Michigan Football Exploring Change in Running Philosophy to Fix Ground Game

Change might be needed if the Wolverines are going to get their ground attack rolling.

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Michigan has really struggled to get its run game rolling in 2026. Which comes as a surprise after Kyle Whittingham brought over Jason Beck, who has had the No. 2 rushing offense in each of the last two seasons. Coming from both New Mexico and Utah, Beck's teams were able to run the ball at an elite clip.

But not at Michigan. Not so far. The Wolverines have the No. 91 ranked rushing offense in college football, averaging a clip higher than 147 yards per game on the ground. Bryce Underwood is Michigan's leading rusher this season, gaining156 yards on the ground and two scores.

From 2021-2023, Michigan had an elite run game and the Wolverines' offensive line won the Joe Moore Award in back-to-back seasons for having the best line in the country. But it's been a mixed bag from the line to running backs.

On Wednesday, Beck spoke about the run game and how he needs to make a decision on which kind of runs he calls.

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"I think we're taking steps forward each week," Beck said of his offense. "We're getting better, we're making progress. I was most surprised in our just handing off runs with where the result of those have been. That will be a continued emphasis and improvement that way.

"I've also been kind of disappointed in our perimeter run game. That's typically been a big strength of stuff we've done. And through these first four games, we're sitting at like two and a half yards of carry, which is, you know, what's the point of doing that, you know, if that's the result? So we've got to either get better at it or stop doing it, you know, one of the two."

What could be the factor of the run game not producing this season? There could be several factors explaining why the Wolverines are struggling to run the ball, but as Whittingham has said before, and now Beck, it starts with playing more physical and harder.

"There's a couple different factors, but ultimately we've just got to play harder, more physical, get more out of each time we're handing it off and the results we're getting from it, you know, across the board," said Beck. "So I don't want to signal out any certain groups or anything that way, but just we got to play harder and get more out of what we got going when we do hand it off."

A look into the numbers

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It might not be a good sample size, being three games, but Michigan hasn't been able to run the football well against whoever it plays. The Wolverines saw an uptick in production against UTEP, rushing for 185 yards, but Michigan is still not where it needs to be.

This week won't be any easier. Iowa will come into Ann Arbor with the No.1 defense in the country and the Hawkeyes are going to make an emphasis to stop Michigan's run game.

Looking at Pro Football Focus, when Michigan runs jet sweep action, the Wolverines have gained 126 yards on 32 carries, which comes down to 3.9 yards per carry. Then when Michigan attacks either the left or right edge, the Wolverines have gained 225 yards on 57 carries for 3.9 yards carry.

Admittedly, watching the games, it doesn't seem like Michigan is close to averaging four yards when it runs on the perimeter. Those stats appear to be a little better than expected, but it's clear that Michigan isn't moving the defenders around as it should.

If the Wolverines are going to make a push in the Big Ten and contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff, then they have to figure the run game out in a hurry.

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