Michigan, 'Embarrassed' by 'Sickening, Soft' Win Over WMU, Must Step Up vs. Oklahoma

ANN ARBOR, MI — Ultimately, Michigan survived a catastrophic defeat last week — and then was unceremoniously dumped from the AP Top 25.

And still, even with No. 11-ranked Oklahoma just days away from visiting The Big House for a Big Noon Kickoff this Saturday, the Wolverines three days later seem a bit shaken.

“Embarrassing,” said safety Rod Moore. “ … We just went out there and played soft.”

Running back Jordan Marshall termed it a “sickening feeling.”

“I was recruited by Harbaugh,” declared defensive end Dom Nichols, “and I came here to win.”

With Jim Harbaugh having taken his national title to the NFL, some players in Maize and Blue are in such a head space after two games under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham that the team captains, led by defensive tackle Trey Pierce, called a player-led meeting on Sunday and implored everyone to simply “do more.”

Those two words are written, typed or scrawled here and there throughout Schembechler Hall. On Tuesday, the team’s mindset produced the most taxing “Bloody Tuesday” practice anyone could recall.

“It was just more so, we gotta stop being soft,” Moore said. “That was a soft game. That was not our standard.”

Saturday night as a 27 1/2-point favorite against Western Michigan, the Wolverines got an assist from referee Jim Wharrie, who decided an incomplete pass on a Hail Mary from Michigan as time expired needed another try and added one second to the game clock. The do-over was good, the MAC filed a protest with the NCAA and the arguments will never, ever cease.

But the next morning, all these Michigan men — even the ones who were up past 5 a.m. — had to “look myself in the mirror,” Marshall said, and they didn’t like what they saw. So they decided to just do more.

They’ll have to do more this week. A lot more.

While Michigan probably should have taken the L against a directional school, Oklahoma was destroying a hyphenated acronym school in Texas-El Paso.

UTEP was every bit as overmatched as Western Michigan should have been — OU was a 41 1/2-point favorite, and the Sooners rolled 51-0.

But the reality is this: That was week one. This is week two. Different opponents, different time zones, different stadiums, different fan bases. Both Michigan and Oklahoma will have to step up.

Geetting caught looking ahead to next week's showdown with another of college football's true titans would have been something to expect from both teams last week.

But it seems that one team did it, while the other did not. One handled its business. The other needed an unprecedented bailout.

“It’s human nature,” Marshall said. “But I also think we overlooked Western. Because they’re a really good football team, a really good coach. And so is Oklahoma. Probably some better athletes.”

“It’s really still the game of football,” Moore said. “Just a bigger and better opponent. It’s maybe mentally, having more of a mental edge, understanding if you come out how we came out against Western Michigan, it’s gonna be way more embarrassing than that was.”

Moore said Michigan isn't the only team in The Big House stepping up in competition this week. Oklahoma is as well.

“Like you said, we’re Michigan,” Moore said. “We’re not gonna lay down soft to a school, even though we may have played bad last week.”

Moore also reiterated that he used the correct word: the Wolverines were embarrassed. Not by the Broncos, but by their own performance.

“Everybody said it was kind of embarrassing,” he said. “We didn’t play how we’re supposed to. I was embarrassed at the way I went out there and played.”

“It’s a jump, yeah. For sure,” said Nichols. “It’s nothing that we’re too worried about. We practice against each other every day. I mean, this is Michigan. We’ve got some of the highest-ranked players out of high school. Not that that matters. But that’s what you’re looking at when you look at talent-wise.”

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