Davis Warren: “The standard hasn’t changed” after Michigan’s loss to Texas
Michigan Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren said the “level of the defending national champions has not changed” after losing 31-12 to Texas.
So they were outnumbered, outgunned, outnumbered, and if that were all that happened at Michigan Stadium today, the Michigan football team would tip their hat to the national title contender that just got its butt kicked and move on.
That happens. Not often, of course, and almost never in September, but the Wolverines still lost 17 starters, most of them to the NFL, and Texas is, well, still in good shape.
But the tackling? The angles you take when attempt to tackle? The decision to sub in quarterback Alex Orji on third and fifth downs when everyone in the stadium knew he was going to run? Including Texas?
And Then run?
These numbers are cause for concern and suggest that UM is facing a season the likes of which has not been seen in this country since the coronavirus pandemic.
JEFF SEIDEL: Texas reveals many, many problems for Wolverines
Remember that season, right? The 4-2 loss that resulted in a pay cut for Jim Harbaugh and put him in the firing line, literally?
It’s easy to forget that now. Three Big Ten titles in a row and, most recently, a national championship would do that. But the confetti euphoria only lasts for a while, or until a title-worthy opponent comes along and humiliates you.
Suddenly memories fade, impatience sets in, and the whole winning streak seems like it happened a long time ago. And what about the bad tackling? A lack of talent makes defenders look like bad tacklers, and that’s just as sobering as everything else that happened today when Texas beat UM 31-12.
“You definitely feel it,” UM head coach Sherrone Moore said of the loss, the program’s first since 2022. “Our kids feel it. … We have a lot of work to do.”
Hey, the new guy isn’t hiding. So that’s something.
Few expected the No. 9 Wolverines to beat the No. 3 Longhorns, and everyone knew how much UM had lost to the seniors and to the graduates. Still, the drop in performance was striking — even alarming — due in part to where this program stood in January.
Well, the speculation can end now. UM should still get a bowl game and be competitive for the majority of its schedule, especially because Texas through Ohio State may be the best team they play.
Then again, No. 14 USC is here in a few weeks. And No. 6 Oregon. And, well, you know what I mean.
It was a test of “manhood,” said defensive back Quinten Johnson.
And?
“How will you react?” he asked.
If the Wolverines do what they did today, every game will be a challenge. See: last week against Fresno State.
Yes, yes, the Bulldogs won nine games a year ago to break into the top 25 and are often a more than respectable team. It’s also possible that the Mountain West team told us everything we needed to know about UM last Saturday.
Namely:
THE GAME: Michigan Football is humiliated by Texas in 31-12 thrashing
Moore still has a long way to go and a lot of work to do to achieve his goal.
“It will require determination,” he said.
He had to have known that. After all, he was here to achieve fame, and he saw up close who entered and who left Schembechler Hall.
Harbaugh, his predecessor, did him no favors by failing to recruit at the level that national champions typically do. And if there was ever a question this offseason whether the Wolverines reconstruction or Reloadthe Longhorns just responded emphatically.
This is clearly not Moore’s fault, and he should be given time to figure out what program he wants to implement. He’ll need it because the team’s four best players – tight end Colston Loveland, cornerback Will Johnson and defensive ends Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant – will almost certainly be playing in the NFL next season.
And where will Moore go then?
First, he needs to develop a quarterback. Maybe if all else goes wrong, true freshman Jadyn Davis will get a chance later this season. And if not, maybe he’s the future.
Whatever happens, the quarterback’s play needs to improve — in every way. Davis Warren has a great history and made some nice throws against Texas — if it hadn’t been for Loveland’s fumble late in the second quarter as he was going for a first down, who would have thought?
“I have to get better,” he said. “This is Day 1 stuff.”
Admirable. But who are we kidding? His fumble didn’t prevent the win. Texas was too good. The result might have looked a little better and the mood afterwards might have been a little better. But that’s about it.
Back to Warren. He struggled to get a good shot at receivers – or even reach their catch radius – and threw two interceptions, but the faltering passing game wasn’t all his fault.
To his credit, he said it was all his fault.
“The responsibility is mine. I have to do more,” he said.
Warren was often on the run. His receivers were unable to consistently break away from him. The running game was not there to set up plays, a cornerstone of this program in recent years.
And the running game wasn’t there because the offensive line is new and relatively young and couldn’t build up any pressure against the Longhorns. Simply put, that’s where the game was lost – at the line of scrimmage.
So Warren can, of course, take the blame and try to protect his teammates. He can also insist that the team, as configured, had enough to beat Texas, and that’s what he did.
“We are better than we showed,” he said.
Hey, it’s easy to snicker at optimists, but you’ll never hear that snicker here. Faith is faith, even if it obscures reality. And the reality is that UM couldn’t generate the pressure it needed on defense, either. Texas ran when it wanted to, threw when it wanted to, and only threw down the field once. Not that it needed to. The Longhorns bullied the Wolverines.
It had been a while, probably since the loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff to close out the 2021 season, when Harbaugh and his team realized the difference between the best of the Big Ten and the best of the SEC (where Texas now calls home).
Moore has experienced a similar divide today, only his path is even more daunting. He isn’t trying to take that final step toward a championship. He is trying to rebuild a program that has lost more than any other champion in recent history.
And he is trying to prove that he is the right man to lead the reconstruction.
He will get time again, and he should.
His players also need to learn to tackle better.
Soon.
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
