Michigan Football: When will Wolverines live up to the hype?

One month ago, Michigan football was expected by many to join the football powerhouses as a playoff team. When are they going to live up to the hype?

Middle Tennessee State was a test that many Michigan football fans believe the team failed. The following week, Army came to town and terrified the Wolverines with a double-overtime fiasco that the maize and blue only survived by causing a turnover. Is this the same Michigan team that was expected to win the conference? Or this the same ten win UM squad of old?

Before we rag on this undefeated Wolverine team, let’s take a look at the first two opponents and Michigan’s performance in those games.

MTSU

The Wolverines came out as heavy favorites against a struggling Blue Raider lineup that lost their four-year starting quarterback. After the kickoff, that 34 1/2 line didn’t appear to be a possibility following the first UM possession. Shea Patterson fumbled, and MTSU capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown.

As we know now, Shea was injured on that down, and Dylan McCaffrey entered the game for a majority of the second half. A second-half that didn’t mean much as the Wolverines were up 27-14.  A couple of scores later, UM raised the score to 40-14. Finally, with less than two minutes left, MTSU scored in garbage time concluding the game 40-21.

If you eliminate Patterson’s early fumble and Lavert Hill‘s punt fumble, the game is 40-0 heading into the fourth. Both turnovers provided field position and energy to an otherwise dead Middle Tennessee State sideline.

Army

Again heavy favorites (22.5), the Wolverines came out sluggish against a tough Army team. Two turnovers led to two Army touchdowns. If Michigan doesn’t commit those mistakes and if the referees got the right call on the Josh Metellus fumble recovery,  UM is up 14-0 heading into the second half of play.

In both games, the Wolverines were actively trying to sabotage their own season through turnovers and mental mistakes.

What are they doing?

Many questions surround the playcalling by first-time offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. His pro-spread looked like a no-spread in the second half of the Army matchup which Gattis explained the adjustment was meant to keep the Black Knight’s offense off the field and equalize the time of possession.

We can question Gattis or Patterson for what we have seen so far, but that would mean we are taking a small world view at the issues at hand. If we step back and realize that MTSU was somewhat of a blowout – despite what appeared to be an experimental offense – and you take a look at the recent history of the Black Knights, the picture becomes clear. This team is special.

Army isn’t a team that you obliterate; in fact, they destroy their opponents. In the Armed Forces Bowl, the Black Knights dominated Houston 70-14 which brought their win total to 11, one win more than the Wolverines.

Furthermore, this isn’t the first time the Army took a top-ranked Power Five school into overtime. Oklahoma squeaked by in single overtime a season ago and was selected as one of the top four colleges in the country.

When are they going to live up to the hype?

The hype train has certainly left the Ann Arbor Amtrack train station as many have already written off this years group, predicting the Wolverines will not surpass the dreaded ten win total Jim Harbaugh is so desperately trying to overcome.

Hopefully, the Wolverines can prove they belong in the playoff conversation when they take on Wisconsin on September 21st.

For that game, there is hope the team will be joined by Donovan Peoples-Jones, the highest-rated receiver on the team, and the leader at left tackle, Jon Runyan Jr., who missed the first game and played sparingly against Army. The recovery efforts are aided by the early bye week Michigan is experiencing this weekend.

Mistakes have been the momentum killer for this team, and as long as Shea and company shore up the offense and the defense plays as consistent as they have been, the Badgers shouldn’t pose a serious threat. After all, UM beat them 38-13 in The Big House in 2018 and held the Wisconsin offense to just ten points on their own turf in 2017, winning 24-10.