ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No one in Michigan expected the Wolverines to enter the 2024 season like last year’s unstoppable, undefeated national champions — not when the 2023 team lost 13 of those players (leading the FBS) to the NFL, along with their coach.

But the stark difference that has developed in a matter of months was on full display Saturday, as No. 3 Texas, which dismantled the Wolverines in every way on their home court, left town with a 31-12 victory and snapped Michigan’s streak of 23 straight wins in the Big House. The loss also broke Michigan’s Big Ten record of winning 29 straight regular-season games.

After the loss, new coach Sherrone Moore said he wasn’t thinking about his team’s early pains, but rather focused on what the Wolverines could do to get better.

“We knew we were a new team,” he said. “We never rested on our laurels after winning the state championship last year. So for us, it was a question of what can we do to get better and make this team good. We are where we are. We’re going to continue to grow and get better.”

The question is not just how fast, but how much better they can be. It was the second week that the offense struggled, as Michigan also got off to a slow start in its Week 1 win over Fresno State. The difference with Texas on the offensive and defensive line was glaring. While Texas excelled in both the running and passing game, Michigan struggled to get anything done on the ground and was then forced into an unreliable passing game as it tried to overcome a 24-3 halftime deficit.

When asked if he felt he needed to make significant changes to his personnel, Moore said after the game he would have to watch the game film to “figure it out.”

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions and just say something,” he said. “I’m going to watch it, evaluate it and see what we need to do to put the right people in the right places to make it successful.”

Michigan, a team that hadn’t lost in 16 straight games, had three turnovers, including an uncharacteristic fumble by veteran tight end Colston Loveland, who remains one of the Wolverines’ more reliable players on offense. They finished the game with just 80 rushing yards on the ground, an indictment of the offensive line’s blocking ability against a Texas defense that didn’t let much fool them. There were moments when Warren showed promise — when he threw a dart for a first down in the fourth quarter after being completely blown away by a Texas defender.

But for much of the game, Michigan couldn’t sustain its offense, converting just three of 12 third downs — while Texas was able to control the clock by converting 10 of 16 third downs. Not all of those mistakes, Moore said, were long-term problems. He said the first of two interceptions was due to a deflected pass, and the second was a miscommunication. On the fumble, he said, Loveland didn’t sack the ball fast enough.

“Those are three things that, if you don’t have them,” he said, “are a whole different thing. But they happened. And they did a good job of capitalizing on them.”

Defensively, Michigan allowed 135 yards after contact, Moore said – proof that basic tackling needs to improve.

“These little things put us in a better position if we fix them,” he said. “But that’s not possible against a good team.”

It’s not the last good team Michigan will face. The Wolverines, playing in a supersized Big Ten, host USC in two weeks, travel to Washington on Oct. 5 and host Oregon on Nov. 2 – all conference games. But with a new 12-team College Football Playoff, there’s still some certainty in the schedule that Michigan can return to the CFP. The top five ranked conference champions are assured a playoff spot, as are the next seven top-ranked teams.

“Our season is not over yet,” said defensive end Josaiah Stewart, “so a loss won’t knock us out of the playoffs like it probably would have done last year.”

Although there was certainly disappointment in the locker room after the loss, Warren said Michigan was “better than what we showed today.”

“We let them get away too easily,” said Warren, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown when the game was already out of reach. “It’s a really crappy feeling because I know this offense, this team has what it takes to win this football game, and we didn’t get it done.”

Although this squad looks different than the national champions, Warren said Michigan’s level has not changed – and maintaining it “is not a problem.”

“It’s on all of us to maintain that standard in every way,” he said. “That’s something we clearly didn’t do well enough today. It’s on me to be better, to play better, and that’s bummer. Because when you go into this game, you know there’s a lot on the line, you want to win. We’ve got to take a hard look at what kind of team we want to be.”