ANN ARBOR, Michigan — For the first time since 2020, Michigan lost a home football game. The Texas Longhorns came to the Big House and thoroughly dominated the Wolverines. Texas left with a 31-12 victory and Michigan dropped to 1-1 on the young season.

Not only is Michigan’s offense a major point of focus, but the Wolverines’ defense also had its worst game since 2020. Michigan’s defense has always been the linchpin that keeps the team in the game when the offense gets bogged down, but on Saturday, the Wolverines’ defense suddenly looked lackluster.

There were a few uncharacteristic mistakes by the Wolverines. Not only did Davis Warren throw two interceptions, but Michigan fumbled the ball once. Colston Loveland fumbled the ball late in the second half as Michigan tried to gain some momentum before the end of the half. Loveland fumbled and Texas went down to score a late touchdown.

The Wolverines allowed just one touchdown in the second half, but Michigan’s offense still struggled to get going, scoring nine points in the final 30 minutes.

Here are five key points from the match.

Texas controlled the football game from the start. The Longhorns went down, dealing with false kickoff calls, kicked a field goal and never looked back. Texas basically did what it wanted to do on offense and the Longhorns shut down the Michigan offense — which looked lethargic again.

It was clear that Texas was the much better team and was much better prepared for the big game. Michigan lost a lot of talent from last season, but they also brought back a lot of star players to make the Wolverines look the way they did.

Fortunately for Michigan, this is Week 2 and it doesn’t affect the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines still have goals ahead of them, but Michigan needs to make big improvements quickly.

It wasn’t something many people predicted, but the Wolverines’ front four looked underpowered against the Texas offensive line. The Longhorns’ offensive line basically did everything they wanted to do against Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and the Michigan Edge defenders.

The Longhorns’ run game, even with two running backs, looked fantastic against Michigan. It’s hard to stop Texas’ passing game and make it one-dimensional if you can’t slow down the run game. As good as the front four was last week against Fresno State — holding the Dogs to nine rushing yards — Michigan was the underdog on Saturday.

Not only was the run game effective for the Longhorns, but Ewers was not sacked once and was not under all that much pressure. There were three QB hurries against Ewers on the afternoon, two of which came in the fourth quarter.

Despite the talent of the Wolverines’ defense, they failed to live up to expectations on Saturday.

Thanks in part to the fact that the Michigan D-line wasn’t getting much push or pressure, Quinn Ewers had a day against the Wolverines’ secondary on Saturday. The veteran slingshotted the ball around and collected 203 yards and two scores through the air.

The one player who seemed to pick on Ewers the most was sophomore Jyaire Hill. Starting in his second game, Hill was the player who allowed the first third-and-15 first down on the first drive of the game. He never seemed to fully recover after that. Hill allowed one touchdown and was beaten several times.

Hill made some nice tackles when Texas ran a screen, but it wasn’t a good game from him in coverage. I’m not sure Michigan likes its options behind Hill — Aamir Hall, maybe — but the Wolverines’ young corners are a bit of a concern. It’s been two weeks in a row that Michigan has been beaten through the air.

It was a game of third downs, and neither went the Wolverines’ way. Texas earned its keep against Michigan’s defense on third down Saturday. The Longhorns went 10 of 16 on third down, including two conversions of nine-plus yards. The game’s first drive told the whole story. Texas went down and scored an opening-drive field goal, but the Longhorns converted three first downs, including a third-and-15.

Michigan was terrible on third down for the second straight week. The Wolverines were just 3 of 12 on third down and the Wolverines struggled to give their defense much rest. Davis Warren struggled to get to the open man and fell into the trap of locking in on one player.

Third downs will have to improve on both sides of the ball going forward.

Michigan has more problems than just its quarterback, but after Wolverine fans were treated to a top talent like JJ McCarthy, it’s clear that Michigan isn’t close to what McCarthy was — at least not right now.

Davis Warren got his second career start for the Wolverines and the offense sputtered for the second straight week, but this time against a much tougher opponent. Warren went 22-for-33 for 204 yards, one touchdown and threw two interceptions.

In the fourth quarter, Warren came into a bit of a role, but Texas allowed some chunk plays. Warren did a better job, however, extending plays and keeping his eyes on the field. He found Semaj Morgan for a touchdown.

Warren appears to be a game manager, which is fine if the run game and defense are going to be great. But there are concerns about both after the first two weeks. The Wolverines will have to show they can make things move through the air so teams can’t stack the box against the run game. Warren missed an open Semaj Morgan during a two-minute drill to end the first half — before Colston Loveland fumbled away for Texas.

With Arkansas State as their next opponent, the Wolverines have a week to get everything in order before hosting USC.

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