Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are most offensive lines.

The big difference, of course: Rome didn't have to host No. 4 Texas in the second week of the season the way No. 8 Michigan football does on Saturday (noon, Fox) in the nation's first top-10 matchup.

While the Wolverines weren't expected to look like a finished product in Week 1, the up-and-down 30-10 victory over Fresno State did expose some concerns ahead of the heavyweight matchup approaching.

Perhaps at the top of the list: the offensive line.

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New head coach Sherrone Moore, who was formerly in charge of that unit, acknowledged Monday that the group remains a work in progress.

“Never where you want it to be,” Moore said. “It’s definitely got to get better. But I thought the attitude, I thought the strain, was there. The details and the technique have to continue to get better, and that’s a product of your first game as an offensive line.”

The line featured five new starters from January's College Football Playoff title game, with left tackle Myles Hinton, left guard Josh Priebe, center Dominick Giudice, right guard Gio El-Hadi and right tackle Evan Link playing almost the entirety of Saturdays game.

Giudice was the only Wolverine in the group who didn't take all 62 offensive snaps; he took 49, with senior Greg Crippen subbing in for the other 13 late in the first half.

While the glaring mistakes were few — El-Hadi and Giudice appeared to miscommunicate on an assignment, allowing a sack of Warren, and Priebe was called for a hold to wipe out Donovan Edwards' best run — it was the general choppiness of the group that hindered the offense.

The first five drives all lasted five plays or fewer. The next four drives lasted at least nine plays, but none of them resulted in a touchdown. It wasn't until their 10th and final non-kneeldown drive that U-M both crossed midfield and scored a touchdown.

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“It’s the tale of 10 guys and you’ve got one guy that doesn’t do his job and the play fails,” Moore explained “We’ve got to get better at that, and we will.”

Again, the lack of jelling was to be expected. Link and Giudice were both making their first career starts, Priebe was taking his first snap in a Michigan uniform and El-Hadi hadn't opened a game for U-M since 2022. Only Hinton, the anchor of the unit at left tackle, started for Michigan last year, and he lost his job by the middle of the year.

Michigan's pass blocking received a 61.8 grade from Pro Football Focus (which also factors in tight ends and running backs when relevant), 107th out of 132 teams. The run blocking, however, was notably better, drawing a 69.5 grade, good for 36th.

The Wolverines will look to make a serious improvement to those grades in Week 2, just as they did in previous seasons, according to their coach.

“Even the first (game) last year and the year before that, I’d probably say the exact same thing,” Moore said. “If you went back the past three years and watched the first game and then watched the second game, it looks like two different lines. I expect those guys to be a lot better.”

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New kicker, same awards

Though Michigan's 2024 opener was far from perfect, Dominic Zvada's night could not have gone better.

The Wolverines' new kicker made all five attempts, netting him Big Ten co-special teams player of the week (along with UCLA kicker Mateen Bhaghani, who hit three field goals vs. Hawaii, including a winner in the final minute).

Zvada hit field goals from 44, 53 and 55 yards out, becoming the second player in program history to make multiple kicks of at least 50 yards or further in a game. An Arkansas State transfer, Zvada was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2022, as a freshman.

Zvada entered this season 34-for-40 on field goals, including 13-for-16 from 40 yards or more. He'd also made 71 of 72 extra-point attempts as well; he went 2-for-2 there Saturday.

“I’m really thankful that my coaches believed in me and put me out there," he said. "It was a great night.”

The 6-fot-3 Zvada is the third straight U-M kicker to be named the conference's top special teams player for a week, following in the footsteps of James Turner last season and Jake Moody in 2022.

Zvada will face his former Red Wolves teammates on Sept. 14 when Arkansas State comes to Ann Arbor.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football offensive line has work to do after years of success