Sherrone Moore evaluates quarterback play from Davis Warren, Alex Orji

The Michigan Wolverines continued to struggle as a team on offense in their loss to Indiana. Despite that, there were things that head coach Sherrone Moore saw in both Davis Warren and Alex Orji at quarterback to build on.

After the game, Moore praised some of the play from Warren, including how he protected the ball. That’s despite there still being plenty to work on overall.

“First, just taking care of the football,” Sherrone Moore said. “No picks. He did a good job with that. But also, there’s some — when he’s got the pressure in his face, he’s got to move around, that’s when the off-target throws are happening and some of those misses are happening. So, not allowed to get your feet in balance when those things are happening.”

Davis Warren finished the game against Indiana completing 16 of 32 passes for 137 yards. The offense, as a whole, continued to struggle, only scoring 15 points in the game.

“So, he’s going to keep harping on himself, and people are going to beat him up,” Moore said. “But I’m going to have his back and just continue to lift him up and make sure he knows he’s doing as much as he can. We got to continue to help him, around him.”

Alex Orji has also spent time at quarterback this season for Michigan. He got some playing time against Indiana, though he did not throw a pass. Instead, he had three carries for a yard, though he did also fumble the ball.

“I mean, he had a good third down run in the second half, which was huge, got us down on a long drive,” Moore said. “So that was good, but obviously, can’t fumble the football.”

Sherrone Moore has turned to three different quarterbacks this season trying to replace J.J. McCarthy. Along with Ale Orji and Davis Warren, Michigan also played Jack Tuttle. However, Tuttle retired mid-season due to a concussion.

As a team, Michigan fell to just 5-5 on the season. That gives the Wolverines just two more games to get to a sixth win and become bowl eligible. The offense now hasn’t scored 30 points since their Week 1 win over Fresno State. Michigan is averaging just 20.4 points per game, which is 117th in the country in scoring offense. The passing game is averaging just 134.6 yards per game, which is 130th in passing offense.

Next, Michigan will have a bye week before hosting Northwestern for their last home game of the season.