There’s a new vibe in the Michigan locker room: ‘Guys don’t feel happy’

Even with the specter of scandal surrounding them for much of last season, the vibes were immaculate for the Michigan Wolverines last season.

They went into the 2023 campaign thought to be one of the best teams in the country, and they proved that game-in and game-out en route to a perfect season and College Football Playoff National Championship win — Michigan’s first since a shared championship with Nebraska in 1997.

Things feel a bit different in 2024, though. First, the program is under increased scrutiny by the NCAA, and a recent notice of allegations could lead to some severe consequences. Second, multiple key figures departed for the NFL after the championship run, including head coach Jim Harbaugh — now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Third, and perhaps most pressing for Michigan, is the fact that the Wolverines just got beat at home for the first time since the 2019 regular-season finale against Ohio State.

It wasn’t just any loss either, but rather a beatdown at the hands of No. 3 Texas Longhorns, who clearly outmatched the Wolverines.

This has all led to different vibes in the building, according to new head coach Sherrone Moore.

“Guys are hurt, guys are stung, guys don’t feel happy, guys aren’t smiling and laughing. But now it’s our job to uplift them and bring them back to the light of, ‘Hey, this happened. Now we got to see the mistakes, we got to fix the mistakes, we got attack the mistakes, and we got to get better from it,'” Moore told the media on Tuesday, according to On3’s Andy Backstrom.

“We can’t let this game beat us again,” he continued.

Moore is right that Michigan has to bounce back, and the Wolverines are lucky that Arkansas State is next on the schedule. It doesn’t get any easier after that, though, with No. 11 USC coming to town.

This is the new Big Ten, but it’s also the new 12-team CFP era, meaning the Wolverines can still make the playoff if they figure out how to move past Texas.

“We know that the turnovers, the third-down margin — you take those two things, and it gives us a much better chance to be successful,” Moore explained. “So we know where we’re at. We know what we got to do. And it was a good lesson for us to learn.”