The numbers have a blunt message for Michigan football: this offense isn’t just sputtering, it’s failing in almost every measurable way, and Bill Radjewski of CFBData says the biggest issue starts with the play-calling.
Through seven weeks, Radjewski tracked 18 different offensive categories, from second-level and open-field yards to short-yardage conversions and stuff rate, and the results paint an ugly picture. Michigan is worse in 17 of the 18 categories compared with its 2025 version, even with its quarterback, lead running back, top receiver and five offensive linemen with starting experience all back from a year ago.
The biggest change, Radjewski argues, is the man running the offense.
Out of 68 Power Four teams, Michigan sits 60th or worse in six categories, 50th or worse in 11 and in the bottom half in all but two. That is a huge drop from last season, when the Wolverines were 60th or worse nationally in only six categories and landed inside the top 30 in more than half of Radjewski’s 18 metrics.
This year, Michigan is top 30 nationally in just one area: passing down success.
Everything else has been a struggle, and the worst mark is explosive plays of 20 yards or more. Michigan ranks No. 135 nationally there, second-to-last among Power Four teams. The Wolverines have only four runs of 20-plus yards all season - two from quarterbacks, one each by Bryce Underwood and Tommy Carr, and two by running backs, one from Savion Hiter and one from Bryson Kuzdzal, both coming in the second half of the win over Penn State.
The list of other weak spots is long: sack rate at No. 103, standard-down success at No. 113, short-yardage conversions at No. 117, open-field yards at No. 123, points per trip inside the 40 at No. 125, second-level yards at No. 126 and turnovers per game at No. 129.
Radjewski’s read is that the offense is breaking on early downs. Michigan has fallen from No. 15 in standard-down success last season to No. 113 this year, and that slide has pushed the Wolverines into longer third-down situations. Unsurprisingly, that number has also cratered, dropping from No. 24 in 2025 to No. 93 now.
The run game has its own problems, but Radjewski doesn’t pin it on the offensive line in the way many would expect. Michigan is No. 31 in stuff rate, which means the line is not being blown up on a huge share of carries, and it ranks No. 69 in line yards. That’s a clear step back from last season’s No. 9 ranking in line yards, but it still sits in the middle of the pack rather than near the bottom.
Where the offense really falls apart is after the line of scrimmage. Michigan has plunged from No. 17 to No. 126 in second-level yards and from No. 12 to No. 123 in open-field yards, two areas where former U-M back Justice Haynes excelled.
Radjewski noted that the passing-down work remains decent at No. 24 and that the line has been average overall, which is why he sees the scheme as the central issue. “Fine when they have to throw.
Broken when the play-caller has the whole menu,” he wrote. “What breaks is the early-down plan and the space past the line.
That's the part a scheme is supposed to create.”
That broader point shows up in the scoring, too. While coach Kyle Whittingham has said the team is only a few plays away from being 6-1 or 7-0, Radjewski pointed to the opposite side of that argument as well. Michigan had only a 3% chance to beat Western Michigan when it trailed by five with 19 seconds left before the Hail Mary rescued it, after a controversial call put one second back on the clock.
The offense also came up short in other spots. Michigan scored 13 against Western Michigan, while other FBS opponents average 22.7.
It scored 17 against Oklahoma, and Radjewski pointed out that the go-ahead drive covered only six yards after Jyaire Hill’s interception put Michigan right on the doorstep. Other FBS teams average 25.2 points against Oklahoma’s defense.
The Wolverines did outpace opponents against UTEP, putting up 52 points compared with the 38.9 average, and the Iowa game came with an 83% win expectancy. But by Week 5, the offense had slipped again, managing only seven points against Minnesota after an interception inside Gophers territory set up the score. Other FBS opponents average 28.2 points against Minnesota.
Take UTEP out of the picture, and the picture gets even darker. In Michigan’s six games that were not against UTEP, the Wolverines have averaged 15 points per game.
They’ve scored 11 touchdowns in those contests, but only four of them were generated by the offense on its own merit - drives that started after a punt or kickoff and went the length of the field. One of those four was the opening drive of the season.
One touchdown came on a Hail Mary, one was scored by the defense and five came after the defense forced turnovers, four of them on the opponent’s side of midfield.
For now, the bottom line is harsh: the offense is broken in just about every way that matters. And with the current scheme still in place, the cleanest path to a fix may be the next two weeks, when Rutgers and Michigan State are on the schedule.
In Other News...
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Warde Manuels decision to step down at the end of December has put Michigan into the kind of search that tends to ripple well beyond the athletic department. The Wolverines are looking for a new athletic director at a time when the football program is already under pressure, and that means the hire will not just be about administration or fundraising. It could shape how the school approaches one of its biggest public-facing decisions in the months ahead.
Among the names circulating are Candice Story Lee of Vanderbilt, Katie Fraumann, who has ties to Michigan, and David Benedict of UConn. Each brings a different background, but the common thread is the same: this is a hire that may define the direction of the department as much as any move on the field. For Michigan fans, the real intrigue is not only who gets the job, but how quickly that person decides the Wolverines need a different path in football. [Read more 🡒]
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The next few days of practice will go a long way toward sorting it out, with the staff planning to use those reps to narrow the competition and make the call closer to game time. For Michigan, it is more than just a roster question. The Wolverines are trying to find the steadier option before a conference game that can help set the tone for the stretch ahead, and the answer at quarterback remains the biggest unresolved piece. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Run Game Faces Its Biggest Test Yet At Rutgers
Michigan is heading into a game at Rutgers needing its ground attack to do a lot of the heavy lifting. The Wolverines have leaned on the run game as the most reliable part of an offense that has struggled in several areas this season, and the matchup looks favorable on paper, with Rutgers sitting near the bottom of the Big Ten in run defense. Even with Michigan favored by 14.5 points, this has the feel of a game where the Wolverines need their identity to show up early rather than rely on another tight finish.
The broader concern is that Michigan has already spent much of the season playing closer games than expected and surviving on the margins more often than it would like. Against Rutgers, the path is fairly clear: establish the run, control the pace and avoid giving an underdog enough chances to hang around. If the Wolverines cannot do that against the conferences weakest run defense, it would say plenty about where this offense really stands heading into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]