The tone for last Saturday’s blowout loss to Wisconsin was set right off the bat for the Michigan Wolverines’ football team, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton throwing an interception on U-M’s first offensive play of the game.

The pass was intended for fifth-year senior tight end Nick Eubanks, and actually hit him right in the face before ricocheting into the air and into the arms of Badger safety Scott Nelson.

RELATED: Five Players To Watch: Michigan Wolverines At Rutgers Scarlet Knights

RELATED: Keys to the Game: Michigan Wolverines Football at Rutgers

“On my end, that was a complete drop by me,” Eubanks admitted to the media this week. “I wasn’t expecting the ball to come to me, but if anyone has to take the blame, it’s me.

“As a tight end, you always have to expect the ball. I’ll take the blame on that. You fix [drops and mistakes] by forgetting them. If you sit on it, it will dwell on you and stay with you the whole game.

“Dropping the ball is always bad, but at the same time, [offensive coordinator] Coach [Josh] Gattis or [tight ends] Coach [Sherrone] Moore will always come back to you. You’re like a security blanket for the quarterback.

“Don’t ever think you won’t get the ball again because you dropped it — it’s going to keep coming your way.”

The interception was a microcosm of Michigan’s offensive night, with next to nothing going right for the Wolverines on that side of the ball. The Maize and Blue only mustered 219 yards, with an inability to run the ball (just 47 yards on the ground and 2.5 yards per rush) once again serving as one of the primary culprits.

“To open up the passing game, you have to focus on and establish the run game,” Eubanks explained. “That will be something we drill down tight this week. It’s about playing Michigan football, though I’m not saying we ever left it.

“That’s us — running the ball. It’s a key thing for us and it’s how we make those big plays downfield. We have to have belief in one another, and make sure we’re all on the same page offensively and defensively.

“When we’re not on the same page, it doesn’t end well for either side of the ball. Finding that groove will be something we’ll look for this week.”

Michigan found at least a little bit of a groove in the third quarter when Milton was benched in favor of redshirt freshman Cade McNamara, who promptly led the Wolverines on a 74-yard scoring drive.

McNamara looked impressive while he was in the game, throwing passes that were consistently on the money. Head coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t name a starter heading into tomorrow’s game at Rutgers, but admitted the team has a bit of a quarterback battle on its hands once again.

“Cade’s development has been out of this world,” Eubanks exclaimed, who caught one of McNamara’s four completions. “He’s a mature dude and takes it personally. He’d have me come in early in the morning in the offseason just to work out with him and get the route timing down.

“Cade is a competitive dude when it comes to outworking people. He works on his craft every day after practice. I told him in the summer to keep chipping away because his time would come.

“His maturity has been out of this world. Cade is definitely a gamer and a dude. He would text me and tell me to come in at 6 AM; as an older dude, it’s kind of hard to do but you still show up.

“Him getting up and working out was always an eye-opener. He’s a tremendous quarterback and can make throws on the run as well. If him and Joe are neck and neck, it wouldn’t mean anything to us offensive guys because we’re used to them being neck and neck.

“Joe’s response has been positive to all of this. He never looks at any situation negatively. We’re following right behind him and tell him every day we have his back. Joe is a special dude and we’re just following right behind him.”

Notes

• Michigan's three-game losing streak has led many to question whether or not the team is still "bought in," with their on-field performances certainly making it seem like they're not.

“[Redshirt junior linebacker] Josh Ross preaches every day to stay together," Eubanks revealed. "We’ve been through a lot of things; I know everyone is tired of hearing it, but we don’t care about others’ opinion on it.

"We have to stay together and grind this out to have a better ending than what’s going on now. We need to stay together on and off the field, and more importantly in the weight room as well.”

• Michigan had never experienced any prolonged losing streaks in the past under Harbaugh, with the team having posted an 8-1 record in the regular season following a regular season loss since 2015.

“This is definitely something I’m going through for the first time in my career," the fifth-year senior admitted. "We won’t shy away from it as a team. Like I always say, adversity is something that teaches everyone to be a man.

"We can’t shy away from this or back down or even think about quitting, because that’s not what we do.”

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook