Michigan Wolverines need to rediscover their offensive identity against Texas

The whole “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none” saying is a bit of a tired cliche. 

You know who has two good quarterbacks?

No. 3 Texas, which is a touchdown favorite at No. 10 Michigan in this weekend’s marquee matchup.

But Saturday’s blueblood-blockbuster might not live up to its billing because the Wolverines also have two quarterbacks (Davis Warren and Alex Orji) — and neither might not be any good. 

Unless Sherrone Moore was playing opossum against Fresno State, Michigan has a 2024 offensive identity issue: It doesn’t have one — and that’s a red-alarm alert in a matchup against a Longhorns team that’s loaded at OL, receiver and, yes, quarterback. 

Does Michigan have an answer to its offensive identity crisis?

One of the keys to Michigan’s recent run of dominance in the Big Ten was the decision to rejigger its offense bespoke of Jim Harbaugh’s personality. 

They ditched the pass-happy spread stuff for some new-school ground-and-pound. 

There was nothing flashy, or even overly complicated about the Wolverines’ attack the last three years. They would simply box opponents into a phone booth and then they beat with a hammer and nails. 

Michigan had a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line and a couple of stud college tailbacks in Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. 

Quarterback JJ McCarthy was excellent at operating Harbaugh’s (and Moore’s) system, and while he wasn’t relied on ton as a thrower, he was (importantly) a number in the run game for Michigan. 

Opponents had to respect McCarthy’s athleticism and ability to carry out play-fakes, which gave Corum & Co., a bit more room to operate. 

All this to say, despite a sea-change of turnover this offseason (Harbaugh, McCarthy, Corum and most of that terrific OL is gone), Sherrone Moore seemingly planned to double-down on the Wolverines’ offensive strategy moving forward — only with Edwards now RB1 and Orji running the show. 

I say *seemingly* because the script did not play out as such against Fresno State in the opener.

Why the results against Fresno State were concerning

All summer, the word out of Ann Arbor was that Alex Orji was primed to be the heir apparent at quarterback. 

Notably, Moore didn’t hit the transfer portal for another quarterback — or add depth to the receiver room. The indications were the program liked what they had in Orji and a young crop of backups. 

But then fall camp came and went without Orji ever being named the team’s starter. By the time Week 1 rolled around, there was suddenly buzz that Warren could play lot in the opener.

It turns out, the former walk-on wouldn’t just play but he started the game against the Bulldogs — and he delivered a rather inauspicious debut. He finished just 15 of 25 for 118 yards (4.7 yards per attempt) with an ugly interception in the first half and a late touchdown to salt the win away. 

Outside of a short goal line touchdown toss from Orji, Warren mostly played the entire first half, but up just 10-3 in the third quarter, Sherrone Moore began rotating the QBs — and the results were a mixed bag. 

With Orji in the game explicitly to run the ball (he finished with five carries for 11 yards), Warren was tasked with completing 3rd downs. Sometimes he did (like twice on the opening drive after halftime) and sometimes he didn’t (like most of the rest of the game). 

Michigan finished with just 269 total yards. The retooled offensive line was underwhelming, and Edwards was wholly ineffective (11 carries for 27 yards). If not for Kalel Mullings (15 carries for 92 yards) or tight end Colston Loveland (five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown) the offense looked completely absent of playmakers. 

So it sure seemed like Michigan spent all summer preparing for Door A, only for Moore to be forced to open Door B when he realized Orji might not have the goods. 

I could be wrong, but Michigan’s offensive roster is not pieced together for a quarterback of Warren’s skill set. He may have great arm talent, but the Wolverines don’t have receivers (six catches for 34 yards against Fresno State) or an OL built to pass-protect 30 times a game (they allowed one sack and seven hurries in the opener). And since Warren, unlikely McCarthy, isn’t a threat in the run game, defenses can load an extra defender to key on Mullings or Edwards.

But Moore clearly does not have much faith in Orji (his two passes Saturday doubled his career total in three years), so it’s going to be Warren’s show for now. 

That means if Michigan has any hopes of upsetting Texas they need to rediscover their offensive identity. 

That simple took-kit with a hammer and nails? They better find it. 

The offensive line must become a group of maulers again. Edwards has to revert back to his 2022 form — not replicate last season’s frustration showing. And Moore, who out-foxed Ryan Day and James Franklin last season, needs to be a step ahead of Steve Sarkisian all afternoon. 

Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and Will Johnson give Michigan a shot to be competitive against the Longhorns, but Texas is still going to score points on Saturday. 

Can the Wolverines keep pace? Can they dictate the game’s tempo and rhythm? They better if they want to extend the nation’s longest active winning streak.