It doesn't appear Michigan football is ready to make a change at play-caller.
Coach Kyle Whittingham hinted to reporters at his weekly press conference that offensive coordinator Jason Beck will resume his play-calling duties when the Wolverines (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) take on Rutgers (2-5, 1-3) on Halloween in Week 9.
"I don't think it's time to panic," Whittingham said Monday, Oct. 26. "I guess you could say we're two or three plays away from 6-1 or 7-0 ... primarily due to our defense. We're in games each week because of the defense. But again, you can't, from inside the program, you can't make a division and say, 'Well, you know, this side of the ball would have done this or that,' because we're all in it together. You've got to protect the locker
room, and you don't want to have divisiveness at all in any way, shape, or form. And I don't believe we do. I think our guys are on the same page."
Michigan's offense has been dreadful this season, lowlighted by last week's 13-6 loss to Indiana where U-M failed to score seven points in a game for the first time since Sept. 2014 (a 31-0 loss to Notre Dame). The rushing attack, which for the first time had a little life in the second half against Penn State, had its worst performance of the season with 42 carries for 58 yards (1.4 per rush).
The passing attack was barely better. U-M made a switch from Bryce Underwood to Tommy Carr at halftime of U-M's 21-18 win over Penn State a week prior, however the true freshman quarterback couldn't make enough plays against an elite IU defense, completing 20 of 32 passes for 167 yards with one interception.
He also ran 15 times but netted six yards (counting 36 yards lost on sacks) and fumbled an option pitch to Savion Hiter late in the first quarter. Both of Carr's giveaways led directly to Indiana's two made field goals, the only points the Hoosiers scored during regulation.
Whittingham stated the three reasons Michigan was unable to pull off the upset was losing the turnover battle, an inability to run the ball and underwhelming results in the red zone. The Wolverines got inside the IU 20 on four occasions (inside the 25 five times) and managed just six points.
That included the opening drive of the second half, when U-M went 13 plays and 74 yards down to the Indiana 1, but on third-and-goal, Beck called a play action boot and Carr was dropped for a 13-yard loss. It only exacerbated the point when Trey Butkowski missed the chip-shot field goal.
“That was not a good call at that point in time,” Whittingham said after the game. “It was a very disappointing outcome and a call that I know Jason wishes he had back. It really was damaging.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Will Michigan football take Jason Beck off play-calling? 'Don't think it's time to panic'
