3 questions facing Michigan football after the Texas loss

Can new pieces on defense meet the standard?

The offense was bad against Texas. However, the defense wasn't much better. The only time Texas was stopped in the first half was on a missed field goal. The Longhorns converted seven of their first eight third-down attempts and 8 of the first 10.

That's mind blowing. I gave Michigan's defensive front way too much credit. The first four are elite, but there isn't great depth and Texas exposed that, quickly.

The Longhorns also took advantage of the linebackers and pretty much everyone in the secondary outside of Will Johnson. Even the tackling was poor. As good as Texas was, Michigan was sloppy and the ease with which Texas moved the ball was unnerving.

Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Moore, and Josaiah Stewart are all elite players. Yet, being an elite defense means 11 players working as one, within the scheme and we didn't see that. We saw uncharacteristic mistakes, missed tackles, and just things we aren't used to seeing.

Maybe it was a one-off performance, but if the Michigan football defense isn't as good as we expected, then expectations need to be adjusted, dramatically.