Michigan's one terrible weakness cost the Wolverines any shot at a victory over Oregon Ducks
The Michigan Wolverines were unfortunately never in a competitive position to win Saturday's new Big Ten rivalry game over the number one ranked Oregon Ducks and it really came down to one glaring weakness. Many fans might think that it was the offense to blame, but Michigan's lack of an elite offense isn't breaking news.Yes, […]
The Michigan Wolverines were unfortunately never in a competitive position to win Saturday's new Big Ten rivalry game over the number one ranked Oregon Ducks and it really came down to one glaring weakness. Many fans might think that it was the offense to blame, but Michigan's lack of an elite offense isn't breaking news.
Yes, Davis Warren and company could have been more efficient, but at the end of the day they weren't the main problem. The biggest failure by Michigan on Saturday? The defensive secondary.
Michigan's star cornerback Will Johnson had to miss another game due to injury, but he wasn't the only Wolverines defensive back out for the contest against Oregon. Jyaire Hill, Michigan's only other decent cornerback this season, was also out for the game, leading to a completely new mix of starting defenders along the perimeter of the Wolverine defense.
While Sherrone Moore shared that he was proud of Zeke Berry, Aamir Hall, and his whole secondary for making key adjustments in unfamiliar roles, the secondary was sadly the Achilles heel for the team. Oregon converted six throws of 15 yards or more downfield while Dillon Gabriel averaged nearly nine yards per pass attempt on the game. Even so, Sherrone Moore had some nice things to say about his secondary after the game:
"Zeke Berry, talk about a dude that has played safety, played nickel, and he played [outside] corner[back] today and hadn't played corner all year. He had a long ball against number 7 Evan Stewart who's arguably one of the better receivers in the country. He played it as good as anybody. So, I was really proud of him. Really proud of Aamir [Hall]. He had some plays that he wanted to get back, but I thought overall those guys fought their tails off for being not the starters."
Zeke Berry had been replacing the important slot role that Mike Sainristil filled on last season's national championship team this year for the most part. His experience at outside corner was very limited coming into the game. And Aamir Hall, he had primarily functioned as the team's third outside corner, not generally lining up against opponent's best wide receivers. Both players were forced into more prominent spots on Saturday and played to the best of their abilities. Sadly that just wasn't good enough.
Hall, of course, gave up the touchdown that shouldn't have been a touchdown to Evan Stewart early in the game. He was actually in good position on the play, but Dillon Gabriel made the perfect pass to Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart. Touchdown review should have caught the fact that Stewart dropped the ball, but officials somehow did not and the score counted.
It was still early in the game after that touchdown. The team could still bounce bounce back, the pass coverage struggles didn't stop after that play for Michigan.
Linebacker Jaishawn Barham, safety Quinten Johnson, and Aamir Hall all three went on to allow a 100% completion rate when targeted. Johnson and Hall both gave up plays of 40 yards to the same Oregon wide receiver, Traeshon Holden, both in critical moments. First on a 3rd down conversion that led to a score. And then late in the fourth quarter on this play below when Michigan absolutely had to make a stop if they wanted any outside shot at victory.
Michigan's secondary has struggled all year long outside of Will Johnson (and perhaps Jyaire Hill). Even before this game Zeke Berry and Aamir Hall were allowing near a perfect passer rating in coverage. The defensive back depth had been an issue all year, and it was again against Oregon.
The good news?
Michigan and Sherrone Moore have an elite cornerback tandem coming in next year already thanks to their momentum on the recruiting trail this cycle. Shamari Earls and Ivan Taylor are both Top 100 recruits in the nation at cornerback. The Wolverines will certainly need them too after Will Johnson departs for the NFL Draft next spring. Hopefully Coach Moore can add another couple transfers as well to get Michigan's secondary back to a place where it looks functional. It certainly did not against the Ducks.
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