close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Texas dismantles Michigan, exposing many problems for Wolverines
    news

    Texas dismantles Michigan, exposing many problems for Wolverines

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    They met on the field, near the end zone at the Big House.

    Charles Woodson, the great Michigan football player, waved a Wolverines flag. Matthew McConaughey, the actor and diehard Texas fan, held a Longhorns flag.

    “Come on,” Woodson shouted. “Here we go!”

    Woodson and McConaughey pressed their chests together.

    WINDSOR’S THOUGHTS: Michigan football team’s faceplant is hardly shocking, but bad tackling points to a larger problem

    “This is happening,” McConaughey said, nodding.

    Yes, it happened – Texas vs. Michigan, a fantastic non-conference matchup. Two top 10 teams. On national TV. With those famous logos and uniforms. The South came north and the Big House was dressed for something special, washed in corn, with lots of burnt orange sprinkled throughout.

    “Let’s do it!” Woodson shouted.

    Then Woodson ran across the field, waving the flag.

    What may have been the highlight of the day for the Wolverines: the final moment of hope and excitement.

    And after that?

    Bah – it all went downhill quickly as Texas dominated in almost every way, beating Michigan 31-12.

    The Wolverines resembled a reigning national champion who had lost a lot of top players to the NFL, not to mention their head coach.

    GAME STORY: Michigan Football Humiliated by Texas in 31-12 Crushing Defeat

    Texas looked like the Wolverines in 2023 – built to win it all. The Longhorns took complete control and knocked off Michigan. And it felt like the beginning of a new era.

    Michigan’s 16-game winning streak is over.

    The streak of 23 home wins is over.

    The streak of 29 regular season wins is over.

    “It’s a loss,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. “We haven’t had one in a while, so you definitely feel it. Our kids are feeling it right now. They’re feeling it more than anybody. So you definitely feel bad for them and how they’re feeling. But we know on all sides of the ball, all three phases — we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve just got to get better at the fine details and we can’t have penalties and turnovers.”

    This game felt like a reset for the Wolverines.

    A reality check, if you will.

    Now it’s clear: The Jim Harbaugh era is well and truly over, and we know where Moore’s tenure will begin. Michigan still has players — still has some NFL talent scattered around the roster — but clearly not as many and nothing compared to a year ago.

    “We just have to do a better job of executing the fundamental, small details at all stages,” Moore said, “and then we’ll get better.”

    All Texas, all McConaughy

    At halftime, Texas had a comfortable 24-3 lead.

    “Ah, there’s a lot to be happy about in the first half — on both sides of the ball,” McConaughy beamed on Fox. “I think we can say No. 3 is pretty talented, right?”

    Indeed. That would be Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who threw two touchdowns in the first half.

    When it looked like Michigan had Ewers in check, he just used his legs, found some freedom in the pocket, bought some time, and then found wide open receivers. He was so good, so effective, Michigan couldn’t tackle him. Not once.

    The Longhorns’ lead at halftime would have been even bigger, but a Texas touchdown was overturned due to a penalty.

    Meanwhile, Michigan couldn’t run the ball consistently with its bread-and-butter plays, so the Wolverines were forced to resort to trickery. They needed a flea flicker to get across midfield. They needed a fake reverse to set up a Donovan Edwards run up the middle.

    But the drive stalled when Alex Orji tried to run left and was overwhelmed by three Longhorns.

    “I think we played pretty well,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said during the halftime broadcast. “Offensively, we thought we settled down that second drive, we had some self-inflicted wounds.”

    Then Michigan took over that role, hurting itself over and over again.

    Every time the Wolverines had a chance to climb back, they blew it.

    After Texas took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, when Michigan desperately needed a drive and a response, Michigan quarterback Davis Warren was intercepted – and Texas responded with a touchdown.

    “It’s up to me to get better, to play better,” Warren said. “It sucks because when you go into this game, there’s a lot at stake. You want to win, so you have to take a long, hard look in the mirror and see what kind of team we want to be.”

    And then it happened again.

    They were down 17-3 midway through the second quarter, at a time when Michigan desperately needed a long drive, at a time when they needed a score. Michigan made a nice play against Colston Loveland and he looked set for a huge first down, but he dropped the ball.

    A short time later, Texas scored again.

    Landing in Texas.

    And the defeat was a fact – even before half time.

    “It hurts,” Loveland said. “We just have to get better as an offense, I have to get better. We can’t have turnovers. That’s a day one thing, the little details that we have to nail down. And you know, from here on out, we have to win.”

    Michigan did score towards the end of the game, which made the result less painful, but make no mistake: this game was all about Texas.

    FROM FACE TO FACE: Watch: Charles Woodson and Matthew McConaughey face off with flags before the top 10 game between Michigan and Texas

    Learn What Michigan Needs to Fix

    Give Michigan all the credit for hosting this game.

    I’d rather watch someone play against a great team and lose than get beaten up by some cupcake that ultimately amounts to nothing more than a glorified practice match.

    And while this loss was painful for the Wolverines, it also showed what they currently lack and what they desperately need to improve on.

    They no longer have an attack that can quickly catch up and compete with the elite.

    They no longer have a top-5 defense that anyone can just take out.

    They don’t have a defensive line that is as deep as they had last year.

    They don’t have an offensive line that can simply force a team to surrender.

    They don’t have a future NFL quarterback anymore – at least, there wasn’t one on Saturday.

    And they are not good enough to make mistakes, to commit punishments and to make mistakes and overcome them.

    Of course they had that last year too.

    But those days are long gone.

    “My message to them was that we have to do it together,” Moore said. “We can’t point fingers. And you discover who you are as a team when adversity strikes.”

    A reset was inevitable after so many players left for the NFL.

    And now we’re at the dawn of the Moore era and one thing is crystal clear: he still has a lot of work to do.

    There is still a lot to be repaired.

    SIDE: The Michigan-Texas showdown will tell us a lot about Sherrone Moore

    Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected] or follow him @seideljeff.

    More from Seidel:Chet Lemon’s return to Detroit revealed the love that still holds the ’84 Tigers together

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like