ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Michigan Wolverines vs. Michigan State Spartans football game means more than winning the Paul Bunyan trophy this season, as the men in maize have looked a hot mess for seven weeks.
The Wolverines are coming off back-to-back losses to the Washington Huskies and the Illinois Fighting Illini, bringing their once-promising defending CFP National Championship season to a disappointing record of 4-3.
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The disappointment starts with the coaching staff, which overvalued their quarterback room during the offseason. As the old saying goes, “The chickens have come home to roost.”
Quarterbacks Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle have struggled so far, which has caused the Wolverines considerable discomfort.
The coaching staff told their fanbase that Warren and Orji were playing well in practice and that selecting a starter was a hard decision.
We’ve yet to see one of them conduct the offense like a top collegiate quarterback should.
Their poor performances called for Tuttle to step in, and he’s been bad as the seven-year player can’t stop turning the ball over.
At this point, all three are the Peter Parker Spiderman memes of inconsistency that led to Saturday’s massive matchup against MSU.
No matter the record, the Wolverines' goal is to beat their rivals, and the upcoming game between the in-state schools has huge implications.
--> Putrid football game put on display by Michigan who fall to Illinois in embarrassing fashion
With their putrid offense on display, someone will likely lose their job if the Wolverines drop their third game in a row and lose the “State Championship” to what many have called an inferior opponent.
The Wolverines are 129th in FBS in passing yards per game (128). They run the same stagnant offense, with the first play usually being a running play for minimal yards.
They follow that up with an incompletion and then a poor play on third down, causing a punt that is usually shanked, which gives the opposing offense great field position.
Or, if they want to spice it up, they’ll run the ball on first and second down and then throw it to superstar tight end Colston Loveland, who just so happened to catch the longest pass of the season (29 yards) last week against the Illini.
Loveland is likely double-covered, so the play is either batted down, intercepted, or caught on a contested reception for minimal yards.
Last week, against Illinois, the Wolverines lost 21-7, their lowest scoring output in a game since 2014, when they were shut out by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-0.
Through seven games, the Wolverines' longest passing play was 29 yards, meaning their offense has no explosive plays.
Warren, Orji, and Tuttle have thrown nine interceptions in seven games.
Some blame can be placed on the Wolverines' overvaluing their wide receiver room during the offseason, as they did with the quarterback room.
At this point, no one has stood out of the pack as they continue not creating separation.
To make matters worse, we’re in a world where collegiate players can be paid to fill a team’s needs, and Michigan decided that they didn’t need a quarterback or a big-time wide receiver.
After getting boat raced at home against the Texas Longhorns, they squandered two games.
Now, while struggling themselves, they have MSU coming into the Big House smelling blood in the water as the Wolverines are wounded.
The Spartans just knocked off the Iowa Hawkeyes under the lights on the road in Iowa City.
MSU gets up for games against Michigan, and they’d like nothing better to do than stomp on the wounded Wolverines season.
If Michigan somehow gets past them, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, the Oregon Ducks, will be awaiting them on Nov. 2 in Ann Arbor.
Then, the men in maize have to take on the red-hot Indiana Hoosiers, who are No. 13 in the country. The undefeated Hoosiers just beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 56-7.
After that, they’ll play host to the Northwestern Wildcats and then travel to Columbus, where they’ll take on the Ohio State Buckeyes, who spent over $20 million on their roster during the offseason.
Suppose the Spartans beat Michigan, and they fall to a hypothetical 4-4 record. They’ll have nothing to play for during the remainder of the season.
Just think about it. Why would any of the Wolverines' future first-round picks, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Will Johnson, and Loveland, continue to play?
What about guys like Max Bredeson, Makari Paige, Josaiah Stewart, Donovan Edwards, and Kalel Mullings continue to play this season?
Look at the program’s future, as all of those players above will be gone next season.
If they’re stinking up the joint with the talent they have this season, you can only imagine what next year will look like, so everything is riding on Saturday’s games against the Spartans and what you can see going forward.
--> Michigan State game is chance for Michigan football to salvage something from lost season
