How Michigan Football Spent Bye Week Self-Evaluating After Early Struggles

Down multiple starters on both sides of the ball, No. 24 Michigan football lost their first road game of the season, 27-17, against Washington two weeks ago. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Wolverines, going into it with some figurative and literal bruises.

In a press conference on Monday, head coach Sherrone Moore talked about the team being self-critical during the week of practice. 

“I told everybody, myself, players, coaches, that was the message in the locker room,” Moore said. “It’s not time to panic, but we have to evaluate what we need to do and how we need to operate, and you saw that last week in practice, how we practiced, what we did in practice, and really into (Sunday) on how those guys practiced.

“They came out with a ton of energy and enthusiasm, but also a lot of detail on the little things and not so much of this holistic thing, but the little details are the things that will help us win, and we’ve got to continue to focus on that.”

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Despite Adversity, the Show Must Go On for Sherrone Moore

In his first season as head coach, Moore has had almost a full season’s worth of challenges in the first seven weeks. Star players injured, a quarterback controversy and people criticizing him and his assistants 

“You’re always self-evaluating, and this is a great time when you have a bi-weekly self-scout to see what you’ve done, how it’s effective, what’s worked, what hasn’t,” Moore said. “And you have the data, you have the film, so we did a lot of that, and I think it’s going to help us as we go through.”

Can Moore turn things around? A pivotal bye week leads into a Top 25 matchup with Illinois – a perfect opportunity to see how the growth has translated, if at all, following the bye week.

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