ANN ABROR, Mich. — Michigan’s football team, down four starters and reeling after back-to-back regular-season losses for only the second time since Jim Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor in late 2014, found a way to hit a new low Saturday night.
Before a nationally televised, prime-time audience eager to see how they might bounce back, the Wolverines came out flat, embarrassingly out-of-sync offensively and fell so far behind in the first half that it became virtually impossible to come back.
Michigan lost the game, 49-11, to a 13th-ranked Wisconsin team that had not played a game in over three weeks. The Badgers were ravaged by a COVID-19 outbreak, one that forced its new starting quarterback, Graham Mertz, and head coach to isolate.
Despite the layoff, Wisconsin took advantage of a pair of mistakes early on by Michigan, off to its first 1-3 start to a season since 1967. Quarterback Joe Milton threw interceptions on his first two drives of the game, gifting the Badgers favorable field position in both instances.
Two plays after Milton’s first turnover, a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Nick Eubanks, Wisconsin picked up 30 yards on a reverse handoff to Chimere Dike, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Nakia Watson. It was the first of two rushing touchdowns by Watson, who rushed 12 times for 65 yards.
Wisconsin carved up Michigan’s new-look defensive line, rushing for 341 yards and five touchdowns while amassing 468 yards of total offense. It was the most rushing yards allowed by the Wolverines since last year’s 35-14 loss to the Badgers (359).
More: Michigan was down three more starters vs. Wisconsin
On Michigan’s second drive, just four plays into the game, Milton’s poor read on third-and-16 resulted in a pass nowhere near a receiver and into the hands of Badgers linebacker Leo Chenal. Four plays later, the Wolverines found themselves down 14-0 without a single positive yard of offense.
Their struggles continued into the second quarter, after Wisconsin forced another three-and-out and marched 60 yards in nine plays, highlighted by an 18-yard completion to Jalen Berger and 19-yard pass to Dike (2 catches, 29 yards). Watson put an exclamation on the drive by marching 14 yards into the end zone virtually untouched, carving up a shuffled Michigan defensive line.
Already down starting defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, sidelined indefinitely with a right ankle fracture, the Wolverines were also missing end Kwity Paye, sidelined with an undisclosed injury. They started redshirt sophomore Taylor Upshaw and moved fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp to the outside, opting to go with sophomore Chris Hinton and redshirt junior Donovan Jeter inside.
The Michigan offense showed signs of life in the second quarter, marching 74 yards on 13 plays to the Badgers' 1-yard line before turning the football over on downs. A play earlier, running back Chris Evans appeared to reach the end zone after a five-yard completion but the play was overturned via replay.
Trailing 28-0 at halftime, the Wolverines tried moving the football early in the third quarter — with Milton (9-19, 98 yards) connecting with receiver Ronnie Bell on back-to-back completions — but stalled after three straight incompletions and had to settle for a 46-yard field goal by Quinn Nordin.
Redshirt freshman Cade McNamara breathed late life into the Michigan offense, leading it on an impressive four-play, 74-yard touchdown drive with 3:00 left in the third quarter. The drive included three throws of 20-plus yards, including an impressive 23-yard dart to Mike Sainristil in the end zone for the Wolverines' first touchdown of the game.
Still, major issues reside on both sides of the ball for Michigan. The offense has lacked big-play ability during its losing skid, marred by a non-existent rushing game and shuffled offensive line, while the defense continues to have a difficult time stopping the run and getting pressure on the quarterback.
Mertz, whose status was unknown before Saturday’s game, was 12 of 22 for 127 yards and two touchdowns but had a clean pocket most of the game. Carlo Kemp had Michigan’s only sack of the game — and sixth of the first four games of the season.
Next up for the Wolverines is a road game next Saturday, Nov. 21, at Rutgers, a team off to a 1-3 start but competitive in losses to Indiana, Ohio State and Illinois.
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November 15, 2020 at 11:04AM
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Michigan football hits new low in blowout loss to Wisconsin - MLive.com
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