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Michigan football is on shaky ground midway through the season

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Michigan football is on shaky ground midway through the season

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SEATTLE — A purple mass gathered near the 50-yard line at Husky Stadium and grew larger just as the final second expired. Home team fans rushed to celebrate Washington's 27-17 victory over No. 10 Michigan Football. But the field storming that took place Saturday seemed forced, as it was certainly inspired by the Wolverines' past superiority rather than their current, less impressive reality.

After all, technically this wasn't a surprise. The Huskies had the privilege of beating the team that defeated them in the College Football Playoff championship game nine months ago. There was a reason for that. Michigan is no longer among the elite, and its prospects are considerably bleaker than they were during its triumphant rise to the top last year.

At the halfway point of this season, the reigning college football champions have obvious flaws and still so many unknowns.

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That became even more apparent when the Wolverines suffered their second loss of the season. An offense that had been in quarterback turmoil for months experienced further turmoil when reserve Jack Tuttle came off the bench in the second quarter to replace ineffective starter Alex Orji. The move came after a defense that was virtually unbreakable in 2023 gave up two early touchdowns and continued to show worrisome signs that it is much more vulnerable than at any time last year.

By the end of the game, the Wolverines had given up 315 yards to an opponent that taunted Michigan with its aerial firepower. Will Rogers dismantled U-M's secondary, sending the ball to six different players who pursued short, intermediate and deep routes at times. Washington even threw the ball twice on a trick play in the first half, gaining 37 yards for the second score. That burst of creativity had become alien to the Wolverines, who earned hard-fought victories over Minnesota and USC over the past few Saturdays with Orji as the offensive conductor. These victories exposed UM's poor margin for error as they were on the brink of disaster in both cases. Now in a 14-point hole, the Wolverines were staring into the abyss. That's when, in a fit of desperation, head coach Sherrone Moore pulled Tuttle off the bench to save Michigan.

“I think he gave us a spark,” Moore said.

He did, but it was only a fleeting moment. When Tuttle entered the game with 9:38 left in the first half, he provided the instant impetus Moore was looking for. He led Michigan three straight times and helped the Wolverines to a 17-14 lead over Washington in the third quarter. During this rousing stretch of football, Tuttle looked like a savior, liberating the Power Four's worst passing offense. He extended plays, made clutch throws, fought for extra yards when he was out of options, and most of all, he found a rhythm.

“I went out and executed,” tight end Colston Loveland said.

But then the seventh-year quarterback reminded everyone that he is unreliable, reflected in career statistics that included as many touchdown passes as interceptions.

After hitting Loveland in the end zone with an eight-yard throw that gave the Wolverines the lead, Tuttle found a way to neutralize his positive influence through a series of crucial errors.

With the score tied at 17, Tuttle lost a fumble at Michigan's own 32-yard line after being tackled by Washington fullback Voi Tunuufi. The move might not have had serious consequences if Tuttle had been supported by the 2023 defense. But he didn't have that luxury and the Huskies made Michigan pay, reaching the end zone in four plays to take a 24-17 lead with 6:22 left in regulation. The crowd roared with joy. But three minutes later they cheered even louder when Tuttle tried to play another pass to Loveland. Before the ball could get into Loveland's hands, safety Kamren Fabiculanan rushed to intercept it.

Michigan's fate was all but sealed.

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When Grady Gross hit a 32-yard field goal with 66 seconds left, the Wolverines' hopes were completely extinguished.

“This game doesn’t define us,” Moore told his players afterward, according to defensive tackle Mason Graham.

But it adequately captured the current state of the Wolverines, a flawed team that remains in flux halfway through the season.

“In football you never know what’s going to happen,” Moore said. “So, for us, we adapt.”

Outsiders also do this by lowering their expectations. After all, it's hard to predict that the Wolverines will make a big leap forward. The quarterback situation is less than ideal, which bogs down the entire offense. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale can't seem to get consistent results with his boom-or-bust unit. Then there are the injuries, which seem to be increasing. Two starting offensive linemen, left tackle Myles Hinton and center Dominick Giudice, did not play Saturday. Neither did edge defender Derrick Moore. All of these developments have helped cloud the picture for Michigan as it finds itself at a crossroads at the halfway point of this season.

“I don’t think that should have even happened,” Tuttle said in one breath.

“We’re a really damn good team,” he declared in another.

They were.

But that was last year.

These Wolverines are just plain decent, which is why home team fans shouldn't feel the need to storm the field Saturday night and celebrate their demise.

Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin.

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