Oregon 38, Michigan 17

 

Colston Loveland (image via A to Z Sports)

Well, the coaching stunk. Where do you start? And where do you stop? Michigan lost a possession because Oregon lined up in a funky punt formation, and it's illegal to line up over the snapper. Michigan's best 4th-and-5 call toward the end of the game was an end around pass with Semaj Morgan, and he threw the ball to Alex Orji, who had run out of bounds. The best thing about the entire offense was Davis Warren-to-Colston Loveland, and when it came down to crunch time, Michigan put the ball in Alex Orji's and Semaj Morgan's hands. Coaches always talk about "players, not plays" and Michigan very clearly went for "plays, not players." Gross. Michigan had no answers in the run game, whether on options or RPOs. They challenged a Colston Loveland dropped pass for no reason, which cost them a timeout. I don't want to say coaching cost them the game, because Oregon is clearly a better team. But it probably wouldn't have been a 21-point loss.

Hit the jump for more.

The above score should have been 34-17 or 31-17, anyway. If I'm Michigan's coaching staff, I'm contacting the Big Ten office, oh . . . at halftime of yesterday's game. Oregon's first touchdown to Evan Stewart was a drop on the sideline, an even clearer drop than the aforementioned Loveland drop. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel made a very nice throw to Stewart on a back shoulder play that beat very good coverage by cornerback Aamir Hall. Except it didn't really beat Hall, because the ball hit Stewart's hands, clearly dropped to the ground, and then bounced back up into his midsection. Despite the fact that all scoring plays are supposed to be reviewed, the TV replay of the drop didn't show up until after the extra point and subsequent commercial. I don't really blame Michigan's staff in the booth for not noticing, because they don't get any special angles. Those guys are just watching the TV broadcast; if TV didn't show it until after the commercial, Michigan's people didn't see it until then, either. But the Big Ten is supposed to look at all the camera angles. This was a massive failure by the conference and obviously 4 to 7 points could be the difference in a game. (Since it was a 3rd down play, Oregon could have kicked - or missed - a chip shot field goal instead of being awarded a touchdown; they likely wouldn't have gone for a touchdown and chased points that early in the game.)

Davis Warren might be okay. Warren completed 12/21 passes for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. For the second week in a row, he never really put a throw in danger of being turned over. There was one play where it looked like his wind-up was interrupted by right tackle Evan Link being pushed back into him, which resulted in a fumble that Warren recovered himself. But overall, Warren did some really nice things. He impressively escaped a sack to scramble for a couple yards didn't take any sacks. Both of his touchdown throws were pinpoint-accurate, one to walk-on wideout Peyton O'Leary and one to Tyler Morris on a really nice adjustment. Another couple throws were ones that could have been caught but weren't reeled in (one by Loveland that led to the doomed challenge, one by Morris), and another couple were smart throwaways when nothing was open. He's not the most talented quarterback around, but if the talent around him could hold up more, he's capable of playing winning football. I'll continue to assert that a lot of the early-season issues when he began the year as the starter stemmed from other guys (Donovan Edwards, Evan Link, Colston Loveland, etc.) not doing their jobs. Warren isn't dynamic enough to make up for others' mistakes, but he's consistent enough to be a gear in the clock.

Missing two cornerbacks wasn't ideal. The absence of cornerback Will Johnson wasn't a surprise - we now know his injury is turf toe - but there was a surprising pre-game revelation that Jyaire Hill would also miss the game. That was less than ideal as Michigan faced perhaps the best passing attack they'll see all year, along with Texas. Aamir Hill should be a #2 or #3 corner, but instead he was forced into #1 action, and Holden burnt him to a crisp with 6 catches for 149 yards. That also forced some other guys onto the field in weird places, including Makari Paige playing at nickel and Zeke Berry playing corner. On that front, it's pretty disappointing that Michigan has veterans like Kody Jones and Myles Pollard on the roster who are apparently completely incapable of seeing the field. That's not to mention walk-on Keshaun Harris, who started a few games last year and now . . . doesn't play a lick of defense. Harris now solely returns kickoffs, something he's not very good at doing.

Speaking of Harris. Once again, I want to point out that a program like Michigan should not be relying on a walk-on like Harris to return kickoffs. I know the label "walk-on" doesn't mean everything, but Harris didn't get a scholarship for a reason. Yes, he's fast - one of the fastest players on the team - but he has shown zero ability to find a lane, break a tackle, or make someone miss. This is less about Harris, who I don't want to denigrate, and more about the fact that the coaching staff hasn't identified someone with more dynamic ability. People like Cole Cabana, Tavierre Dunlap, and other backup wide receivers and defensive backs should be able to return kickoffs. This type of role needs to be recruited. Michigan had success with the likes of A.J. Henning and Giles Jackson, but the guy with the 87-yard punt return last year, Semaj Morgan, doesn't return kickoffs and only returns punts sometimes.

People want to blame Wink Martindale. I don't know. Michigan gave up a season-high 38 points, but one touchdown wasn't a touchdown, and Michigan was down both its starting cornerbacks. I know Oregon lost leading receiver Tez Johnson to injury after just two touches (one catch, one punt return), but losing two corners for a team short on playable corners is a more significant setback. Michigan also has an offense averaging 5.05 yards per play, which is #116 nationally, and their 5.09 yards per play in this game was just barely any better. The only consistent offensive weapon was Loveland, who had 7 catches for 112 yards. It's complementary football, and the offense isn't holding up its end of the bargain.

Here's hoping for six wins. Michigan has undefeated Indiana, struggling Northwestern, and one-loss Ohio State left on its schedule. The Wolverines need one victory to ensure at least a .500 season and a bowl game appearance. Coming off of a 15-0 national championship, this is a precipitous drop-off - not just in wins, but in the separation from the good teams. There's really been no doubt who's the better team when it comes to Texas and Oregon.