Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore has called this week the “halfway” point in the Wolverines’ season.
Even though the regular season is three-quarters through its schedule, the implication is there were four games before the first bye week, then five games before this bye week. Afterwards there could be four games (three regular season and a Big Ten championship game) before another three or four games in the College Football Playoff, should U-M make a deep run.
However, let’s be very clear.
If Michigan plays how it has in four of its past five games − an 18-point loss to USC, a 14-point home win over lowly Wisconsin (0-5 Big Ten), an 11-point win at crumbling Michigan State (0-6 Big Ten) that required a pair of fourth-down stops late to keep the Spartans from getting within one score, or Saturday’s 21-16 victory over Purdue (0-6 Big Ten) that wasn’t decided until the two-minute timeout − there will not be a Big Ten title appearance and therefore no CFP berth.
After the most recent victory, Moore downplayed the notion U-M struggled.
“Regardless of the score, I probably would have found something that we need to get better at,” Moore said. “You never think you’re perfect, so we know we’ve got a ways to go. We know what we’ve got to do to get better, and we know we’ve got a really good team.
“We’ve got to go play in two weeks, so we’re going to clean everything we need to clean up, get the guys back we need to get back, and roll from there.”
Let’s dig in as Michigan enters its bye week.
Multi-faceted issues
The biggest problem with how the team has played this season: Struggles have come in every phase.
On offense, the primary issue is a passing game that has not done enough damage. Freshman Bryce Underwood has flashed his dynamic ability at times, but has not been able to solve what was an anemic pass offense in 2024. Not even the addition of offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has been able to take the passing game to the level U-M hoped.
There’s no doubt it’s better.
Davis Warren played in nine games in 2024 and completed 134 of 209 passes (64.1%) for 1,199 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.
In nine games in 2025, Underwood has completed 134 of 220 passes (60.9%) for 1,671 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
While the turnovers are a massive improvement and an additional 472 yards (52.4 more per game) is useful, Michigan ranks No. 105 in the nation in passing (185.7 yards per game).
Per Pro Football Focus, Warren in 2024 had six “big-time throws” and nine “turnover-worthy plays” (all of which ended as interceptions). Underwood has six “big-time throws” and seven “turnover-worthy plays.” Almost exactly the same numbers.
“He’s got multiple strengths, but we’ve got to clean up all the other things,” Moore said. “We got to clean up the things to make him and then everybody else around him has to execute at a high level. The spacing has to be there. Spacing plus timing equals completions. So you got to have the spacing, too.
“It’s not just on Bryce. We don’t put out the excuse of he’s a freshman out there. Nobody’s a freshman anymore. We just got to keep getting better.”
Elsewhere, the defense has taken steps forward the past few weeks, but struggled to get off the field against Purdue, allowing the Boilermakers to control 33 minutes of possession.
Against Oklahoma and more notably USC, the tackling was poor and the defense was gashed for a combined 55 points by the toughest two teams its faced. Michigan lost both games.
Special teams has been a mess. The Wolverines have muffed three kicks and fumbled one away. Their primary punt returner, Semaj Morgan, has 12 returns for just 25 yards.
Hudson Hollenbeck’s net punt average is 39.9 yards.
Dominic Zvada, a preseason All-American, is 10 of 14 on field goals with a miss inside of 30 yards, another inside of 40 and two more inside of 50. He’s 3-for-5 since September ended.
“Consistency, the way you practice is the way you should play, and it’s just not (how it’s gone),” Moore said. “We’ve got to challenge everybody − challenge the coaches, challenge the players to make sure we get it fixed.”
Battle through the injuries
Key linebackers Cole Sullivan, Jaishawn Barham and Jimmy Rolder are injured, as is senior safety and captain Rod Moore Jr.
On offense, Justice Haynes is going to get surgery on his injured right foot and is expected to miss multiple weeks. The top two left tackles (Evan Link and Andrew Babalola) and tight end Hogan Hansen, who was expected to make a jump, have varying levels of injury.
“Great time (for the bye),” Moore said. “That’s football, though. Football in the Big Ten, guys are gonna get dinged up on every team. I don’t think any team’s gonna be completely healthy right now. So the bye week is great.”
Michigan has executed well in some areas. It has run for 716 yards (238.7 per game) during its three-game win streak and is No. 13 in the nation in turnover margin. Jordan Marshall put the team on his back last week, running for 185 yards (most for a U-M player since Donovan Edwards had 185 in the 2022 Big Ten title game) and a career-high three touchdowns.
Derrick Moore has recorded multiple sacks during the win streak and the Wolverines’ defense has allowed just 43 points (14.3) over that time.
There are elements of a good team, but outside of a 63-3 romp of Central Michigan in Week 3, the Wolverines haven’t put four quarters together.
Perhaps the bye week can serve as a spark to do so, but as the days get shorter, time too is running out on Michigan to prove that it’s one of the 12 best teams in the nation and worthy of the CFP − the standard in Ann Arbor.
“At the end of the day, we’re 7-2 and we’re in a position to do everything we want to accomplish and go win,” Sherrone Moore said. “Our leaders are going to take this thing by the horns. Our coaches are going to do that. I’m going to do that to make sure that we have it right where we need it to be and hold it to (our) standards.”
Want more Wolverines updates? Download our free app for the latest news, alerts, eNewspaper and more.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines 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 football can play its way into the CFP, but not like this
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
