{"id":6497,"date":"2026-09-17T23:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T23:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/09\/17\/offense-seeking-explosive-plays-after-lackluster-start\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T23:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T23:49:17","slug":"offense-seeking-explosive-plays-after-lackluster-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/09\/17\/offense-seeking-explosive-plays-after-lackluster-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Offense seeking explosive plays after lackluster start"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Going into the season, the one word that almost everyone inside Schembechler Hall used to describe the offense was explosive. But throughout the first two weeks of the season, that explosivity remains to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While exact definitions differ, explosive plays are generally defined by runs of 12-plus yards or passes of 20-plus yards. Explosive plays are one of the biggest predictors of drive success, so Michigan\u2019s coaching staff is eager to stimulate that area of the offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe (need to) get more chunk-yard plays,\u201d Wolverines coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t. We\u2019re not having an abundance of those and that\u2019s one of the most vital stats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The No. 19 Michigan football team ranks <a href=\"https:\/\/cfbstats.com\/2026\/leader\/national\/team\/offense\/split01\/category30\/sort02.html\">120th<\/a> in plays of 20-plus yards this season. And while explosive plays aren\u2019t the only reason why the Wolverines have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/stats\/football\/fbs\/current\/team\/27\/p3\">sixth<\/a>-worst scoring offense in FBS, chunk plays\u2019 correlation with success shows why Whittingham values them so highly.\u00a0<\/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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given Michigan\u2019s plethora of talented skill position players, and offensive coordinator Jason Beck\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cfbstats.com\/2025\/leader\/national\/team\/offense\/split01\/category30\/sort02.html\">ability<\/a> to scheme chunk plays, it begs the question: Why is the Wolverines\u2019 offense falling behind?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One reason that shouldn\u2019t be overlooked is Michigan\u2019s schedule. The Broncos and Sooners both have talented defensive units, so early-season statistics won\u2019t favor Wolverines. Still though, Michigan\u2019s coaches expect more explosiveness out of the offense, and some of that onus is put on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/teams\/michigan-wolverines\/news\/michigan-football-major-expectations-for-andrew-marsh-more\/\">projected<\/a> breakout sophomore receiver Andrew Marsh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to get him involved more,\u201d Whittingham said of Marsh. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s something that we\u2019re well aware of, and he flashed a little bit on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marsh has five receptions for 28 yards right now \u2014 not a terrible statline, but certainly under his preseason expectations. In fairness, Marsh drew a pass interference penalty against then-No. 11 Oklahoma that impeded him from catching a deep ball. Marsh\u2019s involvement so far has mostly come from bubble screens and short passes which, as a shifty athlete, he can excel with. But many of Marsh\u2019s explosive plays last year came from pushing the ball down the field, something the Wolverines\u2019 offense hasn\u2019t done very much of so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, pushing the ball down the field is easier said than done. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood\u2019s struggles in the passing game have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/underwoods-blunders-outweigh-shining-moments-against-western-michigan\/\">well<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/sports\/college\/university-michigan\/wolverines\/2026\/09\/10\/bryce-underwood-future-as-michigan-football-qb1-isnt-guaranteed-he-now-knows\/91684018007\/\">documented<\/a>, but the stagnant passing attack can\u2019t solely be attributed to him. Running a lot of two-back or two-tight end sets, Michigan\u2019s personnel packages limit how many receivers can be on the field. This means defenses can hone in on the two receivers on the field which, in turn, narrows the margin of error for Underwood\u2019s execution.\u00a0<\/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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another area where the Wolverines\u2019 execution has inhibited their ability to generate explosive plays is with penalties. Michigan has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/college-football\/team-stats?category=yardage&amp;sort=penyds&amp;season=2026&amp;seasonType=reg&amp;groupId=2&amp;sortOrder=desc\">16th<\/a>-most penalty yards in college football, and procedural penalties have continually put the offense behind the sticks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPlayers have got to understand there\u2019s consequences with penalties,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cIf you\u2019re on offense, they\u2019re essentially drive killers. The chances of moving the chains when you\u2019re starting the series first-and-20, after a penalty, is not real high.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While penalties have killed drives, they\u2019ve also impeded the Wolverines\u2019 backs from getting into a rhythm. Junior running back Jordan Marshall and freshman running back Savion Hiter both said recently that they perform better once they get into a rhythm. But when penalties force the offense into first- and second-and-long situations, bread-and-butter run plays that allow backs to get going aren\u2019t as feasible to call.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With these inhibitors to explosive plays, however, it\u2019s important for Michigan to build on what has worked. Underwood\u2019s legs gave the Wolverines some chunk plays against the Sooners, and sophomore receiver JJ Buchanan has been the most consistent source of long passing plays. Beck <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/sports\/football\/whittingham-not-panicking-over-underwoods-lackluster-season-debut\/\">relied<\/a> on these two positives against Oklahoma, and it seems like they will be building blocks of a more explosive offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The preseason\u2019s expectations of explosivity haven\u2019t come to fruition yet, but the seeds are still there. If Michigan can clean up its execution and get its playmakers more involved, its early-season struggles could look more like its preseason expectations.\u00a0<\/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<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 wp-block-paragraph\">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>Going into the season, the one word that almost everyone inside Schembechler Hall used to describe the offense was explosive. But throughout the first two weeks of the season, that explosivity remains to be seen.\u00a0 While exact definitions differ, explosive plays are generally defined by runs of 12-plus yards or passes of 20-plus yards. Explosive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5533,5534,835,1109,3230,2516],"class_list":["post-6497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-explosive","tag-lackluster","tag-offense","tag-plays","tag-seeking","tag-start"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497","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=6497"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6498,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497\/revisions\/6498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}