ANN ARBOR, Mich. — This was supposed to be about as much of a layup as you’re ever going to get playing against rival Michigan State, and yet, somehow, Kyle Whittingham and his Michigan football team botched it completely.
Going into the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, all of the stats and momentum were on Michigan’s side. The Spartans were playing mostly backups across the board, with most of their playmakers sidelined with injury. And yet, the Wolverine offense under Jason Beck was a debacle, with the maize and blue having their second-worst game statistically, tied for worst scoring output, and just an all-around moribund showing on the offensive side of the ball.
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Michigan entered the game as 14.5 favorites, and yet fell, 15-6, losing the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021.
“It was very disappointing after we had played pretty effectively last week on offense,” Whittingham said. “We had some production, some good production in a lot of areas last week. And there’s nothing productive about this game. It’s not one step back, it’s three steps back.
“Couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t throw the ball worth a darn. Turned it over four times. Couldn’t make first downs. Couldn’t make a third down conversion on two of ten. Got the quarterback sacked five times. Really, I can’t come up with one positive offense in this game. So we’re right back to the drawing board. And obviously got to figure out our issues.”
Turnovers and penalties have long been issues, but Michigan only had two penalties for 20 yards. But, as noted, turned the ball over four times, with two interceptions and two fumbles. There were no takeaways.
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Now the Wolverines are in danger of missing a bowl game — something Whittingham has only done four times in his hall of fame career. And he’s taking responsibility for it, calling it the most disappointing loss of that illustrous tenure as a head coach.
“This falls on me. I’m not hiding from that at all,” Whittingham said. “If anything happens, it’s got my name on it. And so we’ll be back at work tomorrow. It doesn’t get any easier. We’ve got three tough games in a row. We’ve got to play a worthy UCLA and the guys in Ohio. So 5-4 very disappointing.
“On the other hand, the defense, I thought, played pretty good. Not great. Didn’t allow a touchdown. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a game where I didn’t allow a touchdown and lost. So that was frustrating. But we didn’t take the ball away from the defense at all. Got soft in the run game. They have some extended drives, time-consuming drives. They really kicked our butt in the time of possession. And so even though getting out of the end zone was admirable, we didn’t do a whole lot of other good things defensively.
“Special teams, not much going on there. We missed another field goal, which was disappointing early in the game. It was kind of deflating at that point in time. But we’re going to be able to overcome that. I’m saying that was the only reason for all the others. But disappointing. As disappointing as I’ve ever been as a head coach.”
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Ironically, Utah without Whittingham is undefeated through nine games and is all but a lock to make the College Football Playoff.
Tommy Carr was 14-for-26 for 138 yards and two interceptions. MSU outrushed Michigan, 110-54. Up next, Michigan travels to Oregon, where it will face a Ducks team coming off a win in Columbus over Ohio State.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham takes blame for Michigan’s stunning loss to MSU
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