Joel Klatt Says Michigan’s Scheme Doesn’t Fit Its Players

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The Michigan Wolverines offense ranks 100th in the FBS in rushing at 135.0 yards per game under first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck. A year ago at Utah, Beck ran the second-best rushing attack in the country at 266.3 yards per game.

Michigan’s offense has been anything but dynamic through the first five games of the 2026 college football season. The Wolverines are 3-2, and the offense has not lived up to expectations. Do they need to run the football more? Is there a mismatch between the coaching scheme and the players? Joel Klatt of the Joel Klatt Show chimed in about where the Wolverines’ problems begin.

Joel Klatt Sees a Scheme Problem in the Michigan Wolverines Offense

Klatt worked Minnesota’s 20-14 win over the Wolverines on Oct. 3 as FOX’s lead analyst, and he came away seeing a scheme-to-personnel mismatch. Klatt said in a Joel Klatt Show video,

“And on the offensive side, I see massive problems. All right, let me just start with … I believe that there is a fit problem between the scheme and the players. And because there is a fit problem between the scheme and the players, that becomes a coach’s problem. So the problem now for Michigan lies in all three categories.

Because it’s both scheme and players, it becomes a coach’s problem. And the only way forward is to adjust either the scheme or the players.”

Kyle Whittingham Has Not Named a Quarterback for Penn State

Head coach Kyle Whittingham has not decided whether Bryce Underwood or true freshman Tommy Carr will be the starting quarterback against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Oct. 17. Underwood has not lived up to expectations this season.

Zack Marshall Made the Same Case From Inside the Locker Room

Klatt’s read matched what a Michigan player had already put in writing. Tight end Zack Marshall apologized on Tuesday, Oct. 6 for messages critical of Beck’s scheme that leaked on social media on Monday, Oct. 5. In them, Marshall said Beck told the tight ends that “none of us are valuable to this offense,” according to ESPN.

Klatt is correct that there is a major scheme issue with the Wolverines. If things do not get fixed offensively after the bye week, there will be many questions about the coaching staff once the 2026 college football season comes to an end for Michigan.

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