The Fox Big Noon Kickoff crew was in Ann Arbor this past week, and they did not like what they saw from Michigan football.
Yes, the Wolverines held Indiana close, taking the defending national champion to overtime after holding IU to just six points in regulation. But the offense is completely dysfunctional. And no matter how much hand-waving that the Michigan staff might make, the struggles cannot be unseen.
On the Triple Option Podcast, former Alabama running back Mark Ingram simply noted the disparity between the elite defense and not just the offense, but the calls that the offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, made in the game.
"The offensive play calls are crazy. There's no like purpose behind them," Ingram said. "It's just, it's very stagnant
on the other side of the ball. But their defense is one of the best in the country."
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, who oversaw Kyle Whittingham during his tenure at Utah, spoke more on Beck. He noted that it simply just isn't a personnel issue or even an execution one. As far as he can tell, whether it's Tommy Carr or Bryce Underwood, they don't have the freedom to get out of a bad play call, and Beck seems to call quite a few of them.
"I know him a little bit. I met him a few times, and he did good at New Mexico and at Utah, but it just doesn't look good," Meyer said. "They're running plays that, like -- to me, offensive football is numbers and leverage, period. Numbers and leverage. When you have a five and a nine or outside leverage techniques, and you run a jet sweep for minus five yards, the quarterback's got to get you out of that play. And I was talking to Brady -- Brady Quinn, he doesn't think he does. Those are, once again, questions for the Wolverines to figure out.
"But when I see bad plays that you can blame that tailback or their handoff or even the offensive line on that -- that was a minus five on a jet sweep run into out-leveraged defense. Why? That's one of those, like, whoa, whoa, whoa. From the sideline, if I saw that and our quarterback didn't get it, I'm screaming timeout because it's second-and-15. I don't care what you do. It's second-and-15. So when I see stuff like that, you're like, no, that's not Bryce Underwood, or that's not Tommy Carr. It's not the tailback."
Meyer continued, firmly establishing that there were multiple plays called in the game that simply should have never been called. And the players aren't empowered to change course when it's obvious to everyone that something must give on any given down.
"If a quarterback does not have access to get you out of a bad play, that's to me, that's like I'm scratching my head right now," Meyer said. "Several times in that game, they should have never ran that play."
Multiple times against Indiana, Michigan found itself driving, only to give up a negative play -- particularly sacks -- on pivotal third downs. And that included two third-and-goals with the ball on the one and the three.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Urban Meyer blasts Michigan's offensive playcalling under Jason Beck
