Michigan injury news puts lighter to the fuse on Sherrone Moore’s hot seat
Few teams entered Saturday needing a win worse than Sherrone Moore's Michigan Wolverines. Everyone expected a step back given everything the team lost after winning the national title in January. Most didn't expect the step back to be quite this large: The quarterback situation is easily the worst in the Power 4, the offense as a whole looks broken and last week's punchless road loss to Illinois dropped Michigan to 4-3 — not just erasing any College Football Playoff hopes but putting even bowl eligibility very much in doubt.
Of course, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. Especially when your rival comes to town: Next up for Michigan is little brother himself, Michigan State, looking surprisingly plucky in Jonathan Smith's first season in East Lansing. A rebuilding year is one thing; falling behind your in-state rival, however, is another matter entirely. If there's a game that Moore can't afford to lose, it's this one — but he's going to have to do it without arguably his team's best player.
Will Johnson to miss Michigan's game vs. Michigan State due to injury
Star cornerback Will Johnson, a projected first-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft, will miss the game against Michigan State on Saturday, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Michigan star cornerback Will Johnson is not expected to play tonight against Michigan State, per ESPN sources. He left the Illinois game last week with a lower body injury and was considered questionable by coach Sherrone Moore this week. pic.twitter.com/mtMQwIMVEZ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 26, 2024
Johnson's health has been in question for the last couple of weeks, and he left the Illinois loss after appearing to reaggravate some sort of lower-body injury. It's hard to overstate how big a loss this is for the Wolverines: Johnson is an eraser, capable of taking away an entire half of the field, while the outside corner opposite him, Jyaire Hill, has been picked on at times this season. Now embattled defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has one more fire to put out, without the benefit of the security Johnson provides against WR1s.
Michigan State doesn't have the most explosive offense, but young QB Aidan Chiles is willing to push the ball downfield to targets like Nick Marsh and Montorie Foster. Michigan's offense really cannot afford to fall behind early, and that task just became a lot more difficult.