Michigan’s offense proved to be a mess in its season-opening win over Fresno State. But head coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines have another problem on their hands as well.

When No. 3 Texas visits the Big House on Saturday, Michigan will have to deal with a Heisman hopeful and potential high first-round NFL Draft pick in Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers. A year after leading the ‘Horns to the College Football Playoff while completing over 70% of his passes, Ewers picked up right where he left off in the team’s 52-0 season-opening win over Colorado State.

The 6-2, 210-pound junior completed 20-of-27 passes for 260 yards with 3 touchdowns (all in the red zone) and an interception before turning the offense over to Arch Manning late in the third quarter with the Longhorns leading 38-0. So there is no doubt that Michigan’s secondary will be tested against Ewers and a bevy of playmakers, including Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond, Houston transfer Matthew Golden and Johntay Cook.

“They’re all fast, they’re all playmakers,” Moore told reporters Monday of the Longhorns’ receivers. “The big thing that stands out is their speed and their ability to separate, and I think (Texas coach Steve Sarkisian) does a really good job of putting them in a position to showcase their talent. For us, it’s gonna be doing everything we can to contain those guys.”

What bodes well for the Wolverines is their secondary ranked No. 2 in the FBS in passing yards allowed last season, and they opened this season with a strong performance against Fresno State. They had 2 interceptions, including an 86-yard return for a score by star cornerback Will Johnson — a near-lock to be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“I wasn’t too happy with my performance before that,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “So being able to finish it that way definitely made me feel a little bit better about the game. … I kind of just felt it coming. Wasn’t really like I’d seen it on film or anything before, it was just throughout the game I felt it, and I went and tried to make a play.”

A similar big play may be needed this week to offset an offense that needs to forge an identity and figure out how to both better run block and protects its quarterback, whether it is Davis Warren or Alex Orji.

Making things more difficult on Michigan’s defense is the fact Sarkisian’s Longhorns typically run the ball really well, too. Texas lost its top 2 running backs to injuries in the preseason, but Sarkisian’s schemes can make their play-action game lethal.

Much of the focus on this game is the matchup of Ewers versus Johnson, who is one of the premier defenders in the nation. Oddly enough, Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene threw Johnson’s way a lot in the opener, and he was fairly successful — up until the 86-yard pick-6 that iced the game.

Per Pro Football Focus, the Bulldogs targeted Johnson 8 times, and he allowed 5 catches for 77 yards. Those grabs included 4 first downs. Johnson appeared to be a little too eager on some of those throws, perhaps trying to jump a route to make a bigger play. Of course, it worked on his interception.

Ewers and this Texas receiving corps figure to give Johnson an even tougher task, though Bond was held to 4 catches for 47 yards in last year’s Rose Bowl when his Alabama squad fell to the Wolverines. And Johnson didn’t allow any receptions to him in that game.

“I don’t like getting the ball caught on me at all,” Johnson said. “Any time they catch the ball, it’s definitely not a good thing to me. But, you got to go on to the next play and try to make a play when (your) number’s called.”

There is the thought that Wolverines defensive coordinator Wink Martindale put in a more conservative game plan against Fresno State as to not give away too much on tape ahead of the clash with the Longhorns. Whatever the case may be, Michigan’s secondary will be tested by a Longhorns receiving corps that is one of the deepest in the country. In addition to Bond, Golden and Cook, transfer Silas Bolden, freshman Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore Jr. are among the plethora of weapons at Ewers’ disposal. Eleven Longhorns caught passes in the Week 1 win.

Michigan will need its entire secondary to play well on Saturday, but Johnson will be the best defender in the backfield. He played just 43 snaps against Fresno State, but expect him to stay in for most of the game against the Longhorns as the Maize and Blue look to put a cap on the number of big plays through the air.