The Michigan football team let another game slip away on Saturday as they lost a heartbreaker against #8 Indiana on the road. The Wolverines showed that they were good enough to win that football game, but the coaching staff let them down once again. Michigan ended up losing the game 20-15, and they had multiple drives late in the game with a chance to win. At the end of the day, there were too many coaching blunders that cost them.
Michigan started this game off strong as they got a quick stop and then a long drive that got them into a goal-to-go situation, but they had to settle for three points. That whole sequence lasted about half the first quarter, and the rest of the first half was dominated by the Indiana football team.
Indiana was in control when the second half started as they led 17-3, but Michigan dominated the second half of the game and found a way back in it. Zeke Berry had a huge interception that set up Michigan inside the 10-yard line, but three straight run plays resulted in a field goal to make it 17-6.
The Michigan defense was on fire in the second half and they consistently set the offense up with good opportunities to get back in the game. Indiana couldn't do anything on offense, and that resulted in Michigan being able to get the ball back down 17-6. Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada has missed just one field goal this year and it was because it was blocked, and he was perfect on Saturday. He drilled a 56-yard field goal to make it 17-9, and all of a sudden, it was a one-possession game.
Again, the Wolverines got a huge stop on defense, and the offense got the ball back with a chance to tie it. Michigan had a short field to work with and they were able to punch it in, but the Wolverines missed the two-point conversion that would've tied it.
That was the last score that Michigan had. They got the ball two more times, but they weren't able to do anything with it, and Indiana hung on to win the game 20-15. Here are three takeaways from the game:
Michigan is better than their 5-5 record indicates
If the Michigan football team had a competent coaching staff, they would be 8-2 right now. The Wolverines would not have lost today for sure, and they wouldn't have lost to Illinois or Washington either.
There were numerous questionable decisions by the coaching staff on Saturday. The Wolverines did score one touchdown in a goal to go situation, but in the other two, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell's play-calling cost them. He ran the ball right up the middle every play, and everyone in the stadium knew it was coming. It worked on one drive, but Michigan should've finished this game with 24 points.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale actually called a good game in the second half, but the first half was ugly. Indiana was moving the ball easily for a minute there, but Martindale does deserve some credit for how the defense played in the second half.
Sherrone Moore made a couple questionable decisions to not go for it on fourth down, but his biggest coaching blunder happened late in the game when Michigan needed a stop. They had all three timeouts and they were down five and in need of the football. Indiana ran the ball for eight yards on first down with a little over a minute to go, and Moore waited 26 seconds to call a timeout. It doesn't matter if it didn't have an impact on the result of the game, that just can't happen.
Michigan's pass game is now better than the run game
We'll see if this holds true going forward, but against Indiana, it seemed like the Michigan passing attack was better than the run game. The Wolverines couldn't get anything going on the ground, but Davis Warren made some nice plays with his arm to sustain drives. Michigan was definitely better passing the ball on Saturday than running, yet in the most important moments, the coaches elected to run the ball.
Sherrone Moore isn't a good coach
The Michigan football team needs a better head coach. I will admit, I wrote an article earlier this week saying that Sherrone Moore shouldn't be on the hot seat. I take it back. After what happened on Saturday, it's as clear as ever that the coaching staff is holding this team back, and Moore is absolutely a culprit. His game management at the end of Saturday's contest was a crystal clear example. Remember: Even if Michigan lands Bryce Underwood, offering an elite recruit 10 million dollars doesn't make him a good coach. Someone that can actually lead the team to big wins can also tell high school kids that they'll pay them a lot of money. That isn't hard.
Michigan has just two games left, and they don't stand a chance on the road against Ohio State with this coaching staff. They need to beat Northwestern in two weeks if they want to go to a bowl game.
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