It feels like the Michigan Wolverines opened up the season against New Mexico yesterday, but we are somehow 33% of the way through the regular season, and the first bye week is here. Through four games,
Michigan is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines suffered a tough loss against Oklahoma in Week 2, but they have bounced back nicely with wins over Central Michigan and Nebraska.
Despite the loss, Michigan is in a good spot heading into the bye week. A lot of the issues from the Oklahoma game have seemed to improve, and the schedule shapes up nicely for the Wolverines to be a contender in the Big Ten. However, there is still plenty to work on. This is the biggest thing that needs to be addressed during the bye:
Wide receiver drops
The Michigan football offense is looking a lot better than it did last season, but it is far from perfect. A big issue is the wide receiver play. The Wolverines have an incredibly talented young quarterback in Bryce Underwood, but the passing game hasn’t reached its full potential yet. A big reason why is drops.
Michigan has been running the ball incredibly well to start the season, and if the passing game can start to flourish, this offense can be elite. Underwood can make every throw, but he hasn’t been getting a ton of help from his receivers. That was on full display during the Nebraska game.
Underwood went 12-22 through the air for 105 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions against Nebraska. However, it should’ve been a lot better. His adjusted completion percentage on Saturday was 71%, according to @CFBChuckk on X, formerly known as Twitter.
There were a few key drops throughout the game, and the final score could’ve been very different had those passes been caught. Multiple drops came on third downs, and one of them came in the end zone. Michigan needs to get that cleaned up.
Fortunately for the Wolverines, they were able to run for nearly 300 yards against Nebraska. It was great to see the offensive line have some success, and the run-game won the team the game. Still, to be elite, Michigan needs to be better in the passing game.
Sherrone Moore noted that the drops were going be a big emphasis during the bye week, so it’s good to see the coaching staff taking this seriously. Who knows what the Wolverines will do to try to fix this issue, but the WRs need to be better after the bye week.
Other areas to address
The WR drops need to be cleaned up, and there are other things as well. The offensive line is trending in the right direction, but it definitely still needs some work during the bye week. Another big thing is discipline. We have seen some unfortunate penalties from Michigan this year, and one of them helped Nebraska stay around on Saturday. It was a taunting penalty after a huge stop on third down, and the Wolverines had all of the momentum. That call gave the Cornhuskers life. It can’t happen.
As you can see, there are a lot of things that Michigan can do this week to get better for the remainder of the season. The Wolverines are in a good spot, but there is still a ton of room for growth.
