The Michigan football team has some good talent on its offense this year with quarterback Bryce Underwood and running back Justice Haynes making for an impressive duo. However, the Wolverines struggled to get anything going on Saturday against Oklahoma. Michigan was only able to muster 13 points, and the offense did not meet the expectations of head coach Sherrone Moore.
A lot of Michigan football fans blame the play-calling for the offensive struggle, but Sherrone Moore doesn’t think that was the issue. As the season he goes on, he is looking for a certain style from the offense.
“Going to be violent, going to be physical, want to be explosive,” Moore said, according to an article from 247Sports. “We're creating explosive runs. We want more, want to create more explosive passes. We will do that, but just consistent — consistent as we go through every single game. And let the players trust themselves and let it loose, have fun. I think they'll do that as we go through the week.”
The play-calling on Saturday against the Sooners was definitely conservative. Bryce Underwood didn’t get many opportunities to throw the ball down field, and the coaching staff also isn’t calling run plays for him. Utilizing Underwood’s athleticism in the run game could completely change this offense, but Michigan hasn’t done that yet.
In terms of the run game in general, Michigan has been able to create some explosive plays. Justice Haynes had a 75-yard touchdown against Oklahoma. Moore isn’t satisfied, but he feels good about the future of that part of the offense.
“I’m never happy with how it is,” he admitted. “Unless we rush for 400 yards, I'm not going to be happy. We're getting better. And there's definitely things we've got to clean up. But we're trending in the right direction.”
The big issues on Saturday appeared to be the offensive line. If Underwood gets better protection, the play-calling will probably change as well. If the Michigan football team can clean that up, it might create a ripple effect.
