Free Press writer Jared Ramsey looks back at Michigan football’s 31-12 loss to Texas and looks ahead to next week’s matchup against Arkansas State.
Next up for Michigan: Arkansas State
Matchup: No. 9 Michigan (1-1) vs. Arkansas State (1-0).
Kickoff: Noon Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Line: TBD.
Know the foe
Michigan has a week to recover after a loss for the first time since November 2021 and have a 2-0 Arkansas State team coming to Ann Arbor on Saturday.
“A lot of those guys in that locker room have high-end personalities and they’ve got a lot of eagerness to go out and fix the wrong,” defensive back Quinten Johnson said. “The biggest thing is going out there next week and doing what you got to do.”
Arkansas State won two nailbiters to start the season — by three points over Central Arkansas and by four over Tulsa — to get off to a perfect start. This will be the first time Michigan will play Arkansas State in school history. Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada transferred from Arkansas State to Michigan in the offseason and will face off against his former team for the first time.
Arkansas State averages 31 points and 426.5 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jaylen Raynor has been the catalyst and leads the team in passing and rushing. The second-year starter, a second-team All-Sun Belt pick, averages 286 yards through the air and 61 on the ground this season. Arkansas State’s defense is giving up an average of 400 yards per game, evenly split between run and pass, and has one takeaway through two games.
Jared Ramsey’s 3 things we learned
Michigan’s offense has things to figure out, and fast: Texas fluidly moved the ball up and down the field, scoring on four of its first five possessions and gaining nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half, while Michigan struggled for every yard it got and only managed to produce three scoring drives and 284 total yards. Michigan scored only once in the first half, after a nine-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 37-yard field goal by Zvada. Michigan had three straight drives after the field goal that resulted in less than 20 yards, including two turnovers.
The Wolverines opened things up out of necessity in the second half and put the ball in Davis Warren’s hands more, which led to a field goal, another interception on a miscommunication with Colston Loveland, a turnover on downs, and finally a touchdown — 31 yards over the middle to Semaj Morgan on a play-action crosser. Michigan struggled running the ball — 80 yards on 23 attempts — and had another up-and-down performance from Warren, who completed 67% of his passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and two giveaways. Before the final two drives of the game, the Wolverines had 152 total yards of offense with just 79 passing yards.
Michigan should be better against Arkansas State, but USC comes to Ann Arbor in two weeks, and the Trojans look like they have a high-powered offense with quarterback Miller Moss under coach Lincoln Riley.
Texas OL wins star-studded matchup against Michigan DL: Michigan’s defensive line and the Texas offensive line will be well-represented in the upcoming NFL draft, but the Longhorns got the better of the matchup Saturday. The offensive line created solid running lanes for the trio of Texas backs, leading to 143 yards on the ground, and didn’t let Michigan anywhere close to quarterback Quinn Ewers.
New defensive coordinator Wink Martindale mixed up the number of bodies sent after Ewers throughout the game, but nothing stymied the veteran signal-caller or Texas’ stout offensive line. Michigan had five quarterback hurries but recorded zero sacks against Ewers, who navigated the pocket to find clean platforms to complete 66.7% of his passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensive end Josiah Stewart said the defensive line needs to execute better in collapsing the pocket to speed up the quarterback’s time to throw the ball to help the secondary avoid breakdowns.
Orji experiment not working: Michigan only ran one offensive play inside the Texas red zone and opted to take Warren off the field for that snap. The coaches subbed in backup quarterback Alex Orji for the first time on third-and-3 at the Texas 19. The duel-threat quarterback faked a handoff to a player in motion and then ran up the middle. Texas’ defense was ready and broke through the line after crowding the box. On a third-and-5 in the third quarter, Michigan tried another keeper with Orji, who was tackled in the backfield to force a 52-yard field goal attempt. Texas’ defense did not respect the pass when Orji was on the field and stacked the box to clog running lanes.
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city’s professional teams, the state’s two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at [email protected].
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/university-michigan/wolverines/2024/09/08/michigan-football-what-we-learned-vs-texas-what-to-watch-next-week/75126277007/
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Publish date : 2024-09-08 10:00:00
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