Is Texas legit or is Michigan overrated? A Week 2 fiasco at the Big House

The unparalleled manpower between the tenth-ranked Michigan Wolverines and third-ranked Texas Longhorns shined bright. As an exciting Week 2 matchup awaited college football fans at the “Big House,” the anticipation was shortly brought to a warping halt. 

Under the likes of head coach Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines were dismantled for the first time since the CFP loss to TCU. 

This underwhelming and jarring performance by the Wolverines has posed many questions and speculations about the legitimacy of the Blue and Maize.  

However, is this 31-12 score indicative of Michigan’s football team, or Texas' football team? 

Let’s face it, there is no beating the bush, and the Michigan Wolverines have some serious issues. Ann Arbor, home to the prestigious historical college football program of Michigan has seen a source of pure and rare bitterness. 

This is something that had not occurred in last season’s Championship nature. A loss at the Big House or any other venue had not taken place. Now, Michigan finds itself in an awkward spot after just two weeks of play. 

It all began under Quinn Ewers, as the veteran Texas quarterback quickly set the tone. The Michigan defense was solid, but complementary football seemed to be a tall order. 

Texas broke the door open in the second quarter where an offensive outpour put the Wolverines way behind. It was 17 unanswered points from Steve Sarkisian’s offense that left Michigan defeated after just one half of football.

With a massive mountain to climb, the Wolverines still remained stagnant in their offensive approach. Quarterback Davis Warren lacked much awareness, the front five struggled, and even veterans like Colston Loveland found difficulty in securing the ball. 

Warren threw his second interception towards the back end of the third quarter and by this point, the Longhorns were wearing down on Michigan. Quinn Ewers connected with Jaydon Blue to capitalize off this mistake and Texas was well on its way to an easy victory. 

Ultimately, it was a beatdown, there was no mercy from the Longhorns. Texas proved why it’s a top-3 team in the country. On the contrary, Michigan continued to show massive holes and head-scratching plays. 

The quarterback position was a primary factor in the final result seen today. On one end, there was Quinn Ewers who virtually guaranteed Texas a victory by his composure. The stats match everything you would like out of a proven quarterback. Ewers threw for 246 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions on a 66% (24/36) completion rate. 

Michigan’s Davis Warren passed for 204 yards and 1 touchdown with 2 interceptions. So yes, while the stats don’t tell the entire story, there certainly is a difference. 

The biggest question Michigan had coming into the season was surrounding the quarterback position. With JJ McCarthy out, there was no clear answer to the next great Michigan quarterback. Unfortunately, I am not sure if this year will entail that. 

Davis Warren and Alex Orji went through a quarterback battle during the offseason and there was no true winner. To put it simply, both of these guys lack the crucial skills a program like Michigan requires. 

A large reason why Michigan has been struggling is the lack of generating points. Out of the gate, the Wolverines have really struggled to put points on the board. As a defensive unit, this team is sound, but offensively there are still many kinks to work out. 

On the other hand, this is a very experienced and talented team. We are talking about the Texas Longhorns. There are playmakers all over the field and the major question mark that was the defensive front was answered. Michigan’s inexperienced offensive front had a tough game against a team that had recently filled many voids. 

When it comes down to it, Texas is as legit as it gets. Steve Sarkisian has prepared his team correctly and replaced major losses on both sides of the football. Texas is a team that is not even at full strength, but with the looming depths of talent, there is no sense in excuses. 

I expect Texas to go a long way through the rest of the 2024-25 season, but the real test has yet to come. The SEC schedule will be a major change from anything the BIG-12 had to offer. If anything is for certain, I trust Coach Sark, I trust Quinn Ewerrs, and I trust Texas to find a way. 

Furthermore, I think it’s an overreaction to claim Michigan is “overrated.” Again, it is typically pretty hard to replace the magnitude of players and staff Michigan lost following their massively successful 2023-24 season. It is going to take some time to get everyone on the right page and especially decide on the current option for the quarterback position. I trust Sherrone Moore and think this defensive unit is too good to be losing the way they did today. 

Maybe a later date could have made this match-up closer. Today, luck was not in favor of Michigan, and Texas proved to many who they are and what they are made of.

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