The scene in Norman was downright ugly. Michigan rolled into its first heavyweight bout of 2025 and walked out bloodied, a 24–13 dud against Oklahoma that felt like a slap in the face to anyone expecting Wolverine dominance. Bryce Underwood looked like a mediocre JUCO baller rather than a 5-star recruit. He had just 9 completions on 24 throws, and constant harassment from the Sooners’ pass rush left the Wolverines searching for answers they couldn’t find. According to Joel Klatt, the Wolverines are going through a Jim Harbaugh-Chip Lindsey football style identity crisis.

Michigan’s supposed strength, the trenches, crumbled. The offensive line, once a badge of honor, was pushed around like it had forgotten how to block. The Sooners’ front seven lived in the backfield, and Underwood had to play “hot potato” with the ball on nearly half his dropbacks. And the stats don’t lie: pressured on over 40% of throws, sacked 3 times, and staring at a 3-for-14 mark on third downs. Even the run game, usually Michigan’s comfort blanket, coughed up just 102 yards at 3.4 a pop. Outside of that one big burst when Michigan sneakily added extra linemen, it was clogged lanes, stuffed carries, and a predictable, one-dimensional mess. For a program that prided itself on physical football, this looked like a group caught in an identity crisis.

On Wednesday, Joel Klatt, never one to hold back, nailed the diagnosis. Appearing on CFB on FOX, Klatt flat-out said: “Michigan can be struggling with their identity on one hand, and on the other hand, Oklahoma played great. I think both of those things can equally be true.” His point? Yes, the Sooners balled out. But at the same time, Michigan looked lost trying to mash old-school Harbaugh ball with Chip Lindsay’s finesse-heavy spread system. The two philosophies don’t fit yet, leaving Underwood stuck in a scheme that can’t decide if it wants to smash or dance.

Klatt went even deeper: “Way too many condensed sets from the offense for Michigan. When you condense your formation, what does the defense do? It condenses. Safeties creep up, corners tighten, support players are closer. So it becomes so much more difficult to just run the football straight ahead when you’re out of a condensed set.” He wasn’t wrong. Michigan shrank the field on itself, inviting more defenders into the box, which is basically like handing the defense a cheat code.

What’s wild is that the Wolverines did find a small crack in Oklahoma’s wall. When they added extra linemen, suddenly gaps appeared, and boom, a long run broke loose, and Justice Haynes took that rock to his house with a 75-yarder rushing TD. That glimpse was proof there’s something to work with. But instead of building on it, the offense spiraled back into bad habits, failing to adapt and leaving Underwood stranded. Klatt’s advice was simple but sharp: spread the field when you run, condense when you pass, and stop making life harder than it has to be.

Is Sherrone Moore holding the Wolverines back by limiting Bryce Underwood?

At the heart of this mess sits Sherrone Moore’s decision-making. The head coach seems hell-bent on protecting his freshman QB, maybe too much. Underwood’s biggest weapon—the legs that terrorized high school defenses—is being locked in a glass case. Against Oklahoma, he had only one designed run, and his final rushing line was 3 carries for -1 yard. That’s not “protecting your guy,” that’s clipping his wings before he even takes flight.

Which brings us to the elephant in the Big House—Moore’s refusal to unleash Underwood as a runner. On his Monday radio spot, Moore explained, “It’s a long year, and you’ve got 12 guaranteed opportunities. So your quarterback, like I always say, if you run him, you better have two because they’re going to take a lot of hits. And he’s a big dude, and he wants to do that, but you just got to be very cognizant of how you use him in certain situations.” Translation: Moore’s terrified of losing the 5-star to injury before Michigan even hits November. Makes sense, the Wolverines don’t have a legit QB2 if Bryce Underwood goes down.

But football ain’t a game of ‘what ifs.’ Across the country, from college to the NFL, coaches are dialing up QB runs because it works. Look at J.J. McCarthy’s time at Michigan—his legs were the difference in multiple games. Right now, the Wolverines look neutered, refusing to let Underwood add that extra dimension. Chip Lindsey swears the QB run is still in the playbook. “I think quarterback runs are in our game plan every week,” he said. “We’ll continue to have that opportunity. It’s definitely something we want to showcase when possible and when it makes sense.”

This tug-of-war between Moore’s caution and Underwood’s potential could define Michigan’s season. Protecting Bryce makes sense—he’s the future. But if that future doesn’t include taking some hits and using every weapon in his bag, then what’s the point? Nebraska, USC, and Washington aren’t going to sit back and let Michigan figure it out at its own pace. They’ll crank up the pressure just like Oklahoma did, and unless Moore flips the switch, the Wolverines could be staring at more than one early loss. The identity crisis won’t just cost them style points, it could cost them the Big Ten.