In 2024, Michigan finished the season 8-5 after being at the mountaintop of college football in 2023, winning a National Championship. That is a fairly big drop for a team that was just a National Champion, but when looking at how many players from the 2023 team Michigan lost and the fact that they lost their head coach, an 8-5 season is pretty good.
Everyone knows that the biggest problem for Michigan in 2024 was its offense, as the Wolverines had one of the worst offenses in college football last season. Using two quarterbacks, Michigan was just never able to get their feet under them offensively, however, that was not the only problem Michigan had last season.
Looking back on the 2024 season, there are five key areas the Wolverines can improve on, so here are the five key stats Michigan needs to improve in 2025 in order to bounce back.
Passing offense efficiency
In the 2024 season, Michigan averaged just 129.1 passing yards a game, which was ranked 131st in the nation according to Fox Sports. Quarterback Davis Warren was the leading passer for the Wolverines with 1,199 passing yards and just seven passing touchdowns, along with nine interceptions.
Inconsistency in the passing game is what led Michigan to lean so heavily on the rushing game, making them a very one-dimensional team for opponents. Going into the 2025 season, Michigan will have 2025 No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood, probably the most anticipated player to watch this next season, and five-year veteran Mikey Keene to choose from. Both are great choices, but Keene's experience may outweigh the hype for Underwood.
Not only does quarterback play need to improve, but Michigan needs to improve play from the offensive line in order to give either order or Keene time to make a play.
Passing defense vulnerabilities
While Michigan's defense was the highlight of the team last season, it still had its struggles as well. The Michigan defense allowed opposing quarterbacks to have a 60.2% completion rate and convert on third down 41.1% of the time. Losing cornerback Will Johnson for a good portion of the season due to injuries really hurt Michigan's secondary.
Giving up big plays is something no defense ever wants to do, and it is what the Michigan defense did a lot. The guys up front were doing the best they could to get pressure, and they did land that pressure a lot, but when they didn't, the secondary was unable to back them up downfield.
Additions through the transfer portal, such as three-star cornerback Caleb Anderson and three-star safeties Tevis Metcalf and TJ Metcalf, should help bolster this struggling secondary in 2025.
Offensive yards per play
Going back to the offensive side of the ball, Michigan has to find ways to get more yards on each play. In 2024, the Wolverines averaged just 4.6 yards per play, which ranked 124th in the country. Mediocre quarterback play was a big factor in this stat, but again, with the Wolverines being more of a one-dimensional offense with the run game, teams were able to stop the run more often than not.
Michigan should have better quarterback play this season, but they also added former Alabama running back Justice Haynes through the transfer portal, who should help with the run game.
Turnover margin
The turnover margin in the 2024 season is pointed back to the play of the quarterbacks for Michigan. With the potential of Keene taking over the quarterback position, there is a hope that the number of interceptions will lessen, but with Underwood potentially playing, his inexperience could lead to a higher turnover margin.
Michigan has a turnover margin of -2 in 2024, which also means that the defense wasn't causing a lot of turnovers either. While the offense can't afford to give the ball away, the defense should be able to get it back more than it did in 2024. A newly built defensive line could cause more turnovers, as it should also be the strongest part of the 2025 team.
Second-half performance
A lot of times in football, a team is known as a first-half team or a second-half team, when the goal is to be a team that can compete fully throughout the game. However, if a team is going to be one or the other, it is better to be a second-half team, which Michigan was not in 2024.
The Wolverines would start the game off hot with some nice plays and even get the scoring going; however, in the second half, they would just fall apart. It was seen in the USC game, where Michigan led 14-3 at halftime and only narrowly won 27-24 after being outscored 21-13 in the second half.
This one has to go back on the coaching staff for keeping players conditioned and in the game in the second half, but also for having a better game plan coming out of the break.