Michigan is five games through the season, almost halfway through, and the Wolverines are 3-2. That is not a spot this team wants to be in, especially when it comes to competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
This team has shown a lot in five games, both good and bad. With the bye week here, head coach Kyle Whittingham has a lot to work on in order to get this team back on track. So, let's take a look at the five biggest observations we have made about this Michigan team so far this season.
5. Kyle Whittingham may not be the right fit at Michigan
Just five games into the season isn't the time to really make a stand on whether or not Kyle Whittingham is the right fit at Michigan. While Whittingham is a great coach and his resume speaks for itself, he may not be the right fit for Michigan and its style of football.
There is still more time this season, though, for Whittingham to prove that wrong, but so far, through five games, Michigan doesn't seem to be better off with him at the helm. Whittingham was meant to come in and bring a better culture to Ann Arbor, and at times Michigan has been more undisciplined now than it was before. While scandals aren't breaking out, the team on the field is struggling with penalties.
4. The run game is not as strong as advertised
The Michigan rushing attack has always been a strength of the offense, and before the season began, it looked like that would be the case again. With the return of Jordan Marshall and the addition of five-star freshman Savion Hiter, this run game should be off the charts, but instead it's been practically nonexistent.
Hiter has not been the breakout player his teammates and coaches made it sound like he would be, and Marshall has dealt with minor injuries since the start of the season. The offensive line hasn't been a huge help either with run blocking. If the run game can open up, it might be able to help the rest of the offense get going.
3. Kyle Whittingham's Utah transfers have delivered in a big way
When Whittingham took the job at Michigan, a large number of transfers chose to follow him, and it has worked out in a major way for the Wolverines. John Henry Daley and JJ Buchanan immediately come to mind as the best Utah transfers for Michigan this season.
Even though Daley took a game to really get going, he has dominated on the defensive line with Dom Nichols, both causing a lot of havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Buchanan walked in and has been Michigan's best receiver since day one, already with more receiving yards than he had last season at Utah, with 446 yards and four touchdowns.
2. Jay Hill's defense is the real deal
Michigan's defense is the difference between the Wolverines being 3-2 and 1-4. If it wasn't for defensive coordinator Jay Hill's unit, Michigan wouldn't have beaten Western Michigan, and even the Oklahoma game is a little questionable.
The Michigan defense, while at times it has shown to be a little undisciplined with stupid penalties after the play was over, has been lights-out for the Wolverines. Even when the defense couldn't stop the opposing offense from scoring, they at least were able to limit them to three points, as they did against Minnesota.
Hill has proven to be Whittingham's best hire so far this season, and if this defense can continue to play like this, it could give Michigan at least a shot at having success this season.
1. The Michigan offense is in serious trouble
Before the season began, all eyes were on the Michigan offense and whether or not they would take a step forward with the new coaching staff. Well, after the first five games of the season, I think it is safe to say that it has not, but that doesn't mean it still can't. There is hope that during the bye week, Michigan can fix some of the issues plaguing the offense.
Looking at the offense as a whole, there are problems all over the place. The offensive line isn't giving much protection, which means Bryce Underwood is being hurried in the pocket, and his decision-making is questionable at best. The run game, as mentioned above, is not producing enough, and Underwood only likes throwing to two receivers.
Hopefully, the offense can turn things around because anything better than what it is now could be enough for this team to really compete for the rest of the season with a dominant Michigan defense.
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