What Michigan Must Fix Before Facing Oklahoma

Michigan was basically a four-touchdown favorite over Western Michigan and needed a last-second Hail Mary to win the game. Now, Kyle Whittingham and Co. are preparing to host Oklahoma during week two, which will be as tough a task as they'll face all season. The Wolverines must improve in massive way over the next week or they'll be embarrassed (again) on their home field. There are probably dozens of things that need to be better next week in order to be competitive against the Sooners, but these three things are at the top of the list. This is probably the understatement of the night but the offensive line just did not impress. They consistently got no push, didn't protect Bryce Underwood very well and never opened up any major holes for U-M's talented running backs to run through. That was against Western Michigan, not Alabama from a few years ago. Michigan should have the size, strength and scheme to get its running backs loose and that simply didn't happen. The Wolverines rushed for just 106 yards and had a long rush of 15. That will not cut it against any teams with comparable talent. It's especially disappointing considering how glowingly Kyle Whittingham talked about offensive line coach Jim Harding all offseason. We also heard the offensive linemen themselves talking about how in-sync they all are and how they can't wait to show that they've been working on. If that's what they wanted to show, they need to get back to the drawing board. Okay, THIS is the understatement of the night. Former 5-star recruit Bryce Underwood is looking more and more like a miss on the trail. The physical tools are all there — he's big at 6-4, 230 pounds, he runs like a deer, he clearly has the arm strength that all quarterbacks covet and he's been groomed to be a star for his entire life. Yet for some reason, it's not clicking. Last night against WMU, Underwood looked rushed when he wasn't, was loose with the ball and reverted back to some of his bad habits including throwing off of his back foot and trying to make throws that simply are not there. Quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer, offensive coordinator Jason Beck and Whittingham have all talked about how much better Bryce was compared to when they arrived, but last night he looked as bad or worse than he did last year. I'm not even sure what "figuring it out" looks like in less than a week, but Underwood needs to be much, much better against Oklahoma or he's going to lose the game and maybe his job. Western Michigan's Broc Lowry wasn't a huge weapon running the ball, but he was able to find some lanes and hurt Michigan at times when coupled with the read running game. Against Oklahoma and John Mateer, that will get you killed. Defensive coordinator Jay Hill's defense is reportedly complicated and a little tough to pick up and honestly, it looked like it last night. A few guys up front, like Trey Pierce and Dominic Nichols, seemed to do a good job last night but Whittingham said that overall, the defense was not good against the run. The Broncos only rushed for 2.9 yards per carry, but grinded out 132 yards in total and really hurt the Wolverines when it came to time of possession and moving the chains. Giving up a 20-play drive against a Western Michigan team is simply unacceptable. Again, do stuff like that against Oklahoma, and prepared to get stomped on your own field. Best Newest first Oldest first