Meet the Opponent: Michigan Has Regressed Under New Coach After Winning National Championship

Inconsistent quarterback play and injuries to the defense and offensive line have all contributed to a 5-4 start in Michigan’s first season under coach Sherrone Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh after the Wolverines won the national championship last season.

Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore huddles with his team against Minnesota at Michigan Stadium. / Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has another shot at history Saturday against Michigan.

After achieving the program’s first 9-0 start with a 47-10 win at Michigan State, the Hoosiers look to become the first 10-win team in program history with a win over Michigan. Indiana has previously won nine games just twice, in 1967 and 1945. A 10th win in coach Curt Cignetti’s first season would also surpass Indiana’s win total from the last three seasons combined, a 9-27 stretch.

No. 8 Indiana hosts Michigan for a 3:30 p.m. ET game at Memorial Stadium, which will be televised nationally on CBS. 

The Wolverines are the reigning national champions, but coach Jim Harbaugh left Ann Arbor to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach. Michigan replaced him with Sherrone Moore, 38, who was on Harbaugh’s staff since 2018 as an offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and tight ends coach. 

In Moore’s first season as a head coach, Michigan arrives in Bloomington with a 5-4 overall record and a 3-3 record in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have lost three of their last four games, most recently losing 38-17 at home against No. 1 Oregon. Their wins have come against Fresno State, Arkansas State, USC, Minnesota and Michigan State. Michigan was ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, but fell out of the rankings after a 4-2 start.

The all-time series leans heavily in Michigan’s favor at 62-10. Indiana defeated Michigan 38-21 under coach Tom Allen in 2020, something that hadn’t been done since 1987, and before that, 1967. That makes Saturday’s matchup unique, as Indiana is favored by 13.5 points and hasn’t been favored against Michigan since 1968, according to Evan Abrams of The Action Network.

“Really tough opponent,” Cignetti said. “... A lot of good players, really stout defense, really good special teams. They run the ball well. Good tight end, running backs. The offensive line functions well. Settled in on a quarterback, he can spin it. And the receivers are more than capable. So we'll have to have a great week of preparation and play our best to have a shot.”

Here's a full breakdown of the Wolverines.

Key offensive players

Michigan has played three quarterbacks this season: Davis Warren, Alex Orji and former Hoosier Jack Tuttle, who announced on Oct. 28 he’s retiring from football. The last two weeks, it has started Warren, a 6-foot-2 senior who had attempted just 14 career passes prior to this season. 

Across five games this season, Warren has completed 73 of 112 (65.2%) passes for 731 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions. He threw for 123 yards and a touchdown on 19 pass attempts in Michigan’s 24-17 home win over Michigan State on Oct. 26. Last week, Warren completed 13 of 23 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. 

All six of his interceptions occurred in the first three weeks against Fresno State, Texas and Arkansas State. Warren is not a threat to run the ball; he’s rushed just 11 times for seven yards this season. Although Warren has started the last two games, Michigan has utilized Orji as a runner in both games.

Michigan quarterback Davis Warren (16) throws against Michigan State at Michigan Stadium. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Orji, a 6-foot-3 junior, carried the ball six times for 64 yards and a touchdown against Michigan State, then six times for 39 yards against Oregon. Across eight games this season, he has run the ball 47 times for 227 yards and a touchdown. 

Orji made his first career start against USC, but likely lost the job due to his shortcomings as a passer. He has completed 24 of 46 (52.2%) passes for 149 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Michigan seems to have settled on Warren as the starter and the quarterback who will throw the ball, but Indiana should expect to see Orji mix in Saturday as a runner.

With inconsistencies and poor play at quarterback this year, Michigan’s strength on offense has been its running backs and tight ends. Running back Kalel Mullings has 131 carries for 710 yards and seven touchdowns, good for 5.4 yards per carry. Michigan will also use Donovan Edwards, who has 99 rushes for 467 yards and three touchdowns, good for 4.7 yards per carry. 

