A slew of things went wrong for Michigan in its 38-17 loss to Oregon on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines gave up a season-high 38 points, scored only 17 points (more than four points below their season average) and allowed 10 third-down conversions.
Coaching was a clear weak spot for Michigan, which had some mind-boggling moments in every phase of the game. Wink Martindale's defense allowed 304 yards of total offense in the first half, J.B. Brown's special teams unit committed a costly penalty on fourth down to give Oregon new life on a drive that had none and Kirk Campbell's offense ran a play that saw wide receiver Semaj Morgan attempt a pass to Alex Orji on the most critical play of the game.
Mistakes made by coaches were the clear downfall for Michigan in the loss, but quarterback Davis Warren took full responsibility for the offensive struggles in the postgame press conference.
"Falls on me as the quarterback," Warren said. "I gotta be better on third downs. Gotta be able to convert. Third down is the money down, and we talked about it all week and didn't take advantage of the opportunities when we had them, and that falls on me to be better. ... That falls on me as the quarterback to be better on that down, and it's definitely something we'll be looking to work on."
Warren played turnover-free football for the second consecutive week, and he played arguably the best game by a Michigan quarterback all season. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, but all Warren could do after the game was take the blame for the loss.
"The number one thing that was asked of us was to win the football game," he said. "That's just what it comes down to. On offense, we've got to start faster and keep our defense off the field — let them do their thing. Just being better on third down. Being better early in the game. Starting faster — gotta start faster and bring that energy from the jump."
Of course, Warren won't throw his coaches under the bus for taking him off the field in the most important moment of the game, but Michigan's loss to Oregon was anyone's fault but Warren's.
In the weeks and months leading up to the season, Michigan coaches preached that the most important quality they were looking for in a quarterback was taking care of the football. Through the first three weeks of the season, Warren failed miserably at that task — that's why he was benched.
But Warren has looked much more comfortable during his second stint as starter. He's protecting the football and making some solid throws. However, Michigan continues to struggle adding to its total in the win column.
"Obviously it's disappointing," Warren said. "But it's not our job right now to have that perspective of, like, feeling bad for ourselves or feeling like this or that. It's just our job to know that we've got another game next week that we've got to win. And focus on the next day in front of us, the next play or the next practice or the next game."
Next week, the Wolverines will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers.
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