While No. 10 Michigan lost most of its offensive production and coaching staff along with several leaders on its defense this offseason following its undefeated 2023 season, beating the defending national champions will be no easy task for No. 3 Texas on Saturday.
The Longhorns will still have to contend with a talented roster featuring multiple preseason All-Americans, buoyed by a raucous atmosphere of over 107,000 fans wearing exclusively maize and blue at the biggest stadium in the country.
Here are two keys to the game that should ensure a Texas victory.
Offense: Neutralize Michigan’s Talented Defensive Line
The strongest unit of head coach Sherrone Moore’s team is the defensive line as returning star defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant make up perhaps the best interior defensive line in the nation. The pair of juniors, weighing a combined 659 pounds, have the ability to wreck any game at the collegiate level and project as high NFL draft picks.
Texas will likely have to establish the run and, in doing so, will be running directly at one or both of them. Therefore, it will be up to interior offensive linemen DJ Campbell, Jake Majors and Hayden Conner to create rushing lanes for the likes of Jaydon Blue, Quintrevion “Tre” Wisner and true freshman Jerrick Gibson.
If the Longhorns can move the ball on the ground, that will take pressure off junior quarterback Quinn Ewers’ shoulders and open up the play-action passing game against a Michigan secondary that isn’t as impressive as it was a year ago, except ESPN preseason All-American cornerback Will Johnson.
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Defense: Put pressure on Davis Warren
The fact that Davis Warren is even starting at quarterback for the defending national champions is an amazing story. The redshirt junior began his career as a walk-on in Michigan's 2020 class and beat out expected starter, redshirt sophomore Alex Orji, this offseason to win the job , but he’s faced tougher battles than a quarterback competition.
Following a leukemia diagnosis during his junior year of high school, Warren lost 35 pounds and thought he may never play football again. However, he sent practice and game tape to then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and earned a preferred walk-on offer from the Wolverines.
As inspiring as his story may be, he only completed five of his 14 pass attempts for 89 yards with an interception in his first three years with the program. Last week against unranked Fresno State, Warren did nothing to give Michigan fans confidence, completing 60% of his passes for 118 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
To put it plainly, Warren is inexperienced and will be playing in by far the biggest game of his life on Saturday, something Texas defense needs to exploit. Warren wasn’t pressured much last week and still struggled to find open receivers more than 10 yards down the field.
Warren does have two safety valves: senior running back Donovan Edwards and junior tight end Colston Loveland, the latter of whom ESPN named a preseason All-American . If the Texas defense can mitigate one or both of these options, it could be a long day for the Wolverine offense.
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Michigan also lost three starting offensive linemen to the 2024 NFL Draft and was only able to get one starting lineman in the transfer portal. Meanwhile, the Texas defensive line secured UTSA transfer Trey Moore, who was the 2023 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, and true freshman Colin Simmons, a five-star edge rusher out of powerhouse Duncanville.
The Longhorns (1-0) will visit Michigan Stadium on Saturday to play Michigan (1-0) with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be the “Big Noon Kickoff” game on FOX and will be the site of ESPN’s College Gameday.
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