Not quite a full 48 hours had passed since Moore’s now-16th ranked Wolverines got hammered Saturday at Michigan Stadium by the No. 3 Longhorns, 31-12, in a game every bit as lopsided as the score indicated. This was his turn to detail what he saw after watching the film.

There were struggles in the passing game, with two interceptions and 39 yards in the first half. There were struggles in the run game, which didn’t have a single carry for more than 12 yards and saw no ball carrier reach 50 yards, as U-M accumulated 88 yards on 22 attempts.

There were even struggles with the vaunted defense, which was the best in America from start to finish a season ago: missed tackles, miscommunications and missed plays, as Texas went backwards on just four of its 68 snaps and controlled the time of possession for more than half the contest.

Add it all up and Michigan suffered its first home loss since 2020, first regular-season loss since 2021 and first loss in since the College Football Playoff in 2022.

Even with all of that said, Moore would not agree with anybody who implied the sky was falling.

“The big thing I talked about with the team, it’s urgency, not panic,” Moore said Monday afternoon. “It stings, it should sting. A lot of guys haven’t lost a game here at our home stadium. … We always talk about 24-hour rule, win or loss. So for us, what can we do to get better today?

“We’re just trying to go 1-0 this week, worry about this week and what we can do to get better.”

U-M (1-1) looks to rebound against Sun Belt Conference opponent Arkansas State (2-0) this Saturday at the Big House (noon, Big Ten Network).

Though Moore wouldn’t go into crisis mode, his tone and demeanor said quite a lot when assessing his group. There was blame to go around for Saturday’s debacle, but the most troubling aspect Moore harped on was the running game.

Donovan Edwards ran eight times for 41 yards, while Kalel Mullings got just six touches for 25 yards after running 15 times for 92 yards the week before. It’s now becoming a pattern, as the run game has created just 75 rushing yards combined across the first two halves of the first two games. That has affected the rest of the attack, forcing obvious passing situations.

“When the defense knows you’re going to pass, they can light you up with a blitz or drop everybody back,” Mullings said Monday. “When it’s third and manageable you can run or pass … there’s more variability in what the offense can do and then the defense is on its heels.”

Michigan converted just 3 of 12 third-down attempts vs. Texas, and was successful on just one attempt longer than five yards. The Wolverines are 7 of 23 in third-down conversions this season, No. 109 in the nation (30.3%).

Michigan was No. 34 (42.8%) in the country last season on third down.

“That’s definitely huge on the run game and a big part of it is on us,” Mullings said of being behind the sticks. “We have to get it to third-and-manageable … it’s so important to be able to establish the run game both early (in the game) and early in the drives.”

When asked what specifically he feels is wrong with the running game — if the backs aren’t running hard enough or the offensive line isn’t creating holes — Mullings refused to put the onus on the big men up front. At least, directly.

“Yeah, I mean, uh, the holes are there,” Mullings said cautiously. “Uh, yeah, I mean … yeah. It’s … yeah, I mean the holes are there, it’s just really on us as a whole as a team. There’s times you could point to us, times not. But it’s on us as a whole as a unit, as an offense to be better.”

The vibe wasn’t much better when senior edge TJ Guy spoke to represent the thoughts of the defense. His best explanation for allowing more points vs. Texas (31) than in any game last season was where the team is at on the calendar.

This is just Week 2, he said of a defense that had to replace multiple starters at each level, in addition to a new defensive coordinator and new position coaches everywhere. With new faces and terminology, the Wolverines got exposed against a top offense.

“We haven’t peaked yet,” Guy said. “Most of the things are on us, things we can clean up. Techniques, assignments, stuff like that. A couple times we shot ourselves in the foot and it definitely hurts. … Saturday was a sad day for Michigan, but we have 10 more opportunities.”

There’s much more that could be hashed out from the loss. Like how Colston Loveland (16 grabs for 157 yards and a score) has nearly matched the production from every other pass catcher (22 grabs for 168 yards and two scores). Or how the punter Tommy Doman was unable to flip the field (two punts averaged 32 yards).

There’s even some concern around the usage of standouts Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, who each played their career highs in snaps (118 between the two) yet combined for just four tackles and only a half-tackle for loss.

According to Guy, it didn’t even take one full day to pass before he had a message in his phone from some of the team’s captains in a group chat. Though the Wolverines generally prefer to operate under a 24-hour rule (to celebrate a win or get over a loss), discussion about moving on began early Sunday morning.

“Don’t come into the building if you’re not ready to turn the ship,” Guy explained of the text. “Not saying the ship is sunk or anything like that, but we don’t have room for anybody who’s not in it with us all the way.”

“I don’t want to say weird, but it’s a feeling not everyone is accustomed to,” Mullings said of the vibe. “But at the end of the day, the goals and what we strive and are straining for remains the same … this is what comes with not staying up to our standards.”

Yes, the vibes are different. So is the production, with an offense which for the second consecutive week needed 10 drives before it finally crossed midfield and scored a touchdown. And a defense which allowed Texas to convert 10 of 16 third downs, and lost the turnover battle, 3-0.

It hasn’t felt like this in a while in Ann Arbor. Now, it’s up to Moore and his team to make sure it doesn’t last.

“Guys don’t feel happy, guys aren’t smiling and laughing, but now it’s our job to uplift them,” Moore said. “Now, it’s our job to uplift them and bring them back to the light of ‘Hey, this happened, now we’ve seen the mistakes, we’ve got to fix the mistakes.’

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

Make “Hail Yes!” your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.