Going into the 2024 Michigan football season, it was reasonable to expect a drop-off. The Wolverines graduated or sent to the NFL some of the best players they have ever had.
J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Mike Sainristil, Kris Jenkins, Michael Barrett, Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Junior Colson, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter and many more -- these weren't just going to be easy players to replace.
But the cupboard wasn't bare either, especially on defense. Plenty of college football teams would kill for a defense that has Mason Graham and Will Johnson -- two top-10 picks, plus Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore, and others.
The offense also has Colston Loveland, a projected first-round tight end plus Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, as well as Semaj Morgan and Tyler Morris. Morris scored a touchdown in the Rose Bowl.
There was also a belief in the some of the highly-touted offensive line recruits waiting in the wings who have been under the direcion of Sherrone Moore, when he coached the offensive line.
What I didn't expect what disarray after six games. Michigan football is 4-2 but needed some good fortune to make that happen. The Wolverines are ranked 24th in the AP poll and even that seems questionable based on what we have seen so far this season.
So is it just about Jim Harbaugh being gone? That obviously makes a big difference. Harbaugh was the best head coach in college football. But this Michigan football team should be better than it is and here are the three biggest reasons why it has failed to meet expetations.
The disaster at quarterback
With the timing of Harbaugh's departure and J.J. McCarthy leaving for the NFL draft, Michigan football was put in a tough spot. Adding a quarterback in the winter transfer portal window wasn't an option, no matter how many times people say it.
However, the Wolverines still mismanaged the quarterback position. They knew in the spring that Jack Tuttle wasn't healthy. He missed the entire spring.
And there was all this chatter about Alex Orji but no effort to install an offense or even a package that would take advantage of his running ability. What Michigan did with Orji would be akin to having Chad Henne run the Rich-Rod offense.
Square peg meets round hole.
I know Orji didn't throw well. But the coaching staff also did a terrible job of using his best asset (running) to leverage better passing opportuntiies or better run opportunities for Edwars and Mullings.
There were a few zone-reads. But not enough designed QB runs. Kirk Campbell said Alex Orji was "one of the best 11 players on offense" meaning he'll play even if he wasn't the starting QB. Then, he still wasn't used, even when the run game was struggling with Davis Warren under center.
It was weird and mismanaged all around. You have to call plays for the guys you have. Not the players you wish you still had, which is what it feels like Kirk Campbell and Michigan have been doing. They also didn't try to incorporate Donovan Edwards -- maybe their most talented pure receiver -- into a historically bad pass offense.
This offense was probably never going to be great this season, but with a better coaching effort, it could have been functional, at least if the offensive line didn't massively disappoint, which leads me to reason No. 2.
The offensive line is a shell of itself
I didn't expect Michigan football to win the Joe Moore Award again, but I expected, in my hearts of hearts, that the Wolverines would have one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten.
Instead, they have one of the worst.
It's inexplicable. Greg Crippen, Raheem Anderson, Andrew Gentry, Giovanni El-Hadi, Evan Link, and even Myles Hinton were all highly-routed recruits. A few of them were top-100 prospects. El-Hadi has started games and looked good. Jeffrey Persi too.
Michigan also added Josh Priebe from Northwestern in the transfer portal. He's been fine, but the offensive line hasn't been. The pass protection is atrocious. Evan Link's pass blocking could be the worst in the power 4.
The Wolverines have had a revolving door at center, even though it seems clear that Greg Crippen is the better player. But if he's not, why not? Why did these highly touted recruits not develop under Moore during the past three years?
El-Hadi and Crippen should have ascended to the starting lineup and become All-Big Ten caliber players. That didn't happen and the offense collapsed.
It was one thing to have issues at quarterback. But if you're identity is "Smash", a good offensive line better be part of the identity and this season, it just hasn't been. That's maybe the most disappointing and alarming thing about this start.
Sherrone Moore used to be an offensive line coach. He coached these players and was personally responsible for their development. Yet, they are falling short of expectations, just like the entire Michigan football program in 2024.
A bad DC hire
I don't want to point the finger at Wink Martindale. But at least half of the Michigan starting lineup on defense are NFL draft picks and yet, the Wolverines rank 56th in scoring defense.
However, the pass defense is 115th in college football, allowing 259 yards per game. Michigan has one of the worst third-down defenses in college football and ranks 133rd out of 134 teams in plays allowed of 10 yards or more in the passing game.
Those are shocking numbers. Yes, there have been some replacements in the secondary. Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry are younger players, but even Makari Paige, Quentin Johnson, and at times, Will Johnson have just looked lost.
There have been a bunch of missed tackles. Worse than that, it seems like there are blown coverage assignments each week. Wink was hired for "continuity." Yet, it's clear that his defense is different than that Michigan was doing and the players haven't adjusted well.
It seems like there is more thinking than playing. The defensive line dominates, but when Wink gets cute, the Wolverines get torched and he loves to get cute on third down.
Hindsight always makes things easier, but Steve Clinkscale should be the DC and Mike Elston should be the Co-DC. That would have been the continuity hire. Maybe it doesn't work. The offense doesn't look great right now with Campbell, and the talent on defense dropped off some, but not to the point that Michigan should have one of the worst pass defenses in college football.
That's on the coaching staff and unfortunately, that feels like a common theme so far in 2024.