For the second season in a row, No. 3 Texas went on the road in nonconference play and beat a top-10 team. Last year, it was a huge upset over Alabama. This time, the Longhorns bullied the reigning national champions, No. 10 Michigan, in a 31-12 win.
Michigan allowed 24 points in the first half, which equals the high of what they surrendered in any single game last year. But the problems for the Wolverines don't start on that side of the ball. Instead, Michigan's QB situation, puzzling going into the week, seems dire.
Let's dive into Michigan's QB quandary, Quinn Ewers' statement and much more in our big questions moving out of the biggest game from Week 2.
1. How did Michigan get here at QB, where does it go from here?
The transfer portal era is one of opportunity for elite programs. Don't have a proven starter at a position? Grab one out of the portal. It happens more often at quarterback than anywhere else as more than 60% of Week 1 starters for Power Four teams were transfer QBs.
That's why it's so puzzling to see Michigan's situation under center. Davis Warren, whose personal story is incredible, is a one-time walk-on. The quarterback he beat out, Alex Orji, is a former three-star recruit who had one career pass going into 2024.
So, why didn't Michigan grab a portal quarterback?
Jim Harbaugh's back-and-forth flirtation with the NFL didn't help. By the time he took the Chargers job on Jan. 24, 2024, all of the top quarterbacks from the winter window were off the board. Michigan will obviously take its national championship, but Harbaugh's indecision cost them in the winter. The spring portal window was there, too, but only one of the top 25 QBs in 247Sports' transfer rankings (Jaden Rashada, Demaricus Davis) transferred in the spring; they had a combined two starts upon entry to the portal.
Thus, Michigan rolled with what it had. There was a lot of optimism in the program that Orji, one of the truly elite athletes at his position in the sport, would make enough progress and snatch the job. But he never did. In fact, he regressed in the latter part of fall camp, which allowed Warren to snatch the job.
It did not go well for Warren against Texas with the majority of his production coming in garbage time: 22-for-33, 204 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Which leads to the most important question of Michigan's season: Where the heck does it go from here at quarterback? There are no easy answers. Michigan lacks elite weapons at wide receiver, and its offensive line isn't what it was during its three-year run to the College Football Playoff. Thus, a pocket passer like Warren isn't exactly in an advantageous position. It'd be huge if Michigan could run a system built around the run and take advantage of Orji's legs, but there's clearly no trust from the staff with what Orji brings to the table as a passer.
Maybe the answer is experienced backup Jack Tuttle. But he's dealt with an injury that's largely kept him out of this QB race. Perhaps Michigan turns toward true freshman Jadyn Davis, the No. 9 QB in the 2024 class, yet that feels like throwing in the white flag for the season.
Michigan needs a spark under center. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, it seems like they missed their window to find one in 2024.
2. What's Michigan's celling this year?
Probably fancy Iowa.
This is said as a joke but not really meant as a slight. Iowa's won eight games or more in eight of the last nine seasons despite some disastrous offensive production. Iowa wins knife fights with elite defense and special teams. That looks like it will have to be the formula for Michigan as its offense has average just 4.7 yards per play through two games, a total that would have ranked 124th nationally in the FBS last season.
The score against Texas might not indicate it, but Michigan's defense is very good. The Longhorns, with their team speed, can make anyone look silly. Yet there remain future draft picks scattered across the Michigan defensive starting 11.
The formula is simple: Ball control, a strong run game and a smothering defense.
As for what that will get Michigan in 2024 -- that remains to be seen. A rather dynamic USC offense is coming to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in two weeks and Michigan still has remaining games against both Oregon and Ohio State. Plus, without anything to lean on offensively, the normal Big Ten games that Michigan just ate up in the win column in recent years are much more trying.
Right now, the best case scenario for Michigan seems like nine wins. Offenses that look like this rarely exceed that total.
3. Is Quinn Ewers the best QB in the country?
He's certainly the most clutch if you look at his production the last two seasons.
In fact, here are Ewers' stats against top 10 competition (three games against Alabama, Washington, Michigan) since the beginning of the 2023 campaign: 72-for-117, 913 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions. None of those games were at home, by the way. That's ELITE production on the biggest possible stage.
Few quarterbacks, if any, can match Ewers' natural ability. He was the No. 1 overall QB in the 2021 class – ahead of Caleb Williams – and has had generational prospect hype since high school. After some changes following the 2022 season – mechanical, mechanics, understanding the perception of his hair – Ewers is starting to look like the type of passer everyone once believed he could be.
Plus, it's not like there are any sure-fire options ahead of him. Carson Beck, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward and a few others have an argument here. But this not like last year when Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Michael Penix were slam-dunk answers as elite, NFL-bound QBs.
Ewers, who grew up rooting for Texas, will have every opportunity to stake his claim as QB1 as the season goes along. But I feel quite comfortable putting him at No. 1 for now.
He's been flawless on the biggest possible stage. That's all you ask of a high-level QB.
4. Is Texas' o-line the best in the country?
After running back Jaydon Blue went down briefly in the first half with an injury, Texas found itself down to its third- and fourth-string running backs from the start of fall camp. It didn't matter. The Longhorns averaged 4 yards per carry against arguably the best defensive line in college football, building a 24-3 lead in the first half.
Did I mention Texas did not allow a sack?
Steve Sarkisian is already on the short list of best play-callers in the country. Ewers, as discussed above, might be the best QB. Texas' wide receiver room, which features a pair of starting receivers who both sub 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters (and there are several other speedsters behind them), is electric. But that really doesn't matter if offensive line struggles. Good thing Texas' starting o-line is elite.
Left tackle Kelvin Banks will be a first-round draft pick come 2025. Texas left guard Hayden Connor has made 28 career starts. Texas starting center Jake Majors has 42 career starts. Texas right guard DJ Campbell is a former five-star recruit and has 15 career starts. The only real weakness for the unit is right tackle Cameron Williams, who had several big penalties in the first half. But he's also someone the Longhorns staff thinks can emerge as a high-round draft pick.
That unit owned Michigan up front. Remember, this Wolverines defensive line features two of the best DTs in the country, and Texas won the line scrimmage handily.
If Texas' o-line plays like this all year, they're going to be brutally difficult to deal with. Ewers and his weapons might be Texas a national championship ceiling, but the o-line ensures the Longhorns have a championship-worthy floor.