We're halfway through the 2023 college football season, and the defending Big Ten champions have yet to face a formidable challenge. If it wasn't established last year when they went into the Horseshoe and beat Ohio State by three touchdowns in the final week of the regular season, it's safe to say that Michigan football is back.
The Michigan Wolverines are 6-0, ranked #2 in the country, and have outscored their first six opponents by the score of 224-40. This is a testament to a soft schedule comprised of bottom-tier Big Ten opponents and no significant challenges in the non-conference schedule, a defense that looks to be truly dominant (currently 1st in the nation in points allowed per game, according to Sports-Reference), and an offense that is stable under the leadership of junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy (17-1 in his career thus far as a starter), Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh, and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.
J.J. McCarthy recently spoke to Joel Klatt of Fox Sports and broke down what it is about the Michigan football offense that makes them so successful:
“Coach (Sherrone Moore) likes to call it, ‘seeing the play from a balcony view.’ Not just thinking about who’s getting the ball and where the ball’s going, but the why behind each and every play. The why behind our philosophy as an offense,” J.J. McCarthy told Klatt.
Apparently, Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore can see plenty of weapons from way up on that metaphorical balcony. It's been a balanced attack so far this season, with five Michigan football skill position players contributing with at least 200 total yards of offense this season. The staple of Michigan's offense is the rushing attack, which is anchored by All-American senior running back Blake Corum, who is coming back from a major knee injury last season.
“We are so in the present moment and focused on how we can be a (national) championship team,” McCarthy explained to Klatt.
From the looks of things, this mindset has permeated through the entire Michigan football roster. And with only two ranked opponents on the schedule (Penn State and Ohio State), it feels like a perfectly real possibility that Michigan could complete their second consecutive perfect regular season.