The Huskies’ Big Ten road woes continued, as they dropped a morning road game in ugly fashion, losing 24-7. Let’s get to what we learned!
“Same as it ever was…”
During the game, as Michigan dropped the proverbial hammer on the Huskies, I couldn’t help but cast my mind back to the Dawgs’ previous morning road games last season, in particular the ugly stretch in October of Indiana and Iowa. Both were losses, and both were demoralizing in a way that I wrote after the Iowa game that we didn’t know what our identity was as a team. After this game, those same old questions crept back into my mind.
Despite progress in the first half, and holding the Wolverines to a 7-7 tie at the half, Michigan found their mojo after Demond attempted to find Decker Degraaf on a stick route, but messed up his timing, resulting in an interception, and a Jordan Marshall touchdown run on the next play. From there, it was a case of Michigan finding it’s momentum by doing what Michigan does. An effective running game and a suffocating defense, in addition to calling plays that worked for young quarterback Bryce Underwood, ultimately won the day for the Wolverines. By contrast, it seems as though the Huskies have good players, but when those players are bottled up, the creativity on offense is stifled, and the offense is therefore stuck in neutral. The subsequently flat offense after the backbreaking interception was proof of that. It felt like their will was broken. And what makes that all the more frustrating is the fact that Michigan made a few mistakes of their own. They had more penalties (5) and missed on a few chances to take the lead in the first half, which should’ve left the door open for the Huskies. But an anemic run game coupled with uninspired play calling meant that the Huskies also left points on the board. To his credit, coach Fisch did say that he was disappointed in how the game was coached. “Did not coach well. Did not put our guys in the best possible position to succeed and then when we had opportunities, we didn’t make ’em.”
Whether this leads to revamping the playbook offensively to suit Demond’s skillset, or trying to restart the run game to get Jonah going again, only time will tell what lessons the Huskies take away from this game. But one thing’s for sure, they need an injection of energy and they need it fast, as a very good Illinois team looms on the horizon next week.
Bitten By the Bug
The injury bug came out in force to bite the Huskies, as Maximus Mcree and tight ends Quentin Moore and Kade Eldridge all were ruled out by the second half, and neither of the three are expected to return quickly. Moore’s injury is especially unfortunate, given his injury last year and the severity of the injury sustained Saturday, having to be taken off the field on a stretcher. A spokesperson for UW confirmed that Moore is safely back in Seattle, which is welcome news.
The injuries to the two tight ends mean that the tight end room is very thin, with Decker Degraaf the most experienced. Freshmen Baron Naone and Austin Simmons are the remaining tight ends on the roster, which could make trying to reestablish the run game all the more difficult, as Degraaf is not the best blocker, and Naone and Simmons unproven. Mcree’s injury could also mean more shuffling along the line, which is not good news for a unit already missing Carver Willis and John Mills.
Coach Fisch is hopeful that Willis will be back this week, but it still is an unfortunate circumstance that the Husky offensive front finds itself in right now. Sadly, the shuffles of the o-line last season may be extended to this year, and will make running the ball more difficult.
Fair to Middling
Like the Ohio State game, this Michigan game too was a barometer game. Against an established conference foe, with a head coach that has been entrenched with his program for a while, on the road with a national audience watching, this was an opportunity for the Huskies to show where they were in this rebuild. The answer is clearly “not elite yet”. The target was most likely going to be next year, but after frustrating losses like this one, I wonder if that is a realistic target. The same things that plagued Fisch’s coaching last year (playcalling that is at times predictable, stupid penalties, bad punts and special teams errors) have kept up and it’s clear that the team is in need of a few more pieces on both sides of the ball before they’re considered elite. Whether this means a reshuffling of assistant coaches, or a few more elite additions from the portal, I don’t know, but it seems like this team is missing a few things, especially compared to the big players in the conference.
With the recent coaching openings at Florida and UCLA, it remains to be seen if Coach Fisch stands pat, but if he does, there are areas he needs to prioritize, both in the recruiting sphere and the on field space. I don’t know if there are any easy fixes, and I know we need to be patient. But losing in this fashion is a demoralizing reminder of where we are in the conference pecking order, and it’s solidly in the fair to middling tier, and it’s frustrating when the team’s will is broken, because that extends to the fans’ will as well.
No extra things this week, but we have Illinois at home on Saturday afternoon. Go Dawgs!