Offense notes: Michigan shut down in loss to USC ... update on Justice Haynes

LOS ANGELES — Losing at USC Saturday, Michigan Wolverines football put up only 13 points for the second time this season, with this 31-13 setback joining the 24-13 defeat at Oklahoma Sept. 6.

The Wolverines put together five drives of 49-plus yards and got the ball after two turnovers forced by the defense but couldn’t capitalize on opportunities. The Wolverines went 2-of-9 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down, issues head coach Sherrone Moore pointed to.

“I think one we scored on, but the rest we didn’t, so it’s about third-down conversions,” Moore said, speaking on the Wolverines not scoring any points off of turnovers. “We’ve got to attack down. We’ve got to continue to get better at it.”

Twice, Michigan came away scoreless while in field goal range, with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood taking a sack and throwing a pick in those situations. The 6-foot-4, 228-pounder finished 15-of-24 passing for 207 yards with 1 interception.

“There’s so much poise still and never rattled, competitive spirit, competitive energy,” Moore said. We gave him more as the games went on, and he’ll gain more in this game, and he continues to get better and better and better. So, we’ve got to continue to do that, and he’ll mature and he’ll get better as we go.”

Jordan Marshall steps up with Justice Haynes down

Michigan put up 316 total yards — their second fewest in a game this season — 207 passing and 109 rushing.

“There were execution things,” Moore said of why USC’s defense was able to shut Michigan down. “They did a good job of rallying to the ball and tackling the ball.

“I felt like we had some momentum in the run game. It wasn’t the explosive, but there was the 5, the 6 yard runs, and I thought Bryce did a good job with some of the RPOs and things that we let on and he played with, and he did so. But I think they did a good job, and they made plays when they needed to. They got off the field on third down, and then that’s the key.”

Michigan hasn’t rushed for that little yardage since last season, posting 69 in a 20-15 loss at Indiana. The Wolverines were churning away on the ground, however, before junior Justice Haynes went down with an injury to his rib area in the second quarter, with the Georgian racking up 51 yards on 10 rushes. The All-America candidate went to the medical tent for a lengthy amount of time before heading up to the locker room. He returned to the sideline in the second half — in full uniform — but didn’t play again.

“Just something in his side and he came back out, was working through it, probably could have went,” Moore said. “Extra cautious with our student athletes when anything happens to them, so I want to make sure they’re okay.”

Michigan sophomore running back Jordan Marshall filled in and was productive, with 14 attempts for 68 yards, moving the chains with 4 first downs.

“The game plan was the same,” Moore said. “We did the same things we were we were going to do with the game plan, and [Haynes] will be okay. So, we’ll just see how he goes as we go through the week.”

“Just be ready for the moment,” Marshall said of his mentality. “That’s what we’ve always stood by is next man up. I mean, I’ve done this before, so it’s not anything new to me.

“It’s just the opportunity to go out here and put on for Justice, our running back room.”

A team leader even as an underclassman, Marshall vowed that Michigan will rise up following the second loss of the season.

“I talked about this last time [we lost],” Marshall began. “There are two things that can happen: We can disconnect from each other or we can get better and get stronger together.

“This season’s not over. I’ll let you guys know that. This team is going to come back hungry, and we’ve got really good teams we still have to face and really good opportunities all in front of us. Everything is in front of us.”

Miscellaneous Michigan football offense notes

• For the 13th time in 19 games with Moore as the full-time head coach, Michigan failed to hit the 325 total yard mark.

• Haynes rushed for 100-plus yards and at least 1 touchdown in each of his first five games, and while he was on pace to reach the former number before he went down, the streak was snapped.

• Marshall’s 68 rushing yards are the third-most he’s had in a game in his career, behind the game against Alabama last season (100) and Nebraska earlier this year (68).

• Freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh set career highs for a second straight week, catching 8 passes for 138 yards and 1 touchdown. He had a 69-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that stands as the Wolverines’ longest pass play this season and the program’s longest since a 75-yard touchdown from J.J. McCarthy to Cornelius Johnson at Ohio State in 2022.

• Sophomore quarterback Jadyn Davis threw his first pass attempts of his career, going 0-of-2 with an interception.

• Michigan averaged 5.5 yards per play, its second-lowest amount in a game this season, only ahead of the 5.1 it had at Oklahoma.

• Michigan is averaging only 20 points per game against Power Four opponents.