ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Rival fans are having something of a field day as Michigan football has struggled mightily in 2024, following up the national championship season with a 4-3 record in seven games. Next to no one in the national media expected so much of a falloff for the Wolverines, who haven’t been able to figure out the quarterback situation, and by extension, the offense.
However, after trying three quarterbacks, and coming in as one of the worst teams in the country (122nd out of 134 teams) in terms of turning the ball over, it stands to reason that Michigan wouldn’t be following up its best season with another in-kind — especially since Michigan was No. 1 in turnover margin a year ago.
No one is more surprised than Donovan Edwards, the team captain and running back, who has had two untimely turnovers himself. The way Edwards saw it when he looked at what team 145 could be before the season, he felt like a repeat of last year’s success was definitely on the table. Thus, he doesn’t feel like expectations for this team were too high — instead, it’s more that this team has failed to execute.
“No, absolutely not, because I looked at the schedule myself,” Edwards said. “I’m like, we shouldn’t lose a game this year. That’s what I said before the season. And you should always have that kind of confidence and that kind of expectation, so, absolutely.
“Now I look across the board, every guy amongst our team is a draft pick, you know? So, no, it’s not unfair to say that, or it’s not unfair to say for us that expectations were too high. It happens within the game. You win games, you lose games, you know? And this is Michigan, it’s a winning program, and we’re always expected to win. But ultimately, it sucks to say you can’t win every single game, so, but we’re always going to try our absolute best every single week to win every single game. So, I have faith in that.”
Edwards is aware of his own struggles and how he’s hurt this team with his own turnovers. But, neither he nor his teammates can wallow in that.
In Edwards’ estimation, the Wolverines are better than they’ve played, though the record indicates they are who they are. Still, he’s not satisfied with that, knowing how good they can be. With three of the final five regular season games coming against ranked teams, Edwards says he and his teammates are working to be better every single day in hopes that by year’s end, they reach their potential — even if the preseason goals are out the window at this point.
“We have a lot of work to do, especially just me, always like being hard on myself,” Edwards said. “I have two fumbles this year, which is not really like me at all. So it’s just the small things that we always have to get better at.
“Also, just said earlier that for us going on moving forward, we just have to continue to win the day today. And I live by a Kobe Bryant quote that says it’s a consequence to be better today than you were yesterday, to make a better tomorrow than today. So that’s kind of the model that we have to live by. And every single week, every single day we have to get better, and every single week, we actually get better.”
Even with this season being a disappointment, the team isn’t wallowing, as mentioned earlier. This lack of success for these players is unprecedented, even if earlier teams had similar struggles.
For Edwards, it’s about staying the course while improving to ensure that the team doesn’t end the season by continuing on the recent trajectory that it’s been set upon.
“I’ve had, what? Three losses before this year?” Edwards said. “So, it’s kind of hard, because you never want to lose any single football game. You put your heart, your mind, your soul, into this game. And it’s just hard when at the end of the day there’s a loss on your record. You never want this. So, ultimately, we just have to continue to do better. Leaders continue to lead, and coaches continue to coach, and we just have to get collectively better every single day. And we also have to just continue to be there for one another and continue to build on what has been built here already before.”