Michigan’s offense is spiraling, but Jason Beck is still holding the play sheet.
After Saturday’s 13-6 loss to No. 6 Indiana, the questions around the Wolverines’ attack got louder, and fast.
Michigan managed just 1.4 yards per carry, turned it over twice and came away empty on four red zone trips without reaching the end zone. That kind of output usually puts a coordinator squarely in the crosshairs.
Not this time, at least not yet.
Coach Kyle Whittingham made clear Monday that he sees a unit-wide problem, not a single culprit. He ran through the list himself: “We’re not running the ball well enough, not throwing the ball well enough, not good enough on third down, not good enough in the red zone, we’re turning (the ball) over too much,” Whittingham said. “So there’s a lot of things to improve upon.”
That broad diagnosis doesn’t absolve anyone, but it does shift the conversation. With no individual player being singled out, the spotlight naturally moves to Beck, the offensive coordinator whose unit has fallen well short of expectations.
Whittingham, though, is not making a change right now.
“If there’s tough decisions to be made in that regard, I certainly have made them before and will again,” Whittingham said. “But right now, I don’t think it’s time to panic.”
Beck came to Michigan with real credibility. Whittingham worked with him during a highly productive offensive season at Utah a year ago, and Beck’s resume also includes a strong run at New Mexico.
Still, the results in Ann Arbor have not matched the promise. Beck’s 2025 Utah offense ranked fourth in the nation in total offense, but Michigan now sits 127th in passing offense, 101st in rushing offense, 127th in red zone offense and 85th in third down conversion percentage.
The overall picture is even rougher. Michigan, despite owning the nation’s third-best total defense, is 1-3 in conference play for the first time since the shortened 2020 season. Over the last three games, the Wolverines haven’t scored a point on a drive that didn’t begin with a defensive turnover.
That’s the kind of production that typically triggers changes, and Whittingham knows it. Oregon moved on from its offensive coordinator Sunday after a 2-2 start in conference play, even though the Ducks were still better than Michigan in pass and rush offense, red zone efficiency and points per game in league play.
Whittingham acknowledged that reality, but he also pointed back to what Beck has done before.
“The things he’s done in the past, for one thing,” Whittingham said when asked why he still trusts Beck. “I know that you can’t live on that forever, understandably, but (Beck’s) been very successful.”
Beck’s track record has leaned heavily on the ground game. At Utah and at New Mexico, his rushing offenses finished second in the nation under his direction. Michigan brought him in with pieces that should have fit that identity: junior running back Jordan Marshall, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last season; an offensive line returning six players with starts in 2025; and the state’s highest-rated freshman running back recruit.
Instead, the offense has looked out of sync from the start.
Whittingham didn’t put the blame on the players. He said the group hasn’t come together the way the staff expected, but he made it clear where he thinks the burden belongs.
“Some of the positions haven’t jelled quite like we hoped, but I’m not putting that on the players,” Whittingham said. “We got to coach better, and so we certainly have the talent to be better than we are right now.”
For now, Beck remains the playcaller as Michigan heads to Rutgers on Saturday, trying to stop the slide and find some version of an offense that can finally carry its share of the load.
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But the larger issue is broader than one matchup. Michigan is still facing uncertainty at quarterback, looking for a more reliable rushing attack, and waiting to see how offensive coordinator adjustments and offensive line play hold up under pressure. After a string of close losses, the bigger test may not be Rutgers at all so much as whether this group can show the kind of resilience that keeps a season from slipping into frustration. [Read more 🡒]