Michigan fell to Texas 31-12 in a top-10 matchup on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

It’s a massively-disappointing result for a program that was looking to prove it hadn’t lost a step after numerous players and coaches left for the NFL after last season. Instead, the Wolverines will go back to the drawing board to prepare for a grueling Big Ten slate.

Here are 3 takeaways from Michigan’s loss to Texas:

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

Texas took a 24-3 lead into halftime, but the game was much closer than that score would indicate — apart from Michigan’s 2 turnovers. Davis Warren threw a pick on a bobbled pass and Colston Loveland fumbled in the first half, leading directly to 10 Texas points.

Without those crushing mistakes, Michigan may have been able to make a stronger comeback effort. The Wolverines would go on to turn it over one more time in the game — another Warren INT — but Texas wasn’t able to cash in on that mistake.

But by that point, it didn’t matter. Texas had built up too big of a lead and was too efficient on 3rd down (8-of-10 in the first half).

The turnovers led to a 3-touchdown deficit at halftime, which caused Michigan to get out of its offensive game plan — and spiral further in the second half. Michigan was forced to throw the ball well over half the time (58.9%) despite being pretty efficient in the run game. Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings and Benjamin Hall all rushed for over 4 yards per carry.

Lack of explosive plays

Michigan was able to move the ball at times on Texas, but finishing drives and finding explosive plays was not something the Wolverines were able to do very often.

That’s been the pattern for Michigan so far through 2 games, which is a pretty significant concern moving forward for this offense. Michigan’s success rate (44%) was actually above Texas’ in this game — but the Wolverines had just a 5% explosive play rate and couldn’t find the end zone until garbage time.

Last season, Michigan’s offense was able to get by without a lot of explosive plays because it had one of the best success rates in the country. If the Wolverines aren’t elite in at least one of those areas this season, it’s difficult to see this team competing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Michigan’s pass defense is a problem

Texas exposed some weaknesses in Michigan’s secondary on Saturday. Although Will Johnson is one of the best cornerbacks in the country, the rest of Michigan’s pass defense struggled on Saturday against the Longhorns.

Jyaire Hill was routinely targeted by Texas’ passing attack on Saturday and gave up numerous big plays to Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns. Ewers ended up throwing for 246 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions on 36 attempts. His early-down efficiency left something to be desired, but he made up for it on 3rd down when it mattered most. Texas went 10-of-15 on 3rd downs, with many of those conversions coming through the air.

Explosive plays were also an issue, as the Longhorns managed 7 passing plays of 15+ yards in this game. Overall, Texas posted an explosive play rate of 12% — far too strong for Michigan to be conceding.

Michigan will face Arkansas State at home next weekend.