"embarassing" michigan drops a rivalry game at home

Michigan scored six points against Michigan State. Six. In the rivalry game, at home, with the Paul Bunyan Trophy on the line, the Wolverines lost 15-6, and the offense is the reason why.

Despite the loss, the defense did its job. John Henry Daley was unblockable, finishing with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble in an elite performance.

On top of that, LB Troy Bowles had a career-high 15 tackles in a game that should cement him as a starter in the LB room. Bay Area legend Zeke Berry had the best game of his career in the secondary for the Wolverines, and the defense did not allow a single TD.

All of the Spartans’ points came on field goals.  When a defense plays that well and a team still somehow manages to lose, the blame falls on one side of the ball.

After a terrible offensive performance yet again, OC Jason Beck was fired by the Wolverines on Sunday following the game. This was absolutely needed.

The Stats Speak For Themselves:

Via Josh Dubow, Michigan is the 15th team in the last 15 seasons to allow 21 points or fewer in all of their first 9 games of the season. The other 14 teams' combined record was 119-7 (94% winning percentage) in those games. Michigan is 5-4 (55% winning percentage). 

This is a defense that is consistently elite, and their performances are consistently wasted on an offense that is allergic to scoring points. 

The most telling part of the offensive performance is that the best thing about it was a freshman receiver, Travis Johnson, catching three passes for 38 yards. That was his season high, and it was the lone bright spot on a day when Michigan couldn’t move the ball against its biggest rival.

While Johnson’s performance should earn him a role as the Wolverines’ WR3, the lack of production from WR’s Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan should worry fans even more. If Buchanan and Marsh cannot get open, it does not matter who is throwing them the ball.

Speaking of throwing the ball, the Wolverines still cannot do so. Freshman QB Tommy Carr tallied just 138 yards with 2 interceptions on the night and may have reignited talks about whether he or Bryce Underwood should be starting. 

If Carr continues to struggle, especially with a new OC coming in this offseason, do not be surprised if both Carr and Underwood are in the portal this offseason.

Historically, there are certain games Michigan (even on their down seasons) has put their foot down on and said this is a game of culture (MSU, OSU, Minnesota, etc). However, this year, that grit and moxie have not been there, and that should worry everyone.

Waiting for the season to end to fire Beck would have treated a bad loss like a routine item for the offseason to-do list. That is exactly what a lack of urgency looks like.

Evaluating the whole season is fair, in most cases. But to me, Michigan football is not one of them. The biggest storyline of this game for Wolverine fans should be the departure of Beck. 

Beck will be replaced by OL coach Jim Harding at OC before Whittingham likely tries to hire someone new over the offseason. Expect a heavy run game led by RBs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter in Harding’s offense, and expect a QB battle in Ann Arbor to re-emerge.

This was an embarrassing offensive performance and an even more embarrassing rivalry loss for the Wolverines. However, if Michigan can use this game to fix its coaching staff and adapt the offense for upcoming years, this game could become a blessing in disguise.

For now, Michigan is reduced to a one-game season. With playoff hopes out of the window, all that matters now is beating Ohio State.