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With one of the youngest rosters in the Big Ten, the University of Michigan is outperforming preseason expectations. But its coaching staff’s conservative approach is holding its young players back.
After their win over the University of Washington Huskies, the Michigan Wolverines have solidified themselves as the fourth best team in the Big Ten and climbed their way back into the AP Top 25. With the Maize and Blue now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, this season has proven to be a formidable test for both the roster and coaching staff alike.
Led by 18-year-old freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, this year’s Wolverines have the youngest starting lineup in the Big Ten. Underwood couldn’t even vote until August, but now he has to carry the winningest program in college football history.
Between coaching suspensions and injuries, a roster of underclassmen must assume the helm and navigate a veritable gauntlet in conference play.
Michigan’s passing game has found its center in freshman Andrew Marsh, who has become Underwood’s prime target for deep passes. Marsh entered the spotlight in a win over the University of Wisconsin Badgers, and made himself irreplaceable in a loss to the University of Southern California, gaining 138 yards on eight receptions. Despite hampering injuries in the defensive secondary, sophomores Cole Sullivan and Jacob Oden emerged as leaders in the Wolverines’ most recent win over the Washington Huskies.
With the loss of arguably the nation’s top running back, junior Justice Haynes, the team has leaned on sophomore Jordan Marshall to keep the run game alive. Additionally, Michigan has looked to its pass game to get the job done, getting third string tight end Zack Marshall involved.
This is the story of the Wolverines’ season to this point. The young and shorthanded Michigan roster is learning and developing with remarkable speed. And between the lines of many successes, it’s clear the players are finding their rhythm faster than the coaching staff.
Head coach Sherrone Moore is in his second season with the Wolverines, inheriting very few of prior head coach Jim Harbaugh’s undefeated 2023 national champions. Alongside the transition at head coach, the Wolverines installed Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator in 2024 and Chip Lindsey as offensive coordinator in 2025.
But even with so much young talent on the field, Moore and staff are still figuring out just what this team is capable of. They are very clearly playing not to lose, rather than to win. This conservative coaching has made Michigan’s play calling predictable. So much so that opponents are evidently not even concerned with the time-honored tradition of deciphering Michigan’s signs. Lindsey’s offense features far too many condensed formations, making Underwood’s task of reading the defense much more difficult.
Defensively, coach Martindale chooses to blitz and not blitz at just the wrong times. The playcallers on both sides of the ball lack creativity — and Michigan is left vulnerable to opposing coaches, like Lincoln Riley at USC and Brent Venables at the University of Oklahoma, who excel at identifying and countering basic alignments.
The 2023 National Championship season is a testament to what Moore and the Wolverines have the ability to do. Once Moore and the coaching staff take off the training wheels, this team performs with soar. It could transform this season from “reload” to “redefine.” This young team could do far worse than two losses. With how well these underclassmen are performing, the next coming years will be special.
The Wolverines look to continue their development this Saturday against the in-state rival, the Michigan State University Spartans. Though the Wolverines are currently on the outside looking into the College Football Playoff, a late season hot streak changes their fortunes, especially if it culminates in a fifth straight win against the The Ohio State University Buckeyes.
