Michigan football narrowly avoided disaster against Western Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 5, thanks to a controversial last-second Hail Mary from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan.
It was an exciting finish to an otherwise poor performance for the Wolverines, however.
No. 16 Michigan may have defeated the Broncos 13-12 in Kyle Whittingham's debut, but it was anything but pretty. The Wolverines were held scoreless for nearly three full quarters after scoring on their opening possession against the Broncos.
Michigan's defense wasn't quite the problem, although Western Michigan grinded out a 20-play, 71-yard drive that burned 13:40 of clock across the third
and fourth quarters and ended with a field goal. The Wolverines followed up the lead-taking drive for Western Michigan with a three-and-out and an Underwood fumble on the third play of their next drive.
Whittingham also raised questions for Michigan's future starter at quarterback, saying Underwood is the starter — for now.
Michigan doesn't have much time to regroup, either, especially at it hosts No. 10 Oklahoma on Saturday, Sept. 12, looking to avoid dropping to 0-2 in the home-and-home series that started last season.
Will the Wolverines still be ranked heading into Week 2? Here's a look at where they fell in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25:
Where is Michigan football ranked?
- US LBM Coaches Poll: No. 24
Michigan fell eight spots, more than any team in the top 25, from No. 16 to No. 24 after its narrow win over Western Michigan in Week 1. The Wolverines are one spot ahead of No. 25 Florida and Virginia (in a tie) and one spot behind No. 23 Missouri.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Michigan still ranked? Where Wolverines fell in polls after controversial WMU win
