The Michigan football offense has a ton of issues, but wide receiver JJ Buchanan isn’t one of them. The Utah transfer has already eclipsed his production from 13 games a year ago in five games this year, and has made some crucial big catches this season. In terms of yards per game, Buchanan is the No. 21 receiver in the country, averaging 89.2 yards each week. And Buchanan was a part of last year’s 11-2 Utah team that had one of the best offenses in the country.

So, what’s wrong with his current team?

As he sees it, it’s the little things that are going wrong — and he’s not wrong. The Wolverines have shown they can drive the field at times, but when they do, they don’t finish. They’re 113th in red zone offense, converting on 77% of their trips. They’re also 115th in turnovers lost, having lost the ball nine times on offense thus far this year. And they’re one of the most penalized teams, at 109th in the country.

Thus, Buchanan says they have to fix those little things. And when they do, they should be much better.

“You’re gonna make mistakes here and there. But I think there’s been a little bit too many mistakes,” Buchanan said. “And I think that everybody — I mean, everything’s easily fixable. You look at the film, one little thing here, one little thing there — it’s a vastly different game. So I think we just continue to do our job, continue to get improved every day, and I think that the results will come with it.”

Given that Buchanan has seen proof of concept in Salt Lake City, he’s surprised that it isn’t working in Ann Arbor. He says that he believes they can turn it around, but it will mean everyone doing just a little more.

“Yeah, definitely not what we expected,” Buchanan said. “But like I said, we’re little things away from huge differences. So I believe in everything that’s in this building. I believe in the players, I believe in the coaches. And I have no doubt that I’ll get this thing turned around.”

Even with all of the trouble on the field, Buchanan insists that behind closed doors, the team is galvanized, with everyone pulling in the same direction.

He notes that it is on the offense to do more, as the Wolverines have had opportunities at the end of both losses — against Iowa and at Minnesota — to win the game, but they haven’t. Two more games — against Western Michigan and Oklahoma — also came down to the final possession.

Therefore, the little things — and the turnovers and penalties — have to be better, so that the offense can do its job and put the defense in a better position to succeed.

“We don’t point fingers, we win and lose as a team,” Buchanan said. “It’s not offense or defense; we win and lose as a team. So all these games have come down to the final possession. So obviously the offense has to do a little bit more.

“So yeah, I mean, everybody’s just gotta come to the realization that we’re not doing enough to support our defense. But at the end of the day, we’re gonna lose this thing together. So we gotta do more.”

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: JJ Buchanan identifies what’s gone wrong with Michigan offense

Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect