Michigan Wolverines dominated by Texas Longhorns 31-12

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Michigan Wolverines, UM Football, Michigan Football, The League Winners

The Texas Longhorns (2-0) came into the Big House and dismantled the Michigan Wolverines (1-1) 31-12 in their Week 2 college football matchup. The Longhorns cemented themselves as one of the best four teams in the country, while Michigan looked flustered and challenged throughout the game.

Texas Comes out Firing

The Texas offense came out firing, showing off their explosive passing attack with a huge pass from Quinn Ewers to Isaiah Bond to get into Michigan territory on their first drive. The Michigan defense stood tall after a holding call negated a Texas touchdown, and the Longhorns missed the ensuing field goal attempt.

Michigan opened its offense with a lackluster three-and-out, and a bad punt set Texas up with prime field position. Ewers quickly attacked the Michigan defense; his accuracy and precision slicing through the Wolverines secondary. Ewers hit Gunnar Helm for a wide-open touchdown to make it a 7-0 game, opening the scoring for the Longhorns.

Michigan’s offense started to get into a rhythm on their second drive. The offensive line was opening holes for Donovan Edwards, and he was finding them. A flea flicker pass from Davis Warren to C.J. Charleston put the Wolverines in Texas territory. 

A Longhorn Second Quarter

Michigan was faced with a 3rd and 3 and decided to play one of their classic option plays with Alex Orji. To many fans’ surprise, this play was bottled up at the line of scrimmage. Michigan was forced to take a 37-yard field goal, which Dominic Zvada nailed to make it 7-3.

At this point, things started to unravel for Michigan. Texas marched down the field on a 12-play, 76-yard drive, showcasing their potential in the pass and run game. Texas was gaining big chunk plays through the air and on the ground whenever they wanted. A 7-yard run from Jerrick Gibson made it a 14-3 Longhorn lead.

Michigan needed a statement drive to ensure this football game didn’t get out of hand. However, they did the opposite.

Faced with a 3rd & 2, Warren forced the ball into double coverage with a short hitch, which a defender tipped into Andrew Mukuba‘s hands, setting Texas up at the Michigan 37-yard line.

This is where Michigan employed its bend, but don’t break persona. While Texas was able to get the ball down to the 6-yard line, the Michigan defense stood its ground and forced a critical field goal to keep this game within reach. The score was now 17-3 in favor of the Longhorns.

This next Michigan drive was where the game felt over for Michigan. Michigan could finally convert a first down, but it faced a long 3rd & 11. Warren found Colston Loveland in stride on a pass that would have indeed converted a first down. However, Loveland lost concentration and fumbled the ball, setting Texas up with prime field position again.

Texas capitalized this time and quickly found the endzone on a Matthew Golden touchdown catch from Ewers, making it 24-3 to end the half.

The Longhorns Ice it in the Third

Michigan got the ball first to start the second half and needed to answer with a touchdown. However, they were unable to move the ball. And after five plays, the Wolverines had to punt. This punt was followed by Texas’ first punt of the day.

This was a make-or-break drive for Michigan. On a 3rd-and-10, Warren scrambled right and threw a jump ball that Loveland miraculously came down with for a 24-yard gain. A couple of decent runs put the Wolverines in field goal range, but another unsuccessful Orji option play forced Michigan to take another field goal, this time from 52 yards out to make it 24-6.

Texas used their following drive to ice the game. On 2nd & 15, the Wolverines looked like they had life. However, wide receiver Ryan Wingo showed off his explosiveness and speed on an end-around play for a massive 55-yard gain to the 3-yard line. Texas quickly punched it in with an Ewers pass to Jaydon Blue to put the game out of reach at 31-6.

Michigan threw an interception on the first play of the next drive that found the arms of Derek Williams. Texas then punted to end the quarter.

The Fourth Quarter of a Blowout

At this point, the game was over. Michigan was simply trying to make the score look more competitive. A 13-play drive by Michigan ended in a turnover on downs. Texas then punted the ball back to Michigan.

The Wolverines finally found the endzone on their final offensive drive, as Warren found Semaj Morgan for a 31-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion kept the game at 31-12.

Key Takeaways

Texas is one of the teams to beat this year in college football, and should be a front runner to win the national championship. Their offensive line bullies opponents, and their explosive speed and physicality keep them multiple steps ahead of most teams.

For Michigan, this game opened more questions for the Wolverines than it answered.

While the run game looked better than it did against Fresno State, it took too long to establish. By the time the run game was going, Michigan was already down prominently and unable to rely on it. It will be hard for Michigan to win games this year with the level of quarterback play they received today, and an underemphasized point is the lack of production from the wide receivers. If both of these groups cannot get into a rhythm, it will be a long season for the defending champs.

In terms of the defense, the run defense was sound and played well for the majority of the game. However, the pass defense proved to be a huge liability. Outside of Will Johnson, the Longhorns quickly attacked the safeties and corners, converting first downs at will. Michigan has much to figure out before opening a daunting Big Ten schedule.

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