5 takeaways from Michigan’s ugly loss to Indiana

The Michigan Wolverines 13-6 to the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon. Here are key takeaways from the loss.

Jason Beck is beyond abysmal

Form outside runs, to wildcat runs, to inserting Bryce Underwood for a running play, to attempting to throw to an offensive lineman with two yards until the end zone on 3rd & 1, Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck rarely does things that make sense. Perhaps his gadgety offense and Rhino formation with an extra offensive lineman worked at Syracuse, New Mexico and Utah — but this is the Big Ten and this isn’t going to cut it now or ever. Beck is getting paid $3 million a year to put together one of the worst offenses on the planet.

Beck consistently puts his players in tough situations and doesn’t cater to their strengths. While Michigan may have talent deficiencies on offense, there were countless opportunities for Michigan to put more than six points on the scoreboard. Beck’s decisions effectively took points off the board for Michigan’s offense.

Calling Michigan’s offense bad is an understatement — out of over 130 FBS schools, Michigan’s offense is almost at the bottom of the barrell. At this point, just about anyone could do a better job than Jason Beck.

Michigan had 57 rushing yards on 42 attempts and just 224 yards of total offense. Michigan was 6-of-20 on third down. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.

Tommy Carr had a rough debut

While Jason Beck didn’t help Carr out any with his game plan, Carr was rough around the edges and looked like a true freshman against a top-tier IU defense. Carr was 20-of-32 for for 167 yards with one interception and a fumble on a backwards lateral. Carr threw into quadruple coverage on his pick and hesitated often by double pumping or simply holding onto the ball too long. It’s hard to be too harsh towards Carr as it’s his first career start and Jason Beck called as bad of a game as an offensive coordinator can call.

Michigan’s season is effectively over in terms of playoff aspirations, so the rest of the season should be about whether Carr or Bryce Underwood should be Michigan’s starter in 2027.

Michigan’s defense was outstanding

Michigan’s defense allowed just 13 points in all and just six points in regulation. Michigan held Josh Hoover to 8-of-18 for 81 yards with an interception and IU’s offense had just 212 total yards and were just 4-of-14 on third down. As bad as Jason Beck’s been as OC, Jay Hill’s been the exact opposite as defensive coordinator. It’s a shame the offense keeps wasting great performances from one of the best defenses in the nation.

Kicking is also a problem

Trey Butkowski was 2-of-4 on the day and missed his first two from 53 yards and 32 yards. If Butkowski makes one of those, Michigan wins and the game doesn’t even go to overtime.

The Kyle Whittingham era feels doomed

Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham doesn’t seem to have any answers and appears to defer to Jason Beck far too often instead of overrule him and help shape the offense in a different mold. Inaction has been Whittingham’s calling card at Michigan to this point — it doesn’t feel like there is any urgency, any juice, any attention to detail on a play-to-play basis. Without being too harsh, what exactly is Kyle Whittingham doing? Where’s the fire? Where’s the drive?

We’re just seven games into the Whittingham era, yet it feels like an eternity of watching him coach at Michigan. His players may like him, but he doesn’t feel like the right leader for Michigan — he doesn’t feel like the man who can rally the troops and boost morale. This feels destined to be Michigan’s worst season since Rich Rodriguez was Michigan’s head coach. If that’s the case, why even have a year two of this mess?