Michigan football made a change at quarterback because there were simply too many turnovers.
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck said as much earlier this week on "Inside Michigan Football Radio Show," while coach Kyle Whittingham has preached the importance of ball control all season long − and for decades as a coach in Utah before that.
But even without the turnovers, Michigan could have reasonably made a move simply for the lack of production in the pass game. Through six games, Michigan is last among all power four teams in passing (165.7 yards per game) and is the only offense in the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 or ACC without 1,000 yards passing on the season.
At the midway point of the season, U-M is at No. 125 in the nation in yards through the air.
Of the 13 teams behind the Wolverines, three are military academies (and run a triple-option by design) and five others have losing records.
"We need to continue to be more productive throwing the ball," Whittingham said after U-M's 21-18 victory over Penn State, where the team benched Bryce Underwood in favor of Tommy Carr. "We're still not getting anywhere near the production we need to overall. We should be throwing for 250 a game and we're nowhere near that.
"The throw game is still not where it needs to be and that's something that's got to be a continuing point of emphasis. Right now, that's keeping us from being an explosive offense and the best offense that we can be."
The past two week in particular have been struggles. Michigan completed 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards and two picks against Minnesota. Somehow, it was worse against Penn State as Underwood and Carr combined to complete 10 of 18 passes for 90 yards and two picks (both by Underwood).
It seems like Michigan (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) will go with Carr against No. 6 Indiana (6-1, 3-1) − though Whittingham never said it directly − but there's still a question of whether he can push the ball down the field.
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Carr complete 5 of 7 passes for 47 yards in two quarters of action against the Nittany Lions. His 11-yard slant to JJ Buchanan on his first play was his deepest completion of the day, going 4-for-4 on targets inside of 9 yards but 0-for-2 on throws with 20 or more air yards (including one flea-flicker that was well overthrown and closer to a defender than his nearest receiver).
Nobody is expecting a true freshman making his first start against a top-10 team with an elite defense to be perfect, but in order to have a shot against the Hoosiers, U-M will likely need more than the 95½ yards through the air like its averaged the past two weeks.
"I would say that's really important for us as a team," wide receiver Andrew Marsh said after Tuesday's practice. "I mean, obviously, you know, just the pass game opens up the run game. Run games opens up the pass game, but really ... as an offense, we know we're not where we need to be.
"We're yet to play to our highest level that we can play. So really, just knowing that we got to step it up."
Marsh said it isn't surprising that Carr is in position to help the team, given his work ethic. He said one of his greatest strengths is how he "adapts well to situations." That said, U-M is going to face its toughest test yet in an Indiana team that comes off a loss to OSU and has yet to lose consecutive games in the Curt Cignetti era.
The defense has done its part, ranked No. 1 in the nation in yards per play (4.11), No. 4 in total defense (256.6 yards per game) and No. 21 in scoring (16.2 points per game). To this point, the defense is close to the sole reason Michigan still has life this season.
The offense knows as much, but feels like it's capable
"I mean, we've had practice and even spring ball [and seen it]," Marsh said. "We know what we can do as a team. Really, just being able to put it together when we need to put it together just would be the main the main part."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan won't win anything that matters if pass game doesn't improve
