For the second straight year, No. 3 Texas went on the road in non-conference play and beat a top-10 team — last year they upset Alabama in a major way — and this time the Longhorns stunned No. 10 Michigan, the defending national champion, 31-12.
Michigan allowed 24 points in the first half, matching the most points the school allowed in a single game last year, but the Wolverines’ problems don’t start on the offensive line. Rather, Michigan’s quarterback situation, which has been puzzling coming into the week, looks dire.
Coming off of the biggest game of Week 2, let’s take a closer look at the big questions we have, including Michigan’s QB conundrum, Quinn Ewers’ statement, and more.
1. How did Michigan get to this point with a quarterback and where does it go from here?
The transfer portal era is an era of opportunity for elite programs. No proven starter at a position? Get one through the portal. It happens more often at quarterback than any other position. Over 60% of the Power Four teams’ Week 1 starters were transfer quarterbacks.
That’s why Michigan’s situation under center is so puzzling. Davis Warren, The personal story is incredible.is a one-time walk-on. The quarterback he beat, Alex Orji, is a former three-star recruit with one career passing record through 2024.
So, Why didn’t Michigan acquire a portal quarterback?
Jim Harbaugh’s back-and-forth flirtation with the NFL didn’t help either. When he took over as head coach of the Chargers on Jan. 24, 2024, all of the top quarterbacks in the winter transfer window were off the table. Michigan will obviously win the national championship, but Harbaugh’s indecisiveness marred the winter transfer window. There was a spring transfer window, but only one of the top 25 quarterbacks in the 247Sports transfer rankings transferred in the spring (Jaden Rashada, DeMaricus Davis) and they had a combined two starts when they entered the window.
So Michigan went in with what it had. There was a lot of optimism within the program that Orji, one of the truly elite players at the position in the sport, would develop enough to take the spot. But he never did. In fact, he faded late in fall camp, allowing Warren to take the spot.
Warren didn’t fare well against Texas, completing most of his efforts in garbage time, completing 22 of 33 attempts for 204 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Which brings us to Michigan’s most important question of the season: What’s next for the quarterback position? It’s not an easy one to answer. Michigan lacks quality weapons at wide receiver, and its offensive line isn’t in the shape it was in its three years in the College Football Playoff, so a pocket passer like Warren isn’t necessarily in an advantageous position. It would be a big win for Michigan to run a run-heavy system and take advantage of Orji’s leg power, but the staff clearly doesn’t trust what Orji brings to the team as a passer.
Maybe the answer is experienced backup Jack Tuttle, but he’s been plagued by injuries that have all but ruled him out of this QB race. Michigan could turn to freshman Jadyn Davis, the ninth QB in the 2024 class, but that would be like throwing the white flag on the season.
Michigan needs a dynamic under center, and unfortunately, it looks like the school missed its chance to find that dynamic in 2024.
2. What’s Michigan’s best record this year?
Iowa is probably the most well-known state.
I say this in jest and with no real insult intended. Iowa has won eight or more games in eight of the past nine seasons despite some dismal offensive performances. Iowa wins hard-fought battles with elite defense and special teams. This will likely be the formula for Michigan, as Michigan’s offense only averaged 4.7 yards per game and was ranked 124th nationally in the FBS last season.
Michigan’s defense is very good, though the score against Texas might not have told you that. The Longhorns have the speed to make a fool of anyone, but Michigan’s starting 11 defense is littered with future draft picks.
The formula is simple: ball control, a strong run game and a dominating defense.
It remains to be seen what Michigan will look like in 2024. USC’s fairly dynamic offense comes to Ann Arbor, Michigan in two weeks, and Michigan has games remaining against both Oregon and Ohio State. Plus, without a reliable offensive opponent, the regular Big Ten games that Michigan has been winning so well over the past few years will be much tougher.
As of now, the best-case scenario for Michigan seems to be nine wins, and an offense like this rarely tops that total.
3. Is Quinn Ewers the best QB in the country?
Looking at his performances over the past two seasons, there is no doubt that he is the most reliable player.
In fact, here’s Ewers’ performance against top-10 opponents since the start of the 2023 season (three games against Alabama, Washington and Michigan): 72-of-117 completions, 913 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. None of those games were at home, by the way. That’s elite performance on the biggest stage possible.
Few quarterbacks have been able to match Ewers’ natural talent. He was the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2021 class, over Caleb Williams, and was projected as a generational prospect since his high school days. Although some changes were made after the 2022 season, Understanding the mechanics, mechanics, and perception of his hair – Ewers is starting to look like the type of passer everyone once expected him to be.
Plus, there aren’t many surefire options ahead of him — Carson Beck, Shedul Sanders, Cam Ward and a few others have argued for this — but this isn’t like last year, when Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Michael Pennis were the obvious answers as elite NFL-bound quarterbacks.
Ewers, who grew up rooting for Texas, will have plenty of opportunities to make a case for the QB1 spot as the season progresses, but for now I’m comfortable putting him at number one.
He played flawlessly on the biggest stage, and that’s all you can ask of a high-level quarterback.
4. Is Texas’ offensive line the best in the country?
Running back Jadon Blue left the game with an injury in the first half, leaving Texas with just its third- and fourth-string running backs to start fall camp. But that didn’t matter: The Longhorns averaged four yards per carry against arguably the best defensive line in college football and led 24-3 at the half.
Did I mention Texas didn’t allow a sack?
Steve Sarkisian is already on the short list of the best play-callers in the country. As mentioned above, Ewers might be the best quarterback. Texas’ wide receiver corps is impressive, with two starters who can run the 100 meters under 10.7 seconds (and a few other speedsters behind them). But none of that matters if the offensive line struggles. The good news is that Texas has a top-notch starting offensive line.
Left tackle Kelvin Banks will be a first-round draft pick in 2025. Texans left guard Hayden Conner has played in 28 games so far. Texans starting center Jake Majors has played in 42 games so far. Texans right guard DJ Campbell, a former five-star recruit, has played in 15 games so far. The only weakness in this unit is right tackle Cameron Williams, who committed several big fouls in the first half, but the Longhorns staff believes he could emerge as a potential high draft pick.
That unit dominated Michigan’s front line, and remember, this Wolverines defensive line had two of the best DTs in the country, and Texas won handily in a line scrimmage.
If the Texas offensive line plays like this all year, they’re going to be very difficult to deal with. Ewers and his weapons may be the ceiling for a national championship for Texas, but the offensive line guarantees the Longhorns a championship-worthy floor.