's swan song squad fell to 5-7 in 2014. It doesn't have to be like that in the fu- ture, this Guy assured. Asked after the Indiana loss about Michigan's struggles putting two solid halves together, he said: "The first thing that comes to mind is, it's just a lot of new guys on the field, whether it's playing or playing together. "I think guys are just figuring out how locked in you've got to be at all points in the game, leading up to the game, weeks before the game. It's a lesson that our young guys can learn from, everybody can learn from." The ability of Moore and his staff to be locked in over the next few months will make or break the 2025 season. More than a bowl game, more than spring foot- ball, more than fall camp. Those are all important, but finding the right Jimmys and Joes — and being the right Jimmys and Bo's — could restore a honeymoon cut short. ❑ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON Seeking A Stronger Way Forward Head coach Sherrone Moore is no stranger to winning football, and at 5-5, the challenge is clear. The next few months of recruiting and transfer portal additions will go a long way toward shaping the Wolverines' outlook for 2025. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.