Big Three in Michigan's Football Program Lead the List of Losers as Michigan Suffers Overtime Defeat

The Michigan Wolverines had a chance. They were trailing 6-3 and four yards away from a game-winning score.

They did not score a touchdown as Tommy Carr was sacked on third down, ruining any chance the Wolverines might have to win the game in regulation. Instead, Michigan went to overtime tied at six thanks to a masterful defensive performance.

Michigan’s special teams missed two field goals. They turned the ball over twice. Their offense settled for field goals deep in the red zone thanks to some atrocious play calling. All that and more will be highlighted here as we look through Michigan’s winners and losers.

Loser QB Tommy Carr

Tommy Carr was the safe option coming into the week. He is on the field because Bryce Underwood turned the ball over too much.

Carr made two decisions in the first half that certainly made him look like a true freshman. Yes, the speed option that Carr fumbled on was dead on arrival, and a play that never should have happened.

Was Carr put into the best positions to succeed? No. Was he the safe option during the game that the coaching staff thought he would be after putting him in for Bryce Underwood? Also no.

Carr may prove to be a good quarterback one day, but he’s clearly not ready at this juncture. The offense does him no favors either, which brings me to my next point.

Loser OC Jason Beck

I’m not a football coach, but I think anyone can see what does work for Michigan’s offense and what doesn’t. Any run outside of the tackles has been dead on arrival. There are still too many formations where Michigan has zero threats to either carry the ball, or catch a pass.

There are too many plays being called that Michigan has proven over and over again they do not excel at.

Jet sweeps, wide zone runs, options. All of them have resulted in disaster. Joel Klatt commented that he probably sounds like a broken record at the three minute mark in the second half while stating that Michigan needs to get back to downhill running.

The highest paid offensive coordinator in football appears to be the only one who doesn’t know that.

That was my point at halftime.

The second half was not any better. The Wolverines had two drives deep into the red zone. Michigan’s first field goal of the game came on the heels of the Wolverines facing a third-and-goal on the doorstep of the goal line.

Instead of running the ball up the middle twice, Michigan’s strength, Beck called a play action rollout where the intended receiver was going to be Manuel Beigel. Yes, the extra offensive lineman was the primary target on a play could have won the game.

Beck refuses to be boring, looking for ways to trick a defense instead of simply sticking with what works.

Kyle Whittingham can talk all he wants about Beck’s track record, but the offense here stinks. It’s stunk all season. They’ve scapegoated their five-star quarterback in the process, and did not get any better.

Is there anything the Wolverines have gotten better at on offense as the season has gone on?

The answer is no. Yes, players have to make plays. They also have to be put in position to make plays. Beck does not understand that, and it’s why he’s going to be public enemy number one for the fanbase for the rest of the season.

Loser: HC Kyle Whittingham

Speaking of people who keep saying the same things over and over again without much proof they’re willing to change those things, let’s look at Kyle Whittingham.

Whittingham has talked ad nauseam about the team needing to stick with what is working. He has said some variation of wanting plays back during the course of a game. He’s talked about needing to be smarter in situational football, but he has not been smart enough on his own.

Whittingham’s first major mistake came at the end of the first half. The Wolverines called their final timeout of the half with 23 seconds left on the clock. Trey Butkowski missed the field goal which gave Indiana good field position.

Instead of the field goal being the final play of the half, Whittingham gifted the Hoosiers an extra possession for reasons that remain unclear.

Whittingham does not inspire much confidence post game when he speaks into a microphone about his team either.

He says he will not evaluate his offense based on just one game or small chunks of the season, but rather on the whole.

That would fit if the offense did not stink the entire season, but they have. They’ve changed quarterbacks. They’ve vowed to do things differently, but continue to bang their heads into the wall and try to be too cute.

This is not the Big 12. This is not Utah. This is Michigan. Whittingham is starting to learn the hard way that he may not be the man for this job.

Winner: The Whole Defense

The entire defense really deserved better. Zeke Berry said it best at the end of the game.

“We did everything we could,” Berry said.

Had Michigan’s special teams not been a disaster, the Wolverines may have simply won in regulation without scoring a touchdown on offense. Instead, Butkowski left six points on the field with two shanked field goal attempts that were not even close.

But that’s the way Michigan’s defense has to operate. Sure, they gave up a touchdown in two plays in overtime. That doesn’t look or feel great. They were the only reason the team was in overtime to begin with, so I won’t blame them for not making one more play in the extra period.

Jay Hill, John Henry Daley, Chris Bracy, Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill, Nathaniel Staehling, Enow Etta, Trey Pierce, and Smith Snowden all had good days at the office.

They deserve better.