Michigan Football avoided the shutout loss, at least, but fell to Michigan State, 15-6. The Wolverines are now 5-4 on the season with just two Big Ten wins. It was not a good night for the offense, and the defense had its own struggles.

We’ve all watched some bad games in our lifetimes, and this one will certainly be on the list of terrible performances. We will have to wait and see what happens with this program after what’s proving to be one of the worst Michigan football seasons in recent memory.

On that happy note, here are three winners and three losers after Michigan’s loss.

Look, we’re all bummed. Not much went Michigan’s way in this game, but the Wolverines only had two penalties for 20 yards. In a rivalry game, I was worried about the tension getting the best of the Wolverines, but they managed to keep the penalties low. Again, in a game where you just barely avoid a shutout, we’re going to pick some of the positives.

We’ve said the same things about Jason Beck each week since the near-loss to Western Michigan. This is another week that just blows the mind. You think it can’t get any worse, but somehow it does. The rest of the coaching staff isn’t doing much better. While the defense is really talented, it’s starting to show vulnerabilities. Like a wall that’s had to support too much weight and finally starts to buckle.

I didn’t like a lot of the decisions the coaching staff made. Punting from the 50-ish yard line on 4th-andshort is cowardly. It didn’t prove to be worth it either, because the defense stayed on the field for basically the entire third quarter. I’m sure there’s some sort of game theory out there that says you try for the two-point conversion first, but I don’t get it. You already know what you need to send this game to overtime. Maybe they were trying to get two two-point conversions to win it in regulation, but come on.

Winner | WR Travis Johnson

Michigan freshman wide receiver Travis Johnson actually had a few flashes in this one. They were late in the game when the Wolverines had a bit more room to work with, but that’s a good sign if he decides to stick with Michigan in future seasons. He had three catches for 38 yards and averaged 12.7 yards per catch. He’s one of those players that people were excited about ahead of the season; it’s nice to see him make a few plays.

Well, the Wolverines lost the turnover battle. Oof. My bold prediction was the Wolverines would lose the turnover battle, but I didn’t think it’d be such a bloodbath. Michigan lost two fumbles, and Tommy Carr threw two interceptions. While there’s probably not much optimism among the fan base as we prepare for the last few games, the Wolverines clearly don’t have the talent to overcome losing the turnover battle at this point in the season.

There’s not much that went well in this one, but Cam Brown did deliver a phenomenal punt that pinned MSU deep. I’m not even giving credit to the entire special teams unit because that ball basically hit the ground inside the five yard line and didn’t hardly moved. While he had another punt that wasn’t great, there was so much that went wrong in this game that I have to put him in the winners column.

Okay, so maybe the special teams situation is worse than we thought when it comes to the field goal unit. That’s two kickers who have missed what should be chip shots. Today, Jacob Baggett missed a 26-yard field goal and didn’t have another chance since Michigan couldn’t move the ball.

Let’s keep the conversation going! Share your thoughts in the comments below.