Michigan’s offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey admits what Bryce Underwood and Wolverines offense has to fix before Big Ten play
How in the world can Michigan fix their entire offense, and fast?
The Michigan Wolverines offense looked completely broken against Oklahoma in Week 2. Outside of the one long run by Justice Haynes there was virtually nothing else to get excited about for Michigan fans, and Sherrone Moore’s decision-making only made it worse. Heading into Michigan’s Week 3 “get right” game against Central Michigan Bryce Underwood and the entire Wolverines offense clearly has to fix some things before they get to Big Ten play. Otherwise things could get ugly.
But how? Chip Lindsey, the Michigan Wolverines’ offensive coordinator admitted exactly what needs to get better, but do he and the playmakers on this team have what it takes to right the ship for the rest of the 2025 college football season?
What is going to fix the Michigan run game?
First off, the running game–when it’s right–can look really good for Michigan. Week 1, Justice Haynes absolutely torched New Mexico for multiple big plays. Semaj Morgan even ran for a nice carry as well. Then against Oklahoma, as the first half began, Haynes ran in a beautiful 75-yard touchdown that–at least for the moment–made it look like Michigan belonged on the same field as the Sooners.
However, outside of the four big plays Michigan has strung together through two games, their run game has been absolutely atrocious. The blocking has been out of sync. The vision and execution from second year running back Jordan Marshall has been rough as his longest carry on the season so far is just five yards.
When Chip Lindsey, Michigan’s offensive coordinator, spoke with the media this week he admitted that the team simply must create more explosive runs. When they do, their entire offense stays on pace. When they don’t, the entire offense stalls like it did against the Sooners:
“First game, what did we have, four explosive runs? Last week [against Oklahoma] we had one. Some of it’s the opponent, but we need more explosive runs. We need to create more opportunities for that. Hopefully we’ll continue to do that. I was really pleased with the first game. We didn’t have two and three-yard runs. We had six to eight-yard runs and a few explosives. Definitely an area we’ve got to improve on for sure.
Calling the explosive run game an area where the team needs to improve is a massive understatement. Yes, it’s a bit better than the horrid offense from last year, but just three plays of more than 11 rushing yards on the ground out of 61 carries is not great. At least coach Lindsey recognizes the fact that Bryce Underwood needs to be a part of the run game, but he didn’t sound like the team is too focused on ramping up significantly more carries for their five star quarterback:
“I think quarterback runs are in our game plan every week. In fact, last week, three [plays] that I know of, we had to give [Bryce Underwood] the ball just based on what the defense was doing. Another was a designed keep run that we didn’t block correctly. We’ll continue to have that opportunity. It’s definitely something we want to showcase when possible and when it makes sense. Bryce is very capable of doing a great job with that.”
Only going to your massive, athletic, fast, five star quarterback in the run game because of “what the defense was going” is a huge oversight that needs to be corrected. Michigan might not need to unleash Underwood against Central Michigan this week, but the offense could use a creative boost from the quarterback run. Something has to change. If not, Michigan’s offense might be in trouble.
How is Bryce Underwood going to find success running Michigan’s offense?
Outside of the obvious run game fixes, the passing game was atrocious in Week 2 as well. 9 of 24 passing and two bad drops from his Michigan’s receivers against Oklahoma is not going to cut it. Underwood tried to hit his targets deep at times, but the entire passing offense was just out of sync and his playmakers could not create any separation for nearly the entire game.
When asked about what needs changing there, head coach Sherrone Moore mentioned simplifying the offense. What does that mean? To Chip Lindsey, it means one thing very clearly: sticking to the basics and fundamentals of what is working for the team.
“I think simplifying means doing what we’ve proven in practice probably that we’re good at. Each year is different, so I think really focusing on getting back to the fundamentals and basics of what we’re able to execute. A lot of plays are good. They look good on paper, and then you get out there and you’re trying to–you don’t want to ask your guys to do things maybe we’re not real good at. In some ways you don’t know that until you’ve played a game or two…For us, I think it’s getting back to the basics and the fundamentals. I think that’s what you do any time you don’t play well. You say, ‘Hey we’re going to be good at these things. We know we can execute these things at a high level no matter what the defense does.’”
Sticking to what works in practice, executing plays that the team knows they’re good at, might sound like a no-brainer good idea. However, the list of things the offense is actually good at right now is an extremely short one. Michigan needs to unleash the quarterback run, find creative ways to get their wide receivers open, and hope Marlin Klein stays healthy all year long at tight end. If not, Michigan’s season might get ugly rather quickly.
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