What went wrong for Michigan in the highly anticipated matchup? Why Michigan left Minnesota with a loss.
Michigan Came Up Short Against Minnesota
Penalties
If you are tired of hearing about Michigan’s issues with penalties—good. You should be.
When a team is struggling with discipline and composure that results in costly penalties week in and week out, it is natural to wonder about the climate that has developed under the leadership of head coach Kyle Whittingham.
On the season, Michigan has led the penalty column in three of its four games, with the lone exception being its blowout win against UTEP. In Minnesota, the Wolverines had five penalties for almost 40 yards in the first half alone. They tallied six penalties on the day for 43 yards.
Minnesota, on the other hand, came into the game steadfast and disciplined, committing only one penalty for five yards—with a guard playing center. Guard Greg Johnson slid over to fill in at center for Minnesota after the Golden Gophers’ starting and backup center went down with leg injuries earlier this season. With the game on the line, Golden Gopher quarterback Drake Lyndsey made the most of the opportunities given to him by the turnovers
If you are a die-hard Michigan fan, you are hoping the Wolverines are not in their truest form regarding penalties. How bad can it be?
As of publication, the Wolverines are tied for 104th in the nation in penalties per game. Don’t let that fool you into thinking they will never commit penalties—they will. But penalties for Michigan this season have reared their head in the most inopportune situations. It’s hard to say if they’ll get it cleaned up before their next game against a struggling Penn State team.
Should Whittingham have the team playing much more soundly further into the season, that still leaves their struggle with turning the ball over.
Turnovers
The Golden Gophers scored 20 points in Saturday’s game, with 13 points coming off the three turnovers by the Wolverines. Quarterback Bryce Underwood accounted for two of them with interceptions. His second interception was thrown after he was hit while throwing by an unabated defender in what felt like a breakdown in blocking assignments.
The muffed punt by Michigan wide receiver Andrew Marsh that led to an early field goal in the second half sums up the day for the Wolverines. As a matter of fact, it sums up the Wolverines’ season to this point. Four games into the season, the Wolverines are their own worst enemy.
In addition to ranking near the bottom in penalties per game, the Wolverines are ranked near last in total giveaways with nine. Underwood accounts for seven, with four interceptions and three fumbles.
The offensive play-calling for Michigan is tailored to Underwood’s ability to make plays with his legs, with run-pass options in abundance for him—resulting in an abundance of turnovers.
Predictable and one-dimensional
The run-pass option play-calling in the hopes that Underwood hits a home run is not working, and defenses are constantly focused on what Underwood is doing. Running back Jordan Marshall is averaging over four yards per carry, yet is limited to just 11 carries a game.
Michigan ran the ball 28 times today, with Marshall getting 10 carries for 50 yards. This raises the question of why the Wolverines did not feed the ball to Marshall.
Underwood accounted for 10 rushes for just 20 yards.
You want to give Whittingham the benefit of the doubt, but through five games and a 0-2 Big Ten start, you have to question why he has not made adjustments to the play-calling. After Whittingham alluded to still trying to figure it out, perhaps we will see a pivot to an offense that lets its best rusher run the ball, forcing defenses to shift focus away from Underwood.
The Last Word
Many would say that Michigan’s playoff hopes are over, but if you are still yelling “Go Blue” at this point, you are taking solace in knowing that the Wolverines could easily be 5-0 this season. They are not getting blown out, and they are not giving up huge 80-yard touchdown plays that make the highlight reel every weekend—which makes the penalties and turnovers that much more frustrating.
Main Image: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
