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The Michigan football team earned a win last weekend against Minnesota, but it wasn't a pretty one. The first three quarters were fine as the Wolverines were dominant on defense and the offense had done enough to help give the team a big lead. However, Michigan completely fell apart in the fourth quarter and almost let the Golden Gophers come back from down 21 points.
Going into the fourth quarter on Saturday, the Michigan football team had a 24-3 lead and it looked like they were in cruise control. However, in a matter of minutes, the Golden Gophers drove down the field to score, forced a three-and-out, and returned a punt inside the red zone to set up another touchdown. Just like that, it was 24-17 with plenty of time on the clock.
Michigan was able to drive down the field and kick a field goal, but Minnesota went right back down themselves and scored their third touchdown of the quarter to make it 27-24. The Golden Gophers even recovered the onside kick attempt, but it was flagged for offsides. The Wolverines recovered the second one, and all they had to do was bleed out the clock. Nothing was easy for Michigan in that fourth quarter though as one snap went over quarterback Alex Orji's head, and it was almost a disastrous turnover. The Wolverines did survive, but it was ugly.
The Wolverines are 4-1 and ranked #10 in the country. Their only loss is against the #2 team in the country, and they have a win over the #11 team. That sounds pretty good, right? Well, there's a reason Michigan is an underdog this week playing a 3-2 Washington team with losses to Washington State and Rutgers. The Wolverines haven't looked like a top-10 team a lot of the time. Here are the biggest concerns heading into week six:
Quarterback play
The biggest concern for the Michigan football team right now is clearly quarterback play. The Wolverines have been able to win four games without making big plays in the passing game, but when the game is on the line and they need to throw the ball, will they be able to get it done? We saw JJ McCarthy make big plays time and time again last season when Michigan got into third and long situations. When those instances come up now, it's a guaranteed stop for the defense. Michigan hasn't shown anything that suggests that they can win a football game with the passing game if that's needed. It's not like the Wolverines need a guy that can throw for 400 yards and win a shootout. However, they need someone that can convert third and seven through the air. That hasn't been happening.
Second half performances
That is now three straight abysmal second half performances for this Michigan team. In the last three games, the Wolverines have been outscored 57-26 in the second half. Miraculously, Michigan has won all three of those games. However, the team is well aware that they need to play good football for all four quarters. These second half performances aren't going to cut it for much longer.
At the end of the day, Michigan has to be feeling good with a 4-1 record and a #10 ranking. However, that isn't going to last if they don't fix these concerns. Michigan will not beat Oregon and Ohio State playing like this, and games against Washington, Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana look much more difficult than they did when the season started. The only game left that looks like a guaranteed win is Northwestern at home. The Wolverines have to clean some things up, and they need to do it quickly as this matchup with the Huskies this weekend will be a challenge.
Michigan and Washington will kickoff from Husky Stadium in Seattle at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT, and the game will be airing on NBC. The Huskies are currently favored by 2.5 points.
