Michigan football is on pace for its worst non-COVID-19 shortened season since going 5-7 in 2014.

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

After yet 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, head coach Sherrone Moore acknowledged there's a gap between what's happening during the week compared the performance on Saturdays.

“I feel like (we’re) protecting it way better in practice, and it's just not translated to the game,” Moore said Monday. “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.”

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According to players like wide receiver Tyler Morris, the staff has elected to "simplify" things for the offense moving forward. Speaking Wednesday morning with Jim Costa and U-M radio color commentator Jon Jansen on 97.1 The Ticket, Moore addressed a number of topics which included included the turnover troubles.

Once again, Moore called it "the No. 1 focus" for the team at this point. U-M now goes into a game against Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) as just a 3½ point favorite; over the summer some books had an early line as Michigan favored by 24 points.

But instead, MSU comes off of an impressive 32-20 win over Iowa while U-M comes off a deflating two-score loss to Iowa; marking consecutive losses for U-M for the first time since 2020. Perhaps what was worst wasn't just the loss, but 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.

Michigan has had little to no success on its quarterback carousel this year, going from senior Davis Warren who had two touchdowns to six interceptions; to junior Alex Orji, who didn't complete a single pass of more than 16 yards in nearly three games; to seventh year Jack Tuttle, who has committed four turnovers in his past five quarters and now has more career interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6).

There's no over-stating how important getting a consistent rushing attack going is for U-M. Not only is Kalel Mullings, who has 110 carries for 676 yards and seven scores the team's best offensive focal point, but evidence suggests running the ball in this game in particular is extremely important.

The team who's been most productive on the ground is 48-6 in the past 54 meetings between U-M and MSU.

"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 in this regard. U-M enters with the No. 45 rushing attack (180.3 yards per game) and the No. 9 run defense (92.1 yards per game). Meanwhile, MSU is No. 53 in stopping the run (131.1) and is No. 90 rushing the ball (133.3), but the Spartans do come 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 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 htis year it can't be entirely one-dimensional. That's been one of the major issues this year and those inside the room admit the struggles are perplexing.

Take Morris, who was dubbed the wide receiving corps' 'Alpha' by position coach Ron Bellamy in the offseason. Well, Morris has just eight catches for 73 yards on the year. In fact, U-M's leading wide out is Semaj Morgan who has just 17 catches for 106 yards.

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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, Colston Loveland (344 yards) has more receiving yards than every wide out 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. “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.”

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

Trying times have arrived for the first time in some time. But with a team that people around Ann Arbor don't like too much coming down for their annual dalliance, it's a perfect chance to re-group and find a way to get the talent to translate from State St. 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