Michigan football got the win in its season opener, but coaches across the nation didn't treat the Wolverines that way.
The Wolverines fell eight spots all the way to No. 24 in the US LBM Coaches Poll going into Week 2 on the heels of a controversial 13-12 victory over Western Michigan
. U-M became the talk of the sports world for nearly two days when, down 12-7, QB Bryce Underwood connected on a second Hail Mary try after an official review placed 1 second back on the clock following a failed first try.
The eight-spot drop was the largest of any ranked team this week. Clemson went from No. 23 to unranked. Oklahoma fell one spot to No. 10 after getting leapfrogged by LSU.
The victory Saturday didn't change the fact that Michigan was seemingly outplayed
for most of the evening by the defending Mid-American Conference champs.
The coaches did reward WMU for its near-upset – which would have been the second MAC win at the Big House in more than 50 seasons – giving the Broncos seven votes, up from three in the preseason poll. (Meanwhile, Michigan State, which also rallied to beat a MAC foe, albeit in much less dramatic fashion, did not receive any votes.)
"We have a lot to fix on the [offensive] side of the ball," U-M coach Kyle Whittingham said on Monday, Sept. 7. "Just execution-wise, sloppy penalties, you know, killed drives, two turnovers, possibly three overall [including] the special teams.
"When we were out there, we weren't good enough on third down, didn't run the ball well enough offensively, just barely got over 100 yards, which is not indicative of a Jason Beck offense. So we've got plenty to plenty to fix."
Overall, the offense was dreadful. Michigan had an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown opening drive. Then, it had two long passes including an answered prayer in the final 30 seconds of the game for another 75-yard scoring drive.
On the eight possessions in between, the Wolverines had six punts and two turnovers, with just one trip going more than five plays and none of the possessions amassing even 30 yards. Underwood didn't look at all improved from last season, completing just 12 of 22 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran nine times for 47 yards but fumbled with less than two minutes to play in what appeared to seal the game for WMU.
Pro Football Focus gave Underwood the second-worst passing grade (31.4) of 110 FBS quarterbacks who dropped back at least 20 times in Week 1 as he was dinged for five turnover-worthy plays and credited for zero big-time throws.
There were some bright spots on defense. Troy Bowles had 12 tackles including two for loss, Dom Nichols wreaked havoc with nine tackles (including 2½ for loss) and 1½ sacks and overall as a unit, Whittingham's staff graded U-M with just five missed tackles. (His goal going into every game is nine or fewer.)
Now, U-M faces a massive test against No. 10 Oklahoma, which moved down from No. 9 in the preseason poll after flattening UTEP (U-M's Week 3 opponent), 51-0. The Wolverines will have to simultaneously prepare for one of the best teams in the country, while also making significant changes – and, they hope, improvements – to their own execution.
"You can fix the mistakes as you go along, and obviously getting ready for a new scheme, new defensive structure, different offensive attack − dramatically different offensive attacks," Whittingham said of this week looks like. "So it's just all kind of rolled into one process to get better and get ready at the same time."
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: Michigan football drops eight spots in coaches poll after Week 1 survival
