Urban Meyer delivers harsh truth about Michigan’s passing game

Feb 2, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Former football head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines of Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Michigan Wolverines are 3-1 on the season after defeating USC a week ago, but is their success sustainable? Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer doesn’t think so.

During the latest episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, Meyer essentially shut the door on Michigan’s hopes of winning the Big Ten or reaching the College Football Playoff, which they’ve done in each of the previous three seasons.

Meyer’s reasoning? The Wolverines’ dreadful passing game — one that is among the worst in the country.

“They can’t [succeed]. There’s zero chance with that kind of balance,” Meyer said, as transcribed by ON3. “They got to play both quarterbacks. I said that when we were there. Alex Orji is good enough to play. He’s got to play. I think he’s a tremendous player. But, to answer your question: no.

“You’re going to get zero coverage every snap, and you will see that the numbers disappear. I like how rugged the Wolverines were on offense and defense, and that’s kind of a trademark of who they are, but there is zero chance unless you balance that thing up. At some point, it’s going to be nine up, and you’ll stop the run.”

Michigan has relied largely on a ground-and-pound approach while averaging just 122.8 passing yards per game. It’s an Army-like approach that can’t be replicated long-term, as Meyer accurately points out, albeit it with a tiny sliver of bias.

The Wolverines have switched from quarterback Davis Warren to redshirt sophomore Alex Orji, but the results remained the same. Eventually, the lack of balance will come back to haunt them.

“They just proved they’re tough. That proves that they pound the people there. They got that rugged mentality. But reality is, you’re going to have to be balanced up a little bit,” Meyer added.

Michigan may be able to survive playing one-dimensional football again on Saturday against a struggling Minnesota team but eventually, the schedule gets tougher. Games against Illinois, Michigan State, Oregon, and Ohio State remain.