Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore offered a frank evaluation of his team’s offense and freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood following the Wolverines’ 24-13 loss at Oklahoma. Moore emphasized that the offensive struggles were not solely on Underwood but reflected broader execution issues across the team.
On the team’s rhythm, Moore acknowledged,
“We had an explosive run. We had a couple runs early. The running game really was just okay. We didn't get the rhythm we needed to. Didn't get the quarterback in the rhythm we needed to. That's everybody. That's not just one person. That's not just the calls. It's the execution. We just got to be better.”
Moore also reflected on lessons to take from the defeat.
“We'll watch on the film and really gauge and see what we need to get better at.....when you play offensive football, one person misses, one person misses here, you have an unexecuted play, so we got to do better at that.”
Regarding Underwood’s first road start, Moore stressed the freshman handled the atmosphere well.
“As far as handling the crowd noise and atmosphere and all that, he handled it fine. It was just the execution. And that's everybody. It's not just him. And I think everybody put the pressure on him. But we all got to do our jobs. And that's O-line, that's receivers, that's running backs, whoever it is in those situations to make it easier for him.”
Moore also assessed the offensive line in the run game.
“I thought we got some good rhythm. There were some holes. Obviously, we had the big run, but just got to keep being consistent in those things. Whatever that is, however we need to do that, we will. We will fix it and just continue to get better at it.”
Underwood struggled to ignite Michigan’s offense, completing 9 of 24 passes. His most notable play was a 44-yard completion to Donaven McCulley, while Michigan’s only touchdown came on Justice Haynes’ 75-yard run to start the second half.
This loss highlighted the growing pains of a team relying on a true freshman quarterback while underscoring the need for collective execution across all positions.