Michigan Football: The Biggest Question Marks After Three Weeks

With the non-conference schedule now in the rearview mirror, No. 2 Michigan will enter week four with a perfect 3-0 record. Although the results have given Michigan fans plenty to be excited about, there are also several question marks remaining as Michigan kicks off conference play this weekend in Ann Arbor.

JJ McCarthy

After playing nearly perfect football over the first two weeks of the season, the law of averages (as Jim Harbaugh put it) finally caught up to JJ McCarthy in week three. The junior quarterback finished his evening with three interceptions against Bowling Green, and McCarthy's overall performance certainly raised some eyebrows.

Meeting with the media on Monday, Harbaugh admitted that McCarthy's stellar play during the first two weeks wasn't sustainable - but that he also needs better play from his QB1.

"Scary good is where you want to be," Harbaugh said. "But 'law of averages' is going to catch up to you at some point."

"Some precaution has got to be taken and some risks avoid. Turnovers, the ball...ball security, that's the big one. Plenty to learn from, plenty to coach, and super excited about it. JJ's smart enough to know he didn't play a very good game, but he's also smart enough to know he can learn from it as well."

Overall, McCarthy is still one of the top performing quarterbacks in the Big Ten conference after three weeks - ranking No. 1 in completion pct. (82.4), touchdowns (7), and QB efficiency (194.1).

Early on, JJ McCarthy has proven that he is an elite talent with all of the tools necessary to lead Michigan to a national championship. After last Saturday's performance, he's also proven that he has the potential to fall into old habits that could become costly in conference play.

Backup Quarterback

Although you hope you never have to rely on it, having a solid QB2 on your roster is critical. Through the first three weeks of the season, starting quarterback JJ McCarthy is 56-of-68, while all other quarterbacks on the roster are a combined 1-of-4.

With McCarthy playing limited minutes in the second half of each game, you would have liked to have seen the Wolverines solidify the QB2 spot by this point in the season. Instead, that backup QB spot remains a huge question mark as Michigan kicks off Big Ten play this weekend at home against Rutgers.

Donovan Edwards

This one feels like it's not a matter of "if", but "when".

Donovan Edwards became a Michigan legend in 2022 when he helped lead the Wolverines to victory in Columbus, rushing for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries. He continued his incredible play the following week in the Big Ten championship game, rushing for 185 yards and 1 touchdown on 25 carries - earning the Big Ten championship MVP as a result.

After averaging 7.1 yards per carry and rushing for nearly 1,000 yards last season, it was expected that Edwards would take a big leap forward in 2023 - even if it meant splitting reps with Blake Corum. So far, that hasn't happened.

Through three weeks, Edwards is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry (96 total rushing yards) and has yet to find his way into the endzone.

It's hard to overstate just how important Edwards is to Michigan's national championship hopes in 2023, and the Wolverines will need better production from No. 7 sooner rather than later.

Will Johnson and Rod Moore

While their talent is far from being a question mark, they're availability certainly is. Will Johnson has played just eight snaps through three weeks, and Rod Moore has yet to see the field. As two of the top defenders in the Michigan secondary are clearly working to fully recover from injury, this will certainly something to keep your eye on as the season progresses.

Fortunately for Michigan, the defense is still playing lights out...even without their two top defenders. The Wolverines have allowed just 1 touchdown in 12 quarters of play, and currently rank No. 1 in scoring defense (5.33 PPG) and No. 2 in total defense (222.3 YPG) within the Big Ten conference.