Michigan State came into Week 10 with the Power Four’s absolute worst offense, based on average yards per game this season. You’d think that would be the low point, right? Nope. It was their in-state rival, Michigan, that delivered a truly miserable performance on Saturday, November 7, a showing so putrid it’s got everyone, including their own coach, scratching their heads. The two teams combined for exactly zero touchdowns, but the Spartans still managed to grab their first conference win of the season, a 15-6 road victory over Michigan.
Wolverines Can’t Find the End Zone, Coach Can’t Find Explanations
This loss to Michigan State is just the latest gut punch for first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, whose Wolverines have now dropped four of their last six games. The offense is the undisputed culprit here, scoring 21 points or fewer in a staggering six of its last seven games. Think about that for a second. The only two times they’ve broken the 21-point mark all season? Against UTEP and Rutgers, one of the Power Four’s other bottom feeders. It’s a brutal reality check, and Whittingham summed it up best after the game, admitting he was “as disappointed as I’ve ever been as a head coach and as frustrated as I’ve ever been as a head coach.” He literally can’t explain what he watched out there on the field.
The Highest-Paid OC Has Zero Answers in Ann Arbor
The spotlight is shining bright, and not in a good way, on offensive coordinator Jason Beck. He’s the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the country, and he followed Whittingham from Utah, where they had plenty of success with the Utes. But whatever magic they had out west has clearly not made the trip to Ann Arbor. Beck, who usually calls plays from the press box, actually came down to the sideline at halftime against the Spartans. Talk about a desperate move! Despite the complete offensive collapse, Whittingham is holding firm, for now. “Not right now as I’m sitting here at this podium,” he said when asked about making a change at OC. “At some point, you’ve got to have results. It’s a result-driven business, a bottom-line business. We’ll re-evaluate everything after the season and determine what’s the best course of action.” That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?
The vibes around Michigan football right now are just plain bad. From Dave Portnoy publicly calling for Whittingham and Beck’s jobs to Connor Stalions making jokes about self-reporting texts with the coaching duo, the online world is having a field day with Michigan’s brutal loss. For Coach Whittingham and his staff, the real reckoning comes after the season, when that re-evaluation is set to happen. Until then, they’ve got to find a way to score some points, and fast, because this current offensive drought is getting harder and harder to ignore.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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