ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The perfect start to Michigan's 2017 season came crashing down this weekend when the Wolverines lost to rival Michigan State at the Big House.
Michigan was a double-digit favorite in the game, and in front of 112,000 fans in a night game atmosphere, the table was set for Jim Harbaugh's team to keep bragging rights in Ann Arbor for another year.
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Instead, Michigan got outplayed for the better part of 60 minutes, and the mistakes finally caught up with the Wolverines. They lost the turnover battle by five, dropped several passes and committed crippling penalties. All things considered, it was a minor miracle that Michigan only lost by four points.
Here are three of the moments that ultimately doomed Michigan on Saturday, and likely for the entire season.
1. Ty Isaac's fumble
When it happened: 5:48 left in first quarter
It's hard to believe knowing the eventual outcome of the game, but Michigan got out to a dominant start in the first quarter.
The offense, despite all its faults, put together a 16-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a field goal. Immediately afterwards, Michigan's defense forced the Spartans to punt following a yardless drive, and the offense was on the move again.
Michigan earned a first down at the 38-yard line, then Ty Isaac picked up eight yards to get close to midfield. But Joe Bachie stripped the ball at the end of the run, and Michigan State recovered in Michigan territory.
Six plays later, Michigan State took a lead it would never relinquish.
Not only did Isaac's fumble give the Spartans a short field against a defense that doesn't give up many long drives, it also shifted the entire feeling of the game. Michigan's offense looked scared from that point forward, putting the next four possessions and eventually turning the ball over four more times.
Throughout the season, Michigan's defense has given up one long drive per game. Cincinnati had one 85-yard drive and got shut down the rest of the game. Air Force had a 75-yard drive, and didn't find the end zone again. Even Purdue's opening drive went for 75 yards and a touchdown, but the Boilermakers mustered only three points the final 50 minutes of the game.
The Michigan State game was no different. Michigan's defense allowed one 83-yard drive, but no other drive went for even 50 yards. If the offense didn't turn it over in its own territory, there's a good chance the Spartans would have finished with seven points.
2. Back-to-back fade passes in red zone
When it happened: 8:12 left in first quarter
As mentioned above, Michigan's first drive went about as well as it could have. The Wolverines took over on their own 25-yard line and marched right down the field into the red zone.
Michigan went 64 yards over 16 plays, a punishing drive for the Spartans defense.
But after running the ball fairly well and utilizing short passes over the middle to get to the 11-yard line, Michigan abandoned everything that got them there and went with a play that hasn't worked all season.
John O'Korn tried to throw a fade pass in the corner to tight end Sean McKeon, which, by itself, isn't a terrible play call. McKeon is a big target who has had sure hands this season.
But when it didn't work, Michigan doubled down, throwing the same pass on the opposite sideline, except this time, it went to Eddie McDoom, a 6-foot slot receiver who's known for his speed. The pass was also too far out of bounds for McDoom to bring it down in play.
As a result, Michigan settled for a field goal. It's impossible to know exactly what would have happened throughout the rest of the game, but that cost Michigan four points, and it ultimately lost by four points.
Michigan has been one of the worst teams in the country at turning red zone appearances into touchdowns, and that weakness reared its ugly head again last weekend. This time, the Wolverines couldn't recover.
3. Grant Perry's dropped pass
When it happened: 12:26 left in third quarter
After the game ended, O'Korn took most of the blame for the poor offensive performance, and while he deserves criticism for his three interceptions, he had no help from a group of receivers that was expected to be a strength on the offense this season.
Michigan had three critical drops in the game: One from Grant Perry, one from Khalid Hill and one from McDoom. While McDoom's came at the end of the game with Michigan trying to make a frantic comeback, there's little reason to believe the Wolverines could have gotten into the end zone anyway. McDoom's drop also came after the heavy rainstorm that took over Michigan Stadium for most of the second half.
Perry, however, is on the roster to be the possession receiver amongst a group of talented, but inexperienced players. Perry is the receiver O'Korn looks for on third down and in long-yardage situations.
The best example came on Michigan's first drive of the second half. Michigan had good field position at its own 39-yard line, and needed to make a move down 11 points. On second and eight, O'Korn found Perry running toward the right sideline, and hit him right on the money. Perry, who had room to turn upfield for a big play, dropped the ball.
Michigan punted two plays later.
The dropped pass killed a drive in the middle of Michigan's last offensive push. The Wolverines scored on the following drive before the rain came, and it was all punts and interceptions after that.
Looking back, that was one of the few Michigan drives that showed promise in the second half. Michigan would have been across midfield with a first down, but instead, it punted.