What they're saying after Michigan's 31-12 loss to Texas

The Michigan Wolverines fell 31-12 to No. 3 Texas on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, signaling a need for major improvement if the team has any hope of getting to the College Football Playoff for a fourth straight year.

The local and national reactions were fairly unforgiving after a game that provided more questions than answers. Here is a sampling of what the country is saying about the Wolverines’ setback.

Chris Balas, The Wolverine

Texas 31, Michigan 12: Notes, quotes, and observations — reality sets in
If U-M’s front 7 is one of the best in the country as they like to claim, then Texas is in great shape. The latter seems to be the case either way, and Michigan will still overwhelm many of the other teams on the schedule defensively. At the same time, this Wolverines’ group looked much different than last year’s — undisciplined at times, non-existent at others — and the Longhorns did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted until taking the foot off the gas in the second half.

The Michigan, offense, meanwhile, looked like year one of Rich Rodriguez at times — maybe not in style, but in execution. It had 88 yards at the break and looked bereft of playmakers on offense minus tight end Colston Loveland (whose own mistakes, including a silly, unforced fumble before the half that was as undisciplined as — well, several other plays on both sides of the ball by too many Wolverines — were extremely costly). 

They went to their bag of tricks early just to move the ball, but when it came time to pick up third down, etc., they went to the Alex Orji well, predictably and with no success. There were growing pains as many predicted, but yes, we thought it would look better than this.

Ryan Van Bergen, The Wolverine postgame show

Postgame reactions: Where does Michigan go after blowout loss to Texas?
“This game just exposed us for all the different areas where we need to improve,” Van Bergen said. “This team I think has a lot of ability and capacity and potential, but none of that really showed through today. A bad day at the office pretty much all around, except for maybe our kicker and there are things to be learned, but I think we’re on that spectrum of if we are reloading or are we resetting with the new staff and some of the players that we lost.

“I think that this game was a clear answer that this is a real reset button. And for me, that just brings my expectations down a little bit that we’re not going to be playing national championship football in week two of the regular season this year. And it’s not to say that we were supposed to be playing national championship football, but I do think that there was some expectation there. And now I think we kind of got to come back down to reality and realize that.

“This team needs to develop an identity. This team needs to develop an entire offense and a scheme that’s going to be successful. On the defensive side, just because we have the athletes doesn’t mean that we are where we were last year. There are still a lot of games left to be played. There’s a lot of season left to be had. The goals that we may have had at the beginning of the season are still there, but I think we just finally realized just how far away we are from playing the football that we want to play.”

Justin Williams, The Athletic

Five things we learned about the College Football Playoff race in Week 2
Any skeptics worried Texas was a one-hit wonder should be convinced otherwise after the Longhorns took care of business with a 31-12 win in the Big House. For the second time in as many seasons, quarterback Quinn Ewers went on the road and led his team to victory over a top-10 opponent. Last year it was Alabama. This time it was reigning champion Michigan on a 23-game home winning streak. The Horns dominated from wire to wire with Ewers at the wheel, finishing 24-of-36 for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Just as important is how Ewers managed the game, eliminating the streakiness and careless turnovers that have hampered him in the past. The talent has never been in question, but the maturity was evident on Saturday.

So was the drop-off Michigan is dealing with. It’s not exactly a surprise. The talk surrounding this team all offseason — when it wasn’t about NCAA investigations or Netflix documentaries — was about losing 13 draft picks to the NFL, along with head coach Jim Harbaugh and several key staffers. After starting slow last week against Fresno State, the limitations manifested against a Texas team that was significantly more talented and explosive. Quarterback Davis Warren’s stat line — 22-of-33 passing for 204 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions — wasn’t miles away from Ewers’ production (aside from the picks), but the eye test said otherwise.

Texas is one of the best teams the Wolverines will face all season, probably until they travel to Ohio State to close the regular season. It’s possible Michigan can still make some noise in the Big Ten, but the showing against a national title candidate suggested the title defense is DOA. The Wolverines plummeted to a 5 percent chance to make the CFP, according to our model.

Austin Meek, The Athletic

Not even the afterglow of a national championship could put shine on this Michigan performance
The 2024 season brought a new world order in college football. Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, the Big Ten added four schools from the Pac-12 and the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. With so many changes, games like Saturday’s were destined to have a different feel.

For Michigan, “different” doesn’t begin to describe it. This is a program that’s gotten used to cruising through easy September schedules, bullying the other teams in the Big Ten and playing deep into the postseason. The Wolverines hoped they could continue to do those things, minus the easy schedule.

Playing Texas in Week 2 was a litmus test to see how Michigan would fare in replacing so many key figures from last year’s national championship run, including coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum and a slew of difference-makers on defense. The results are in, and they don’t look encouraging.

Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports

10 Takeaways from Week 2: College Football Upsets and Lessons Learned
I didn’t expect the Wolverines to beat Texas on Saturday, but I thought they would hang. By the end of the first Michigan offensive possession, it became clear that the Wolverines would not have enough offensively to do that. That’s on the offensive line. That’s on the lack of a run game. That’s on the quarterback. There are a few reasons why Michigan couldn’t go portaling for a quarterback better than what’s on the current roster — the Wolverines’ postseason went so late; their only opportunity would have been in the spring, and I don’t think there were better options — but it’s a limiting factor. Davis Warren can throw a nice ball, but can he make up for a weak O-line? Alex Orji can run, but can he throw the ball effectively and efficiently if needed? And if this offense can’t control the game at the line of scrimmage and run the ball on demand, what chance will its defense have? With a challenging schedule ahead, it’s hard to imagine an in-season fix. We might need to chalk this season up to a rebuild and see what happens in the offseason.

David Hale, ESPN

College football Week 2 highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways
Physicist Stephen Hawking theorized that, although likely unprovable, time travel was indeed possible.

Well, he was wrong. The first two weeks of this season have proved not only that it is possible, but also that we’ve somehow all tumbled through a wormhole back to 1994.

The proof? Texas is 2-0. Nebraska is 2-0. Miami is 2-0. Also Oasis is getting back together.

The Longhorns went to Ann Arbor and dispatched Michigan with ease. Quinn Ewers threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, the defense created three takeaways and the social media department delivered the dagger.

It was a reminder that life has changed in short order for the Wolverines, who went from a national title in January to an utter lack of identity in September. The offense has struggled under QB Davis Warren, who in ’80s movie fashion somehow was elevated from the mailroom to the C suite, possibly due to a wish on an enchanted fortune teller machine or a mannequin coming to life. The defense, supposedly a strength, did little to disrupt Texas’ attack. And head coach Sherrone Moore has been hampered by not having the signals for every opponent Michigan faces.

Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News

Wojo: Wolverines get smacked back to reality, now what?
A step back was expected, even inevitable. You soar high enough, you’re eventually going to plummet. But this suddenly, this soundly? This was a thud, a total dud, a Big House takeover by a team that wants what Michigan had.

The Longhorns came in with the dynamic quarterback, the thumping offensive line and the receivers and running backs eager to show exactly who they are. And now for the first time in four years, the Wolverines have to dig deep and figure out who they are, and what they have.

They don’t have enough offensive pieces, for starters. They don’t have playmakers at key positions, particularly quarterback. And they certainly don’t have the depth or experience to hang with an elite team like Texas. The No. 3 Longhorns exposed Michigan’s vulnerabilities in a 31-12 romp Saturday, and it doesn’t take much analysis to describe what happened.

Michael Cohen, Fox Sports

How Quinn Ewers, Texas ‘fought fire with fire’ and beat Michigan at its own game
It was Michigan that proved incapable of running the ball despite facing a Longhorns defense that yielded 118 rushing yards to Colorado State last week. Texas’ dominance in the trenches expanded to include a retooled defensive line that smothered tailbacks Donovan Edwards (eight carries, 41 yards) and Kalel Mullings (six carries, 25 yards), despite losing tackles Byron Smith and T’Vondre Sweat to the NFL Draft, with both players chosen among the first 38 picks. Even change-of-pace quarterback Alex Orji, who played sparingly in support of starter Davis Warren, finished with minus-1 yard on two carries, twice failing to move the chains on critical third downs as hordes of Longhorns swarmed.

What remained of the Wolverines’ offense was little more than a feeble passing attack that boasted neither the arm talent nor the receiving talent to overcome a multi-score deficit, such is the thinness of Michigan’s margin for error without J.J. McCarthy at quarterback and with the entirety of last year’s offensive line in the NFL. Warren, who was intercepted twice, needed until the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter to surpass 100 yards through the air. And when his only consistent target — tight end Colston Loveland — fumbled without being touched in the latter stages of the second quarter, handing the ball back to Texas for a game-clinching touchdown, it was clear the Wolverines stood no chance. A program that prides itself on toughness was thoroughly out-toughed.

Nick Bromberg, Yahoo Sports

Week 2 college football winners and losers: Michigan and Notre Dame have real work to do to make the playoff
Warren’s story is phenomenal. The senior was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 while he was in high school. He spent more than four months in the hospital getting treatments and is now starting games for the defending national champions. You cannot question his desire or perseverance.

But you can question the performance of the Michigan offense over the past two weeks. The Wolverines have scored just three touchdowns and 36 offensive points over the first two games of the season. Yes, Michigan lost a lot from its offense a season ago. Given the offseason change in Ann Arbor, it was realistic to expect some early growing pains as offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore took over as the team’s head coach.

It’s hard to find offensive bright spots, however. Jim Harbaugh’s offense was predicated on play-action pass plays off a dogged run game. So far, Michigan has recorded 57 carries for 228 yards. Are teams loading up even more to stop the run knowing that McCarthy is now in the NFL? Warren averaged 4.7 yards a pass against Fresno State and only surpassed that mark against Texas after the Longhorns knew the game was out of reach.