Michigan Wolverines' new look offense has already solved one of their biggest problems from last season

Michigan Wolverines Find Key Offensive Balance

One of the biggest issues the Wolverines had last season was that they were completely predictable as soon as they took the field. Their playcalling fell into a boring staccato that every defensive coordinator solved from the get-go.

I wrote about this problem as early as Week 2 of last season after seeing Michigan get completely blanked by the Texas Longhorns. The biggest problem? Their early-down offense. The Wolverines posted 98 yards on 21 first downs against Texas. 22 of those came on one play. They were far too predictable on first down, frequently calling run plays into a defensive line fully expecting it.

Chip Lindsey seemingly wasn't a fan of that strategy and completely shifted gears against New Mexico. On 28 first downs, Michigan ran the ball 14 times and threw the ball 14 times. That's a stark offensive shift for the Wolverines, and it produced much better results than last season's approach.

On those 28 first down plays, Michigan gained 200 yards. Almost half of their total yardage came on first downs, including four separate explosive plays over 15 yards. That is a staggering shift from what Michigan was doing last season offensively, and a vastly more encouraging approach than one could have hoped for in this game.

Yes, the competition wasn't exactly top-flight, but in a process-over-results-driven sport, the process behind their playcalling has already taken a major step forward, and that might be the biggest win of the night for the Wolverines.