Wolverine Digest

Michigan's coaching staff came up short on Saturday

Chris Breiler

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

As I was heading to the postgame press conference following Michigan's 38-17 loss to Oregon on Saturday night, nearly every group of fans I passed were talking about play calling. Specifically, they were in disbelief over a critical fourth down play call that ultimately ended the Wolverines hopes of a comeback.

With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and trailing by two touchdowns, Michigan had marched down the field and was in scoring position on Oregon's 15-yard line. A field goal wouldn't do any good, meaning it was four-down territory for the Wolverines. On 1st & 10, QB Davis Warren kept the ball on a play fake, rolled to his left and tossed the ball out of bounds. On 2nd & 10, QB Alex Orji ran the ball up the middle on a quarterback keep and gained three yards. On 3rd & 7, Warren handed the ball off to Kalel Mullings for a run up the middle that was good for two yards.

Facing a 4th & 5 with just under eight minutes left, the Wolverines needed a solid play call that would utilize their strengths as an offense. It seemed like the best option would have been for Warren to try another connection with tight end Colston Loveland, something that had worked well for the Wolverines all night. But instead we got this:

The decision to go with a trick play on fourth down wasn't the only questionable coaching move on Saturday.

On another drive earlier in the third quarter (trailing 28-17), Michigan made several critical mistakes that allowed Oregon to put points on the board. With five minutes remaining in the third, the Wolverines forced Oregon to punt on a fourth down. The problem is that they were called for an illegal formation when defensive lineman Trey Pierce lined up over the center. Instead of Michigan getting the ball back with some momentum, the penalty gave Oregon a first down. Like most of us, the CBS announcers were puzzled that someone from Michigan's coaching staff didn't spot the illegal formation before the ball was snapped.

Three plays after illegal formation penalty, the Wolverines had to call a timeout because they only had 10 men on the field. Three plays after that, Michigan was flagged for an illegal substitution - and once again, the CBS announcers were puzzled by the move. "That one was really on the coaching staff," said Gary Danielson. "That's a bad call to make a substitution there."

Time and time again, there were head scratching moments from the coaching staff that seemed to kill any momentum the Wolverines were building toward a comeback.

Michigan Football
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Following the game, senior QB Davis Warren placed blame on himself for not being more efficient on third downs. Although Warren played a solid game, he was doing what good leaders do - placing the blame on his shoulders. Ironically enough, I could see Sherrone Moore standing off to the side while Warren was shouldering that blame, and Moore was shaking his head as if he knew this one wasn't on the players. I may have been reading too much into it, but Moore had the look (and demeanor) of a guy who was about to walk up to the podium and point out that the coaching staff came up short on Saturday night. That didn't happen.

Instead, Moore simply said that he wasn't going to regret the play calling or call out the play callers.

It was a stark contrast from what we heard from Davis Warren just moments earlier.

I'm not going to pretend to know what's being said behind closed doors, because I don't. For all I know, Moore is having some difficult discussions with several members of his staff for what took place on Saturday night. But I also know that there's something to be said for taking accountability when things go wrong, and it felt like Moore missed an opportunity to do that at the podium following the loss to Oregon.

-Ā Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage onĀ Michigan Wolverines On SIĀ -

More Michigan News:

Published
Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Home/Football