Michigan Wolverines' surprising fatal flaw failed Sherrone Moore and fans in frustrating loss to Indiana
Unfortunately Michigan has struggled in far more ways than one this season. The quarterback situation has been an absolute nightmare as Sherrone Moore has cycled through three different quarterbacks who have all largely disappointed. That aspect of the Wolverines' failure tends to get more attention. However, Michigan's one surprising fatal flaw on defense failed them […]
Unfortunately Michigan has struggled in far more ways than one this season. The quarterback situation has been an absolute nightmare as Sherrone Moore has cycled through three different quarterbacks who have all largely disappointed. That aspect of the Wolverines' failure tends to get more attention. However, Michigan's one surprising fatal flaw on defense failed them against Indiana even more than their offense.
Michigan's secondary has somewhat shockingly struggled all season long. Will Johnson has been the lone bright spot when he's on the field, but he's been injured for much of the year. Every single other defensive back has made some huge mistakes throughout this season.
Michigan came into Week 11 ranked outside the Top 100 defenses in plays of 10+ yards allowed. They ranked outside the Top 50 in plays of 20+ yards allowed. Most of those plays, of course, coming due to issues in the defensive secondary. That problem shined brightly early against Indiana on Saturday as Michigan inevitably lost 20-15.
Yes, the defense improved in the second half, only giving up three points down the stretch, but three huge explosive plays of 26 yards or more absolutely killed Michigan's chances early on in the game. Indiana's star quarterback Kurtis Rourke connected with Ke'Shawn Williams for 26 yards, Omar Cooper Jr. for 41 yards, and then found wide receiver Elijah Sarratt for this massive 36-yard touchdown score that gave Indiana an early 14-3 lead.
Jyaire Hill, Michigan's best cornerback outside of Will Johnson, was the man in coverage on Sarratt's stutter-and-go touchdown. This was somewhat uncharacteristic of Hill, who had only given up two explosive plays of 30+ yards or more on the year. Sadly, he chose a bad time to give up his worst play of the season.
Zeke Berry was the other culprit who surrendered some pretty poor plays in the secondary against Indiana. He made a key interception, but that didn't completely overshadow his early struggles. Omar Cooper Jr. snagged a reception of 40+ yards early, but then also scored his touchdown against Berry (as you can see in the post below).
Berry has been Michigan's biggest liability in coverage this season. He had already allowed a completion rate of 70% for over 400 yards and four touchdowns in coverage coming into the game against Indiana. Those numbers won't look any better after today.
The silver lining? The defense cleaned things up down the stretch, but it was far too late. The damage had already been done. Michigan's lackluster offense couldn't muster enough to climb back in the game and Sherrone Moore made a couple strange game management decisions that sealed the deal.
How Michigan HC Sherrone Moore fumbled the game away vs. Indiana
The Michigan Wolverines lost yet another winnable game this week, falling to the Indiana Hoosiers 20-15. This time, the loss fell solely at the feet of head coach Sherrone Moore for some truly abysmal game management decisions. The Wolverines got the ball out of halftime down 17-3 and had terrific field position after a 37-yard […]
Michigan's defensive secondary must improve down the stretch if Michigan wants to have any shot at defeating a single team left on their schedule. Down to down, play to play, Michigan's defense is good. Their defensive line and linebackers have been excellent. But the explosive plays have got to stop.
There's no way that Michigan's inefficient offense can climb back into games this season. They just aren't built for it. Sherrone Moore has to find a way to get his secondary under control or this season is completely over.
We'll be back with more Michigan Wolverines coverage here at A to Z Sports all season long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
