{"id":3176,"date":"2025-10-15T16:49:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T16:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/there-wont-be-a-scapegoat-this-time\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T16:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T16:49:09","slug":"there-wont-be-a-scapegoat-this-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/there-wont-be-a-scapegoat-this-time\/","title":{"rendered":"There won\u2019t be a scapegoat this time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Bryce Underwood was \u2014 and still is \u2014 supposed to be the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the Michigan football team returns from the West Coast in parallel with last season. Despite all the recruiting wins and lessons learned from being a first-year head coach, Sherrone Moore\u2019s flight home from Los Angeles was as somber as last year\u2019s from Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>In a season-by-season lens, a 4-2 record means there is no margin for error and the team\u2019s College Football Playoff hopes are on life support. But two losses at this point in the season carry an entirely different meaning for Moore and the state of his program than it did last year \u2014 and Underwood is why.<\/p>\n<p>After traveling three time zones last year in the newly expanded Big Ten, the Wolverines were down 24-17 late in the fourth quarter against Washington. Then, an interception from Michigan\u2019s third starting quarterback of the season, Jack Tuttle, ended all hopes of a comeback.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n<style><![CDATA[@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 250px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}]]><\/style>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Sure, Moore could have called a better game. He could have prepared better in practice. You can always do both of those things. But Tuttle was 10-for-18 for 98 yards. There simply wasn\u2019t the talent at quarterback to get the job done.<\/p>\n<p>When the Wolverines went on to lose three of the next four games, the quarterback play remained the number one reason why. It was holding Michigan back. And although it\u2019s part of Moore\u2019s job to bring in more talented arms, albeit following an abrupt transition, the poor quarterback play kept Moore from showing what he\u2019s capable of as the man in charge.<\/p>\n<p>The void at quarterback in combination with the players lost to the 2024 NFL Draft, coaches lost to Jim Harbaugh\u2019s Los Angeles Chargers staff and a win over eventual national champions Ohio State made an 8-5 record excusable. Excusable on the condition that this year is different, that is.<\/p>\n<p>Because this year, Moore retained his defensive coaching staff and brought in Chip Lindsey to revamp the offense. Then he won half the battle by securing Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit.<\/p>\n<p>So at 4-2, the narrative is completely opposite of last year. It\u2019s not whether the quarterback play can improve to turn things around. Underwood has flashed his potential and is on his way to being acclimated.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n<style><![CDATA[@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 250px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 90px;}}]]><\/style>\n<\/aside>\n<p>He is averaging more than 200 yards per game, a number the Wolverines eclipsed just twice last season, and he\u2019s also dynamic with his legs. Even if he\u2019s raw, he\u2019s not losing Michigan games.<\/p>\n<p>If things go south like they did at this point last year, Underwood won\u2019t bear responsibility. It\u2019ll be squarely on Moore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe got to keep getting better. That\u2019s it,\u201d Moore said Saturday after Michigan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/well-balanced-usc-offense-tramples-no-15-michigan-31-13\/\">loss<\/a> to Southern California. \u201cThat\u2019s where we\u2019re at. We got to keep getting better. We got to go win games \u2026 So our job now is to figure out what we can do when we land in Ann Arbor to get better, and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two days later, Moore showed up in his \u201cblue-collar jacket,\u201d proclaiming hard work and execution are the solutions. Hopefully for the Wolverines, he\u2019s practicing what he\u2019s preaching.<\/p>\n<p>Missed tackles resonated heavily after the loss to the Trojans \u2014 it was graduate safety Rod Moore\u2019s answer repeatedly when asked about the loss. On the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/alina-levine-usc-offense-is-exactly-what-michigan-has-been-seeking\/\">offensive<\/a> end, failing to convert on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/michigans-one-costly-turnover-and-many-failed-third-downs-against-usc\/\">third down<\/a> was the primary issue. Those, like most things, tie back to coaching.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n<style><![CDATA[@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-3{min-height: 250px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-3{min-height: 90px;}}]]><\/style>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Then there\u2019s Michigan being outmatched on scripted drives, which reflects heavily on Moore and the coaching staff\u2019s gameplan. USC marched into the end zone on its first drive of each half. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/amid-initial-offensive-struggles-no-20-michigan-grinds-out-win-over-wisconsin-24-10\/\">Wisconsin<\/a> also opened last week\u2019s game with a touchdown. Before that, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/michigan-relies-on-big-plays-in-big-ten-opener-versus-nebraska-30-27\/\">Nebraska<\/a> went the length of the field before being stopped inside the 10-yard line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe self-scout every week,\u201d Moore said Monday. \u201cSo whether its alignments, pressures, whatever it is, everything is self-scouted every week. Whether you have a tendency, whether you want to keep creating it or play into that tendency, there is something that we do every week to make sure we self-scout that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of a formidable Washington team, Moore needs to be realistic in his assessment of his players and himself. He has to do a better job in positioning the Wolverines to succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Michigan has Underwood and the talent elsewhere to be better than a two-loss, unranked team. In the backfield, junior running back Justice Haynes rushed for 100 yards in five consecutive games before getting banged up against USC. The defense, even having lost two first-round picks in the offseason, returns much of last year\u2019s production.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s Underwood. Even as a freshman experiencing growing pains, he\u2019s an unequivocal upgrade over last year and someone Moore should be capable of winning games with.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n<style><![CDATA[@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-4{min-height: 250px;}}]]><\/style>\n<\/aside>\n<p>An 8-5 record is inexcusable with Underwood under center. If the Wolverines don\u2019t head into The Game with a chance to make the College Football Playoff, Moore won\u2019t have a scapegoat \u2014 only himself to blame.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"newspack-popup-container newspack-popup hidden  newspack-inline-popup      \" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#000\" id=\"id_162162\" data-segments=\"\" data-frequency=\"0,0,0,month\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Please consider donating to The Michigan Daily<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bryce Underwood was \u2014 and still is \u2014 supposed to be the difference. Yet, the Michigan football team returns from the West Coast in parallel with last season. Despite all the recruiting wins and lessons learned from being a first-year head coach, Sherrone Moore\u2019s flight home from Los Angeles was as somber as last year\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[3267,403,3266],"class_list":{"0":"post-3176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-scapegoat","9":"tag-time","10":"tag-wont"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3178,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3176\/revisions\/3178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}