CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There was no sugar coating it after Michigan football lost to Illinois on Saturday — the Wolverines are not playing up to a standard, and no one is safe.
The defense played well enough, giving up 21 points — 10 of which came following two short fields after two fumbles, offensively. But the offense and special teams? They’re just — well — offensive.
Right out of the gates at his postgame press conference, head coach Sherrone Moore noted that there’s no world where the Wolverines can turn the ball over three times in a conference game and win. And given that’s been one of the biggest problems all year, it’s an issue that seems far away from getting fixed.
“Just overall offensively, it wasn’t good enough at all,” Moore said. “Disappointing in a lot of areas. Can’t turn the ball over. Got to get the guys that, when they’re open, we got to lead those passes. Just got to be better. And Colston played well. He made some plays. Kalel played well, ran hard. But we had three turnovers in a Big Ten game — doesn’t matter who you play, you’re not going to win. So we just have to be better on offense.”
So, where does the team go from here? It’s coming off of a bye week, when you’d expect that maybe the program could come up with some answers.
But Moore says it’s back to the drawing board, and it’s not just working with the players on execution. Moore says that it goes as deep as looking at his assistant coaches as well as what he, himself, is doing wrong.
“I think we just have to reevaluate. See and look,” Moore said. “We had a bye week. I feel disappointed in myself as the head coach that we didn’t come out and execute at a better level. There’s too many bits and pieces, not enough consistency. So, I have to look at myself, too. There’s no finger-pointing. Reevaluate myself and see what I need to do to be better for them, for the players and coaches, as well.”
We have seen other programs make drastic changes in-season, but it remains to be seen if Moore moves strongly in another direction. But another thing he promises to evaluate is the quarterback position.
Michigan has now had three starting quarterbacks this year, with Davis Warren getting the nod at the start of the season, Alex Orji from Week 3 to 6, and now Jack Tuttle has a game.
Orji is the only quarterback who hasn’t turned the ball over multiple times a game, with only one interception to his name in five game appearances. Tuttle was supposed to be the better passer and with his veteran experience, he was supposed to also take care of the football. However, he, in two games, now has two fumbles and two interceptions. Thus, Moore says the position is likely wide open with rival Michigan State on deck.
“We can’t turn the ball over. You don’t want to go to four quarterbacks,” Moore said. “You don’t want to have to go through this process, but you got a guy that’s — got to take care of the football, so we’ll see what we gotta do, and we’ll have that conversation as we go.”