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It’s year two under the speed in space offense run by Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Last year it showed flashes of what it could be, but it wasn’t up to par. With another year of learning, this offense has a chance to put up points week in and week out. There’s just one problem with that so far this season, and it’s the offensive line.
The offensive line was known to be taking a backseat in 2020. Despite having a great offensive line coach in Ed Warinner, it wasn’t looking well for the group. With four new starters among the line, it was well documented that this unit wouldn’t be as good as they were the year before.
Against Minnesota, that seemed to be gibberish. The offensive line kept Milton up almost all night with just allowing one sack, and it was on the first series of the game. The ground game was able to churn out yards and get into the endzone, finishing with 256 yards and five touchdowns on 31 carries.
The unit seemed like it wouldn’t be a problem, like many expected. Then came the next game against Michigan State. Michigan was getting no push from its lineman and the ground game that worked well the week before was stagnant and not itself. The team was only able to get 152 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. So with more carries, Michigan got over 100 fewer yards and two fewer scores. What hurt the team the most that game was losing starting right tackle, Jalen Mayfield.
This week against Indiana, Warinner needed to show that the depth he had at his positions were stout. The team wouldn’t see Mayfield play against Indiana, but they also wouldn’t see starting left tackle Ryan Hayes either, so now both starting tackles are injured for the Wolverines.
The offensive line would see a dramatic shift as Karsen Barnhart would start at left tackle. Zak Zinter would start at left guard. Andrew Vastardis would remain at center, while Chuck Filiaga would flip from left to right guard, and Andrew Stueber would move from right guard to right tackle. Stuber played right tackle before the 2020 season, so luckily, he’s had experience before at that position.
Heading into the matchup today, despite being weakened at the position, Michigan had a chance to run all around the Hoosiers defense. Against Penn State, Indiana allowed 250 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries. The week after against Rutgers, they allowed 121 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. If you average those two up, Indiana allowed an average of 185.5 yards per game and an average of 4.4 yards per carry.
Today against Michigan, Indiana eradicated the Wolverines running game. Michigan was only able to get a measly 13 yards on 18 carries. That’s .72 yards per carry. Those numbers are unheard of when talking about Michigan football. Michigan is known for being a smashmouth running team that will make you pay for everything in the trenches. The trenches today for the Wolverines ran dry.
The theme of a poor offensive line continues to define the offense this season. When Michigan isn’t able to run the football well, the offense takes a hit. Despite the speed in space type of offense Gattis runs, it still needs the running game to be relevant because if it dies, so does the offense. In both losses, Michigan was not able to get the ball moving on the ground. They struggled with that against Michigan State and really showed its struggles against Indiana.
These teams aren’t the best rushing defenses in the country, either. Indiana allowed 250 yards on opening week, while the Spartans allowed 226 against Iowa today. It’s plain and simple. If Michigan can’t run the football well, they lose the game. What dictates whether the running game can work? The offensive line.
Michigan has plenty of weapons in the backfield with Hassan Haskins, Zach Charbonnet, the returning Chris Evans, and the freshman, Blake Corum. These players are good at what they do, and when they are asked to try and run through a wall of defenders because the offensive line doesn’t have any holes for them to run through, that is a lot to ask out of them.
Warinner needs to figure out what he can do with his guys. Injuries have certainly changed up the game for him, but if he can figure out what issues they are dealing with, the offense can do what it did against Minnesota two weeks ago. With the defense having issues, Michigan’s offense needs to put up points. The offense is the biggest issue overall for the team in 2020.
Sure, you can point at the defense and give them the blame, but if Michigan can put up points, drive after drive, and its defense can make one more stop, they win, easy as that. College football is moving away from its low scoring, defensive shutouts, and more towards the high-scoring action-packed games. Defenses don’t win you championships anymore in college; offenses do. If Michigan can figure out what to do with the offensive line and help the running game become relevant again, then this team has a chance to turn this around possibly.
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