Michigan football is on pace for its worst full-season record since going 5-7 in 2014 (not counting its 2-4 mark in the six-game 2020 season).

That 2014 season, of course, was coach Brady Hoke's last year before Jim Harbaugh was brought in to revive the program.

Head coach Sherrone Moore on Monday acknowledged there's a gap between what's happening during the week compared to the performance on Saturdays, after another debacle last week when Michigan (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) came off of a bye week but managed to score the fewest points in a decade in a 21-7 loss to Illinois.

“I feel like (we’re) protecting it way better in practice, and it's just not translated to the game,” Moore said. “We have to figure out as coaches, as a team, how to translate all that stuff to a game. There's things that you're doing in practice that have to replicate in the game.

"For us as coaches, whether that's simplifying and doing things less so we can be better at those things, especially on offense, that's what we'll work toward doing that.”

WAITING GAME: Michigan highly-recruited freshman QB Jadyn Davis isn't playing. Yet.

According to players such as wide receiver Tyler Morris, the staff has elected to "simplify" things for the offense moving forward. Speaking Wednesday morning on WXYT-FM (97.1), Moore addressed several topics, including turnover troubles.

Once again, Moore called it "the No. 1 focus" for the team. Michigan now goes into its game against Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) as just a 3½ point favorite; over the summer, some sportsbooks had Michigan favored by 24 points, and the line came out Sunday with Michigan favored by 6½.

MSU comes off an impressive 32-20 win over Iowa, while U-M has consecutive losses for the first time since 2020. Worse than the loss was the fact U-M looked no more cohesive after a week of bye week work than before the break.

In particular, on offense.

“The biggest thing we need to do is keep it simple,” Moore said. “Not too simple where the defense knows everything, but for us, keep it simple so that our guys can execute a plan and let those guys compete, let those guys go out there and show (their abilities) and take care of the football.”

The best way to do that? Frankly, probably stop throwing the ball as much.

U-M has had little success on its quarterback carousel this year, going from senior Davis Warren, who had two touchdowns and six interceptions, to junior Alex Orji, who didn't complete a pass of more than 16 yards in three starts, to seventh-year QB Jack Tuttle, who has committed four turnovers in his past five quarters and has more career interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six).

There's no overstating how important a consistent rushing attack is for U-M. Not only is Kalel Mullings, who has 110 carries for 676 yards and seven scores, the team's best chance, but evidence suggests running the ball in this rivalry game is extremely important.

The team with the most rushing yards is 48-6 in the past 54 meetings between U-M and MSU.

MSU vs. U-M RIVALRY: Stats that matter and moments we remember

"It will be huge, definitely factor in the game," Moore said Wednesday. "I think we’re ready to lean on that."

Statistically, the Wolverines have a slight edge with the No. 45 rushing attack (180.3 yards per game) and the No. 9 run defense (92.1 yards per game). MSU is No. 53 in stopping the run (131.1) and is No. 90 rushing (133.3), but the Spartans enter off their best rushing performance of the year when they racked up 212 yards on 40 carries against a stout Iowa front.

"On offense, they want to run the ball and play action off of it," Moore said of MSU coach Jonathan Smith's offensive philosophy. "Do things that complement the run game ... then sound defense, keep things in front of them and play with great fundamentals."

While the run is important, as U-M has figured out in 2024, the Wolverines can't be entirely one-dimensional. That has been one of the major issues this year, and those inside the program admit the struggles are perplexing.

Morris, dubbed the wide receiving corps' "alpha" by position coach Ron Bellamy in the offseason, has just eight catches for 73 yards. Leading wideout Semaj Morgan has 17 catches for a paltry 106 yards (6.2 yards per catch).

It's different than what was said to be happening in Al Glick Fieldhouse all offseason during practice, when offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell told ESPN he didn't just want to be a downhill run team but instead, "my job as a coordinator is to get (skill players) the football, because they’ll take care of that explosiveness."

Instead, tight end Colston Loveland (344 yards) has more receiving yards than every wideout combined.

“There’s times where in practice we look real good, and we’ve just got to apply more of that to the game,” Morris said Tuesday. “We’re messing up small details we’re good with all week in practice, so I think it just comes with calming down a little bit during games and just going out and executing.”

OPINION: Michigan's major regression is unacceptable. Sherrone Moore is responsible

Moore said twice this week he's not taking play-calling away from Campbell, who last Saturday moved from the bird's eye view up in the box down to the field to try and bring "some juice" to the sideline. It didn't work, but that doesn't mean it's time to give up in Ann Arbor.

With MSU coming to town for their annual rivalry, it's a perfect chance to regroup and find a way to get the talent to translate from State Street to Stadium and Main.

"We’re 4-3, there’s no sugar coating, we haven’t played good enough to be where we want to be," Moore said. "But best thing about it is you have an opportunity to play your in-state rival, a game that means everything."

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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.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sherrone Moore: Michigan practice plans failing to translate in games