Joel Klatt calls the Michigan Wolverines a “bad surprise” in college football

Although No. 10 Michigan started Big Ten Conference play 2-0 and started the season 4-1 with its lone loss to No. 2 Texas, the Wolverines looked nothing like the program that won three straight league championships and a national title last season .

In his assessment of the first month of the season, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt named Michigan one of his five “bad surprises” in 2024.

“Michigan looks lost right now,” Klatt said. “This is nowhere near the team we have seen over the last three years. Now they want it to be similar, and the difference is that I just don’t feel like they have a really deep understanding of who they are Now.”

Not surprisingly, Klatt pointed to the quarterback position as one of the Wolverines’ primary problems through five games.

“We started with Davis Warren at quarterback. There were so many mistakes in the passing game, too many turnovers, and then he went to Alex Orji and there was just no passing game,” Klatt said. “They do a great job against both USC and Minnesota in the first half, but they completely fall apart, unable to move the ball on offense in the second half and allow the opponent to get back into the game and, honestly, really put themselves in a difficult situation. position to win, especially in this USC case.”

It was Klatt who first described Michigan as the “boa constrictor” of college football in 2022, noting that the Wolverines were completely comfortable playing in close games, tormenting opponents with their running game and ultimately suffocating them with elite defense and exceptional physical strength. This year’s team tried to play in a similar manner, but did not show any dominance compared to previous teams.

“This is a team that has been so good in previous seasons in terms of field position, turnover advantage, discipline, and no penalties,” Klatt said. “That didn’t happen this year. They have lost part of their Michigan identity, which means they don’t have a plan to follow like they did in years past. And there is no margin for error. If they are not perfect, then suddenly they can be defeated, and in a hurry.

In each of the last three weeks – against Arkansas State, USC and Minnesota – the Wolverines have built a double-digit lead in the first half thanks to a rushing attack and a defense that created short areas to attack. However, Michigan’s inability to consistently move the ball up the court after halftime led to defensive fatigue and games that suddenly turned into brawls in the final minutes.

“I think they’ll be in more one-possession games,” Klatt said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback and offensive line, especially when the quarterback and offensive line have shown they can’t throw the ball. This needs to evolve.

“For me, the Michigan team was a bit of a surprise to me that they looked so lost. In a sense, their identity was taken away. Maybe they would argue with me and say, “No, we know what our identity is. It’s just an identity that doesn’t have much margin for error.” OK, that’s fair, we’ll see if it works, but the problem is that in the games – USC and Minnesota -. they lose their identity. Michigan looking lost was quite a surprise to me.”

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that much of what Michigan used to be seems to have been stripped away, given that the program is no longer led by the creator of that brand of football, former head coach Jim Harbaugh. Time will tell if the Wolverines can continue to win games the way they have played over the first five weeks, starting with Saturday’s trip to Washington.

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