Michigan’s leading receiver is junior tight end Colston Loveland, a projected first-round NFL draft pick. At 6-foot-5, Loveland has 49 receptions for 523 yards and four touchdowns, by far the most productive tight end Indiana has faced this year.

“You've got to be aware of him, for sure, down the field and on screens, various things, because when you've got size and speed like that, you can create personnel mismatch,” Cignetti said. “So he's an excellent football player. They've got a lot of really good football players.”

Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (18) warms up before the Oregon game at Michigan Stadium. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan wide receiver Semaj Morgan got playing time as a true freshman on last year’s national championship team, and he has 21 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown this year. But as a whole, Michigan’s wide receiving corps lacks in production, perhaps due to poor quarterback play, as Tyler Morris leads the group with 134 receiving yards.

Michigan won the Joe Moore Award in 2021 and 2022, given to the nation’s best offensive line. But that group has been a work in progress this year. Eight different players have played at least 115 snaps, due to injuries and inconsistent play. Only one, left tackle Myles Hinton, started a game last season. That group has a big challenge Saturday against an Indiana defense that produced seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss against Michigan State.

“I look at them and I see a really good defense, really good special teams. And offensively, they haven't scored points,” Cignetti said. “They're not in the 40s and 50s. But they can run the ball from 11, 12 and 13 personnel. They've got weapons. They've got good backs. They've got good players, and they're a good football team coming in here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and it's part of the reason it's on national TV at 3:30. To meet that challenge, we've got to have a great week of preparation.”

Key defensive players

Michigan has three defenders projected in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, according to CBS Sports’ latest mock. That starts with cornerback Will Johnson, who’s projected to go No. 2 overall.

However, Michigan may be without Johnson, who suffered a foot injury on Oct. 19 against Illinois and did not play the last two weeks against Michigan State or Oregon. Johnson has two interceptions and three passes in six games this year. Jyaire Hill has a team-high seven passes defended, but he did not play last week against Oregon due to injury.

"Both working through it, pushing. Seems like Jyaire's working, he's trending on probably playing, but we'll see," Moore said Monday. "And then we'll see with Will how he goes this week."

The other projected first rounders are defensive linemen Mason Graham, projected to go No. 9 overall, and Kenneth Grant, projected No. 27. Graham stands at 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, and he has made 33 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks this season. Grant, 6-foot-3 and 339 pounds, has 21 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks.

Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham (55) tackles Alabama running back Jase McClellan (2) in the 2024 Rose Bowl. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

They’re not the only defensive linemen for Indiana to worry about, though. Edge rusher Josaiah ranks third in the Big Ten with 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Stewart has the nation’s highest grade for defense (92.3), among edge rushers this season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). 

Defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny missed two games due to injury, but he returned last week against Oregon. Stewart, Graham, Benny and Grant are Michigan’s highest-graded defenders this season, per PFF.

Michigan has the nation’s fifth-highest grade for run defense and 11th highest grade for overall defense. Michigan’s leading tacklers are linebackers Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham.

“When you put the tape on, you see a defense that's very multiple and tries to create problems for offenses and good players that fly around, play hard,” Cignetti said. “It all starts up front with them. They're good inside and good on the edge. And they're an aggressive defense.”

Michigan notes

• Total offense: 299.4 (127th)
• Rushing offense 165.1 (62nd)
• Passing offense: 134.3 (128th)
• Scoring offense: 21 (116th)
• Total defense: 345.1 (47th)
• Rushing defense: 109.3 (23rd)
• Passing yards allowed: 235.8 (95th)
• Scoring defense: 23.3 (57th)
• Turnover margin: -0.56 (102nd)
• Third down conversion: 40% (69th)
• Fourth down conversion: 76.9% (8th)
• Red zone offense: 81% (96th)
• Red zone define: 80.6% (44th)
• Fewest penalties per game: 4.44 (10th)
• Time of possession: 30:28 (60th)