Urban Meyer: ‘Zero chance’ Michigan can succeed without passing game

Michigan is yet to prove its passing ability this season. In the latest episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer weighed in on Michigan’s chances of winning the Big Ten or reaching the College Football Playoff without improving its passing game.

“They can’t [succeed]. There’s zero chance with that kind of balance,” Meyer said. “They got to play both quarterbacks. I said that when we were there. Alex Orji is good enough to play. He’s got to play. I think he’s a tremendous player. But, to answer your question: no.

“You’re going to get zero coverage every snap, and you will see that the numbers disappear. I like how rugged the Wolverines were on offense and defense, and that’s kind of a trademark of who they are, but there is zero chance unless you balance that thing up. At some point, it’s going to be nine up, and you’ll stop the run.”

Through four games this season, Michigan has amassed 491 total passing yards. In comparison, in the first four games of the 2023 campaign, Michigan tallied 950 passing yards. It’s no coincidence that no team came within three scores of Michigan during that span last season.

At the beginning of this season, Michigan started Davis Warren at quarterback. Warren is viewed as a better passer than fellow Michigan QB Alex Orji. However, through three starts, Warren failed to find consistency, recording two touchdowns compared to six interceptions.

In turn, Michigan named Orji the starting QB ahead of its Week 4 showdown against USC. Although Michigan escaped with a 27-24 win over the Trojans, Orji only completed 7-of-his-12 pass attempts for 32 yards.

Since it’s too late for Michigan to add new personnel, Meyer believes the program must consider changing its offense.

“I’ve been in that situation a couple times, and maybe the answer is, you go to an option offense,” Meyer said. “The equating numbers issue is real. I don’t know their offense coaching staff [or] if they have the ability to do that. But if that quarterback is throwing picks — you’re right — they lose that game.

“They took USC, and when they had to go run the ball, they ran the ball. That’s it to me. That’s more important than throwing the ball. They just proved they’re tough. That proves that they pound the people there. They got that rugged mentality. But reality is, you’re going to have to be balanced up a little bit.”