Michigan Football: Can Wolverines Still Make the Playoffs?

The Michigan football defense needs to be better

The defense was terrible against Texas. It was better against Arkansas State but still had some issues on third down and gave up 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Wink Martindale was hyped up coming into this season, but he did not coach a good game against Texas. The defense was unable to keep Texas out of the end zone, and consistently gave up big plays in crucial spots. Will Johnson was very effective at eliminating his receiver against Texas, but it was for nothing since the tight end or running back was always wide open.

Jyaire Hill showed flashes of stardom but got beat too many times and missed too many tackles. The linebackers, for all that we heard about them, were nowhere to be found - the middle of the field was wide open on almost every pass, and Quinn Ewers wasn't being pressured, so where were they? The Wolverines just couldn't stop the bleeding. Yes, the offense didn't help them out, but the defense made every Michigan possession a must score. Texas could have scored 50+ if they didn't respectfully stop trying after going up 31-6.

Luckily, this should serve as a lesson and bulletin board material for the defense. Everyone is calling them overrated, saying they're so much worse than last years defense. These guys have something to prove now. And that extends to Coach Martindale. He should know what he has to do to perform better now. Everyone has something to work on. I fully expect that game to be their worst performance of the year.

The defense will have a chance to prove itself against USC in just over a week.

Conclusion

If Michigan football can get more out of the offensive line and defense, I believe this is still a playoff-caliber team. Michigan will have plenty of chances to impress the committee. If the Wolverines can manage to go into Columbus with no more than two losses, they'll be in good shape. Let's hope for some significant improvement. Go blue.