The 2024 brought the dawn of a new era in Ann Arbor — and, so far, it's not a very good one.
A raucous Michigan Stadium crowd let loose a deafening roar when the defending champion Wolverines came out of the tunnel to welcome Texas in what was nearly last year's national championship matchup. But that crowd was quickly silenced by the precision of Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns.
In 2023, Michigan won by stifling opponents' offenses and then piling on the points with an offense led by quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Saturday's 31-12 loss to Texas proved those days are long behind the Wolverines, even if the national championship game came less than eight months ago.
Here's a look at Michigan's offensive struggles from the program's first loss in more than 20 months.
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Davis Warren, Michigan offensive stats vs. Texas
The final numbers don't look too brutal for Michigan, but most of QB Davis Warren's production came when the game was already out of reach with the Wolverines in a 25-point hole.
Warren finished 22-of-33 for 204 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Of his passing yards, 127 came in the fourth quarter. Michigan entered the fourth quarter trailing 31-6, and Warren was just 9-of-16 for 77 yards passing with two interceptions at that point.
DEREK WILLIAMS JR INTERCEPTION pic.twitter.com/g82zhNqJEm
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) September 7, 2024
An optimist might see Warren's fourth quarter as a sign of progress, one he can build on next week. But plenty of others likely see it as too little, too late. That kind of production through three quarters isn't enough to keep just about any team in a game, and Texas was already in victory mode by the time Warren and the passing game started to find their footing.
Just as troubling for Michigan on Saturday was the lack of an effective running game. New head coach Sherrone Moore tried to lean on the running game when Warren was struggling, as the Wolverines did in 2023 when McCarthy wasn't at his best, but the backfield couldn't match last season's production in the loss.
Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings and Benjamin Hall combined for 80 yards on 17 attempts, enough for 4.7 yards per carry but just not enough production to overcome such a flat passing game. Michigan averaged 169.1 rushing yards per game in 2023 but totaled 80 on Saturday.
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Michigan ended with 284 yards of offense in the loss, though more than 40% of their total yardage came with a 25-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Not only were the Wolverines out-gained by 105 yards, but they lost the turnover battle 3-0 and were just 3-of-12 on third downs.
PICKED OFF
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 7, 2024
What a play by the @texasfootball defense 🔒🤘 pic.twitter.com/antIs6U3i5
Frustration with the quarterback room could soon reach a boiling point in Ann Arbor. Warren won the job over Alex Orji ahead of Week 1, but he hasn't looked the part through two games. Meanwhile, Moore has tried to use Orji as a gadget player in each of the Wolverines' first two games to no avail. Orji had two carries for a combined minus-1 yards against Texas, with some boos raining down after one attempt.
Assuming Warren remains the starter, he'll have a chance to get on track Arkansas State before a matchup with Miller Moss and USC.
