ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There are no easy answers here. There isn’t one thing you can point to and say, ‘If Michigan fixes this one thing, then it’ll be back in form.’
Nope, not that easy.
If you didn’t think it was a debacle in Ann Arbor before, or that it couldn’t get worse, the Wolverines contest against the two-week idle No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers proved that, yes, it could get worse.
The defense continued to be a liability while the offense joined the party, spotting the Badgers 28 points straight away. On this night, the offense was intent on being stagnant, an eloquent mix of poor execution and sometimes playcalling — though the latter seemed to not be near the issue as it was the previous two weeks.
Regardless, this team looks lifeless the majority of the time. The coaching isn’t working, no matter what they’re doing. Michigan needs help for young, inexperienced corners? Run zone. OK, zone doesn’t work — where does that leave you?
Offensively, Michigan seemed more intent to run the ball. But maybe doing so on a third-and-8 on your own side of the field down 21-0 isn’t the time to do it. Joe Milton hadn’t been the reason for the team’s struggles in the last two weeks, but this week, he joined the fray, looking rattled and errant. Redshirt freshman Cade McNamara came in and had an instant impact, but with the gap being 35-3 at that point, it was far too late.
The first half saw a 28-point deficit — the largest in Michigan Stadium history, and to start out the second, the offense realized that Ronnie Bell is the most determined player on the team, and went to him for successive first downs. Zach Charbonnet got in on the action, because the offense reverted to stagnation, once again, settling for a sad field goal down 28.
Penn State’s James Franklin would be proud. But at least he turned his team around after his late FG against Michigan in 2016. And like his 49-10 loss to the Wolverines that year, this Michigan team lost 49-11. But there’s little to hang your hat on in terms of how this team turns things around.
Say what you will about the Wolverines teams of recent, but they were never this. The defense doesn’t look like it could stop a paper bag in a light breeze and the offense remains overly complicated as the players appear increasingly tentative. What’s perhaps the most inexplicable is that what appeared to be strengths in Week 1 — line play, the run game — have all emerged as weaknesses along with the other things that were already apparent weaknesses.
At the moment, everything is disharmony, and it shows. The moving pieces are dry and rusted, breaking and shattering on nearly every play. Even when it appears there are mechanisms in place — such as when the defense has the snap count well-timed — Wisconsin was wise to the machinations, moving in the opposite direction for a big gain. When the Badgers weren’t an impediment, it was the Wolverines stopping themselves, as if they’re not allowed positive plays on either side of the ball. Ill-timed penalties and self-inflicted wounds continued to punish the Wolverines.
Naturally, you’ll call for head coach Jim Harbaugh’s job, but the quite sober truth is, it’s very, very unlikely he’s going anywhere, whether it be in-season or in the immediate aftermath — lest he step down of his own volition. But there has to be some kind of change, whether it be to philosophy, or otherwise, because whatever this staff is doing, it’s not only not working, it’s actively becoming more and more of a debacle. And in Year 6 of Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor, it’s not only inexplicable, it’s unfathomable. It’s equally incredible that only a couple years ago, what was considered a bad Michigan team in 2017 was down just four points with two minutes remaining against Ohio State. That last year’s Michigan team hung with Alabama for three quarters.
But whatever success — and we’re considering close calls a success now — previous teams had, this team doesn’t have it. At the moment, not really sure what this team has, to be perfectly honest. There are no promised games left on the schedule based off the maize and blue’s recent showings. Whatever we saw in Week 1 was officially a mirage, and while that was a lustily ingested gulp, the well has been long dry since.
There are no answers. Just countless questions about why this program is in shambles with no easy fix in sight.