The Wolverines Made History With Their Loss On Saturday
Saturday in The Big House was so bad, that the cardboard cut-outs were booing. It was ugly. So ugly, that the Wolverines made their fair share of history Saturday night. The game was seemingly over before it started, as Michigan was down 28-0 before Joe Milton completed a pass. Wisconsin was up 28-0 at the half, which marked the largest deficit Michigan has faced at the half in the Big House since 1927. With the loss, Michigan became 1-3 for the first time since 1967 and lost two straight Big Ten home games for the first time since 2013.
For the first time in at least 20 years, the Wolverines failed to have their leading rusher run for more than 22 yards in back-to-back games. Until Saturday the last time Michigan had less than 50 rushing yards in consecutive contests was in 2013. In addition, Michigan has ran for less than 2.6 yards per carry in each of the last two contests. For the first time in the Harbaugh era, the Wolverines failed to have a rushing touchdown for the second straight game.
The Wolverines passing game wasn’t much better on Saturday, as Joe Milton’s passer rating of 69.6 was 24 points lower than Shea Patterson’s worst passer rating in a game at Michigan. Milton had the worst passer rating of any Michigan starting quarterback since Wilton Speight in 2016 when the Wolverines lost to Iowa. Milton also became the first Wolverine starting quarterback since Shane Morris in 2014 to throw for less than 100 yards in a Wolverine loss.
While Michigan’s offense struggled, their defense continues to be even worse. The Wolverines have now failed to create a turnover in three straight games for the first time since 2010. Michigan has only one sack in their last three contests and just seven sacks in their last six games. Michigan has now allowed over 440 yards of total offense in their last three games for the first time since 2010. Michigan has also allowed over 440 yards in five of their last six contests dating back to last season.
The Wolverines red zone defense has also been abysmal, as in each of the last 13 times their opponent has reached the Michigan 25 yard line they have come away with six points.
For the first time since 2013, Michigan has allowed their opponents to rush for at least 115 yards in six straight games. In their last two games against Wisconsin, Michigan has allowed the Badgers to run for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Overall, the Wolverines have allowed 16 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns in their last six games. Michigan has given up an average of 38.2 points and 460 yards per game in their last six contests.
Each of the last three weeks, the Wolverines have reached numerous records they have not in years; unfortunately, they are the wrong ones to achieve.
