ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Last year at this time, the biggest point of emphasis for Michigan football was to get the pass game going. The Wolverines weren't exactly phenomenal, jumping from 131st to 107th. Through two games this season, with a new offensive coordinator in Jason Beck (under new head coach Kyle Whittingham), it hasn't exactly improved.
The Wolverines are sitting at 127th nationally, with 170 passing yards in Week 1 (47 of which came on the final play), and 111 in Week 2. After the win over Oklahoma, while Whittingham was happy with the result, he noted that the pass game continues to be a work in progress.
So, what will take getting it going? What are the hurdles that they're facing at the moment?
WolverinesWire asked Whittingham about
what they need to do, and he noted that the game plan thus far hasn't been predicated on getting the pass game going, but he shared what they need to see to start ramping it up.
"That's a good question," Whittingham said. "I would say, first of all, through two games, we haven't made a big commitment to it. We're just trying to figure out what gives us the best chance to win this particular week. And so it hasn't been something that has been a major emphasis.
"But Bryce is, what, mid-50s completion percentage? So we've got to get that number up. And it's just a matter of what Jason Beck feels comfortable with. And taking care of the football is job one, and so he's got to structure the plan to take care of the ball first and foremost. And right now, where we are as an offense, we seem to be more suited to be a little more heavy run, but that could change as the year goes on."
It's not just the pass game that's languishing. Though the run game was better in Week 2, with Bryce Underwood carrying the ball 18 times for 87 yards, the tailbacks combined for 22 carries for 50 total yards.
It's a matter of getting that going as well as being able to get explosives in both the run and the pass. And the offense is just not doing enough in either facet at this point.
"First of all, getting the ball down the field a little bit more, throwing and getting some more chunk yard plays," Whittingham said. "We're not having an abundance of those, and that's one of the most vital stats. I mean, the turnover margin to me is most important, and right behind that is the team that typically gets the most chunk plays, explosives -- however you want to term it -- is the team that's going to win the game. And so our defense is doing a fantastic job limiting the opponent to chunk plays, but we've got to get more of our own chunk plays going forward."
It's not simply about harnessing Underwood's arm and getting the tailbacks more involved. Whittingham would like to see wide receiver Andrew Marsh, deemed the star wideout on the team. The Wolverine head coach would like to see him get more targets going forward. He was thrown to six times this past week with three catches for 13 yards, and he also had one carry for 15 yards.
But still, Whittingham feels like it's incumbent upon the team to get him the ball, as well.
"Yeah, we need to get him involved more," Whittingham said. "That's another good point and something that we're well aware of. He's a talented receiver, and he flashed a little bit on Saturday. The deep ball, had he not been interfered with, probably would have caught up to that and made the catch, but he's a guy that made a lot of plays for him last year, and we need to have him become more involved."
The Wolverines will have another chance this week when they host UTEP for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kick at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham explains what's holding Michigan's passing game back
