Nine games into his first season as the coach of the Michigan football program, Kyle Whittingham has been the subject of no shortage of criticism.
After starting the season No. 16 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Wolverines are now just 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten. Their latest indignity came on Saturday, Nov. 7, when they were beaten soundly at home, 15-6, by rival Michigan State, which entered the game winless in Big Ten play and riding a six-game losing streak.
For some Michigan fans, the embodiment of those struggles, and their frustrations with Whittingham, came with 2:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Wolverines trailing, 15-0, and facing a fourth-and-21 on a drive in which they needed a touchdown to keep their fading hopes
of a win alive.
Before the play, Michigan State called a timeout. As the Spartan coaches discussed the upcoming play with their players, Peacock cameras cut to Whittingham on the Michigan sideline staring into the distance and with the microphone of his headset up.
4th & 21, 2 mins left, game on the line, job on the line: Michigan State calls a timeout… Kyle Whittingham is staring off into space, not saying a word and the mic on his headset is up.
— Noah Bieniek (Bee-Nick) (@NoahB77_) November 8, 2026
I expected so much more from Whit given his reputation, he’s checked out, in a rivalry game!…
The Wolverines converted on fourth down thanks to a 21-yard Tommy Carr pass to Travis Johnson, and found the end zone six plays later on a Savion Hiter one-yard touchdown run with 1:35 remaining, but the Wolverines failed to cash in on the ensuing two-point conversion, effectively ending the game.
What's been a lethargic Michigan offense for most of the season finished with just 192 total yards and 3.7 yards per play. After Saturday's loss, Michigan is 126th of 138 FBS teams in scoring offense at 19.6 points per game.
When asked after the game if it was time to panic about his offense, Whittingham said it "seems to be."
"There's nothing productive about this game. Zero," Whittingham said of his offense after the loss. "It's not one step back. It's three steps back. Couldn't run the ball. Didn't throw the ball worth a darn. Turned it over four times. Couldn't make first downs. Couldn't make any third-down conversions. I think we were two of 10. I got the quarterback sacked five times. Really, I can't come up with one positive offensively in this game."
Kyle Whittingham had a blunt assessment of Michigan's offense after tonight's 15-6 loss to Michigan State pic.twitter.com/MqoWRYpg4w
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 8, 2026
Whittingham dismissed concerns about potentially losing the locker room, calling such notions "dramatic" and "overblown."
These sorts of struggles are unusual for Whittingham, who went 177-88 in 21 seasons at Utah, including a 10-2 mark last season before a brief retirement that ended after two weeks when he accepted the vacant job at Michigan. His final team with the Utes finished fourth in the FBS in scoring offense, averaging 41.3 points per game under offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who now has the same role with the Wolverines.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why one moment embodies Michigan fans' anger with Kyle Whittingham
