Everyone, your writer here included, expected Michigan football to come out in 2023 and blow away the nonconference competition to start the season. While the Wolverines have been dominant, they perhaps haven’t been stylistically dominant.
There have been some potential growing pains. The offense has looked efficient and incredible for the first half of the first two games, but haven’t exactly looked like worldbeaters otherwise. Week 3 saw a certain coming back down to earth for that unit.
The defense has been impressive, but that’s no surprise given the level of competition. Also, Jim Harbaugh has yet to make his season debut, which could have something to do with the moribund output to this point.
ESPN’s resident advanced analytics guru Bill Connelly isn’t concerned quite yet (subscription required) but does note that the maize and blue were much more stylistically dominant (read: put up way more points) in each of the last two years. But, as he points out, if the Wolverines come out and destroy Rutgers on Saturday, it’s all a moot point.
Michigan has looked far less convincing against its early season cupcakes than in previous years. The Wolverines outscored East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green by a combined 96-16, which sounds fine but is 46.2 points under what SP+ projected the combined margin to be. It also pales in comparison to the domination of the past couple of College Football Playoff years: They outscored three similar opponents 166-17 in 2022, and in 2021 they obliterated two of the MAC’s better teams (WMU and NIU) and Washington by a combined 141-34.
The bar’s high for proving you’re at a playoff standard, and Michigan hasn’t cleared it yet. Of course, none of this will matter if it pummels Rutgers on Saturday and starts looking the part.
Your writer’s belief is that Jim Harbaugh’s absence has perhaps affected the game more than anyone in Schembechler Hall has been willing to admit. From an in-game strategy standpoint to the team being fired up, there are a lot of potential pitfalls that Michigan has fallen into with Harbaugh watching games remotely.
Additionally, this is an experienced team who’s just come off of a season where they were expected to be in the national championship game. And they’re still young — as anyone in college football is. It’s difficult to blame them for being potentially disinterested in three Group of Five teams that they were supposed to manhandle.
We’ll find out more about these Wolverines on Saturday when they host Rutgers at noon EDT. That game will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.