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Michigan football earned a streak of statement wins to relish during their bye. Head coach Sherrone Moore's team took down No. 11 USC, along with other Big Ten foe Minnesota, but fell 27-17 to Washington in Week 6. The Wolverines still sit at 4-2, but Moore is growing concerned about the defensive success down the road.
There was always going to be a game on Michigan's daunting schedule where their flaws would catch up with them. They finally saw it happen at Husky Stadium last weekend. Washington scored two quick touchdowns in the first half, which dug Michigan into a hole early.
That is not the kind of scenario the Wolverines offense is accustomed to, or can thrive in with how they're built.
Michigan football needs to improve on defense
Moore acknowledged the strength of the defense on Monday's “Inside Michigan Football” show, but also mentioned how the pass defense needs to show improvement.
(Via Isaiah Hole of Wolverines Wire)
“I think they’ve done a good job of initially stopping the run on teams,” Moore said. “People have to do different things to get the ball moving on us, but the pass game, pass defense has to improve. And that’s a collective group thing. That’s not just Will, that’s not just the DBs, but it’s the pass rush. It’s all the things tied together to make sure that we’re aligned in the pass game. So we definitely have to improve there.”
Michigan struggled against Washington's air attack, allowing Will Rogers to complete 21-of-31 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Moore mentioned that he's still quite pleased with how his unit's getting pressure on opposing offenses.
“You look back at the stats, and I go through last year, and I go through this year, and looked at the comparisons of games, and the blitz percentages, quote-unquote, are about the same,” Moore said. “They’re not far off, so I think that it’s a misnomer, because people are coming off the edge or blitzing, but really, sometimes it looks like a blitz, and it’s four guys rushing, and for us, I think it’s just, we have to have a balance of what we’re gonna do, and use it as a weapon, but not as the foundation.”
“I think you just have to be real on what’s good and what’s not, and you can’t sugarcoat it because it’s not about feelings or emotions,” Moore said. “It’s about our team getting better, and that’s the No. 1 thing you have to do. And had some great conversations with some of my mentors and people, and got a chance to talk to Coach Harbaugh the other day just about these situations and what you can do. And the only thing you can do is get better. He always said, ‘Never get bitter, get better. And make sure that the coaches are coaching their players like they wanna be coached,’ and that’s what we’re gonna go do this week.”
Michigan football returns against Illinois in Week 8.
