Jordan Marshall didn’t have a clean explanation for Michigan’s slide, and he didn’t try to dress one up after the Wolverines’ 20-14 loss to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
For Marshall, the bigger issue is that the problems are piling up in ways that don’t always show themselves until game day. Michigan’s first loss in Minneapolis since 1977 left the running back stuck on the same question everyone around the program seems to be asking: how does this happen twice?
“I think it’s hard to even grasp, because we let one turn into two. And I’m confident in saying that I think we’re a better team than both of the past teams we’ve played, but we have not performed that way,” Marshall said.
“The scary thing for me is I don’t know how to respond, because I’m so used to having all the answers. So it’s new to me to see these things, and I’m just like, I don’t know how to fully grasp it.”
Marshall said the issues are showing up in game flow, not in practice, and that the team keeps getting hit by one mistake after another. Drives stall, the defense gets stuck back on the field, special teams slips, and the total effect keeps snowballing.
“And all these mistakes, they add up,” Marshall said. “Whether they’re consecutive or whether they’re spread out, they add up over time. And I think that’s what it’s getting us out on the field is those mistakes add up, and everybody’s looking at each other like, this doesn’t happen in practice.”
His fix starts with the basics: accountability, better connection and cleaner reps. Marshall said the bye week needs to be about each player looking inward first before the group can come back together.
“What's at the top of the list is everybody has to go back and say, 'What could I have done better?' And if you go within that mindset, you're going to become better,” Marshall said.
He also put the responsibility on himself, pointing to a touchdown play in which he reached the ball over.
“But guys see me owning up to my mistakes, what I'm doing wrong, I'm hard on myself, then other guys will follow,” he said. “I can't do that as a leader, as a captain. That's something I put on myself, and I have to be better than that; I'm a smarter football player than that.”
Marshall said Michigan has to be more connected away from the field and inside the building, and he wants every practice rep treated like a game rep.
“A practice has to be a game rep. Every single rep has to be a game rep, and it needs to be like that every single day,” he said.
Even with the losses, Marshall said he still believes in the people around the program and the coaches leading it. He named Coach Whitt, TA, Coach Beck, Jay Hill and Coach Coombs, saying he trusts them to sort things out because they care about the players and the game.
“You trust what you have here, and you trust what Coach Whitt has done. He has a resume.
As anybody would say, he's done it before, and I trust him. I trust TA.
I trust Coach Beck, Jay Hill, whoever it is, Coach Coombs,” Marshall said. “I trust that they're going to turn around because, one, they love this game.
They love their players, and they would do anything for their players.”
Marshall said change is coming and that the program has to respond with urgency.
“So there’s going to be changes, and things are going to have to shake because it’s go time,” he said.
Still, he drew a line at doubting the group’s toughness.
“I don’t lose trust in nobody unless you give me a reason to, unless you’re soft or you don’t want to do it,” Marshall said. “But for me, I don't think we have soft guys in our program. And if you are soft, you're going to get weeded out or you're not going to play.”
In Other News...
Michigan's Offense Has A Bigger Problem Than Fans Wanted To Admit
Michigans 20-14 loss to Minnesota dropped the Wolverines to 3-2 and reopened a conversation the program would rather avoid this early in the season. The defense did enough to keep the game within reach, but the issues on the other side of the ball were harder to ignore, especially with head coach Kyle Whittinghams timeout management and offensive coordinator Jason Becks scheme drawing scrutiny as the night wore on.
Bryce Underwoods performance only sharpened the concern, with two interceptions and a few missed opportunities leaving Michigan stuck without enough answers when it mattered most. For a team trying to steady itself after another frustrating result, the bigger problem looks less like one bad evening and more like an offense that has yet to find a reliable identity. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans Have A Bigger Worry After Herbstreits Warning Sign
Kirk Herbstreit was the only College GameDay analyst to pick Minnesota over Michigan, and the call landed with extra weight because his son is playing quarterback for the Wolverines. The prediction ended up looking sharper than most expected, but for Michigan fans, the bigger concern was not one broadcasters take. It was the way the game exposed a team still searching for answers.
Coach Whittingham acknowledged the problems after the loss, pointing first to issues on defense and then to a longer list of deficiencies the staff is trying to clean up. He said the situation ranks among the biggest challenges of his career, a blunt assessment that matches the mood around the program. The warning sign now is less about one upset than about whether Michigan can fix enough before the season slips further from reach. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans Have A Painful New Question After Minnesota Loss
Michigans latest stumble against Minnesota only sharpened the frustration around a season that has already started to feel heavier than it should. The Wolverines dropped to 0-2 in Big Ten play, and the reasons were hard to miss: turnovers, shaky offensive line play and a passing game that never found any rhythm. Bryce Underwoods line, 10 completions on 21 attempts for 101 yards and two interceptions, reflected how little margin the offense had to work with.
Kyle Whittinghams early run in Ann Arbor is already inviting hard questions about coaching and play calling, because the issues are showing up in more than one phase. Michigan fans can live with a bad afternoon now and then, but the concern is that this loss looked less like a one-off and more like a continuation of the same problems. The bigger issue now is whether the staff can fix them quickly enough to keep the season from slipping further. [Read more 🡒]