Sherrone Moore Calls Out Pass Defense Struggles: ‘It Has to Improve’

No. 24-ranked Michigan football is 4-2 through six games this season, which has them sitting in fifth place in the conference. The offense has been the topic of most conversations, but the defense hasn’t been up to par despite its high expectations and several projected NFL Draft prospects on the field.

Head coach Sherrone Moore said on Monday’s Inside College Football radio show that he knows where his team has to improve on the defensive side of the ball.

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“I think they’ve done a good job of initially stopping the run on teams,” Moore said. “People have to do different things to get the ball moving on us, but the pass defense has to improve. And that’s a collective group thing. That’s not just Will, that’s not just the DBs, but it’s the pass rush. It’s all the things tied together to make sure that we’re aligned in the pass game. So we definitely have to improve there.”

Michigan’s Passing Defense this year

#115 Nationally in Passing Yards allowed per game
#79 Opponent Pass Completion Percentage
#131 Opponent Pass Completions
#132 Opponent Pass Attempts
#116 Opponent Passing Touchdowns per game
#115 First Downs allowed by Passing a game (12.5) pic.twitter.com/J9AKtf0y26

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 7, 2024

After ending 2023 ranked No. 1 in total defense, Michigan currently sits at 48th in the country. Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Marindale has received some criticism for how much he’s blitzed in 2024, but Moore said he doesn’t think there’s a substantial difference from last season.

“You look back at the stats, and I go through last year, and I go through this year, and looked at the comparisons of games, and the blitz percentages, quote-unquote, are about the same,” Moore said. “They’re not far off, so I think that it’s a misnomer, because people are coming off the edge or blitzing, but really, sometimes it looks like a blitz, and it’s four guys rushing, and for us, I think it’s just, we have to have a balance of what we’re gonna do, and use it as a weapon, but not as the foundation.”

MORE: 3 Major Concerns for Michigan Football Right Now

Moore Gets Advice from Harbaugh After Loss

The first full season as head coach at a school as prevalent as Michigan is bound to come with some challenges. Moore took some advice from his predecessor Jim Harbaugh after the loss on Saturday. 

“I think you just have to be real on what’s good and what’s not, and you can’t sugarcoat it because it’s not about feelings or emotions,” Moore said. “It’s about our team getting better, and that’s the No. 1 thing you have to do. And had some great conversations with some of my mentors and people, and got a chance to talk to Coach Harbaugh the other day just about these situations and what you can do. And the only thing you can do is get better. He always said, ‘Never get bitter, get better. And make sure that the coaches are coaching their players like they wanna be coached,’ and that’s what we’re gonna go do this week.”

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