Assigning positional grades for Michigan’s 27-17 loss to Washington

Have you ever done poorly on an exam at the beginning of the semester but had enough time to make up assignments to get a decent final grade, but narrowly failed the final exam and ended up having to take the course again?

That sums up the Michigan Wolverines’ loss to the Washington Huskies on Saturday night. Michigan played pretty poorly early in the game in Seattle, but turned the game around for about a quarter and a half until it shot itself in the foot too many times, leading to the Wolverines’ first conference loss since 2021.

There’s a lot to reveal in another tale of two halves, so let’s get to the positional notes.

Quarterbacks: C

Alex Orji got the start, and a quarter into the game he failed to get the job done. Also included: super-senior Jack Tuttle, who was widely believed to be the best quarterback in the room early in the season but was sidelined due to injury. He made his season debut on Saturday and led the Wolverines to three consecutive shots on goal as soon as he entered the game. He erased a 14-0 deficit and took the lead 17:14 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.

However, Tuttle’s spell was short-lived as he committed two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter, a fumble at Michigan’s own 32-yard line and an interception at the Wolverines’ 31-yard line, allowing Washington to take the lead Seal the game. Orji’s final stat line was 3 of 7 for 15 yards and Tuttle completed 10 passes on 18 attempts for 98 yards. It was a bad day to be a Michigan quarterback.

Running Backs: B

The running game seemed nonexistent when Orji was in the game, but it took on new life when Moore threw in Tuttle. Michigan had just 18 rushing yards in the first quarter. But the Wolverines’ Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards shined in the second half, combining for 104 rushing yards on 14 carries, including a 39-yard touchdown by Edwards.

The problem is that for the second week in a row, the running game couldn’t be sustained throughout the entire second half. Michigan managed just 29 rushing yards in the third and 23 yards on the ground in the fourth, disappearing when Michigan had to sustain its drives. The numbers looked good for Edwards and Mullings, who rushed for a total of 95 and 49 yards, respectively, but timing is all that lies between the sticks.

Wide Receiver: C-

Offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell wanted to throw the ball to Tuttle, but not to the receivers. Three wide receivers had targets Saturday night, but those targets didn’t result in many yards or big plays. Michigan saw Semaj Morgan, Tyler Morris and Amorion Walker all catch a ball and combine for 48 total yards. For the fifth week in a row, the receivers did not appear on the schedule and it continues to raise questions about their reliability going forward.

Tight Ends: B+

The tight ends are the heart and soul of the Wolverines’ entire offense. We continued to see Colston Loveland score the most on the team with 11, and he turned those into six catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Marlin Klein also caught a pass to end the game and continually assisted the tackles in blocking. However, despite the volume, the ball wasn’t going his way late in the game and Michigan suffered for it.

Offensive line: C

The Wolverines played on the road with a brand new offensive line. Left tackle Myles Hinton and center Dominick Giudice were both on the injury report and were replaced by Jeff Persi and Greg Crippen, respectively. Going out on the road in a hostile environment and with a quarterback change in the middle of a game is not a good recipe for success, especially for backup offensive linemen.

The line was constantly beaten by the Washington edge rushers, who struggled to create gaps in the run game, giving up three tackles for a loss and botching three straight snaps on fourth-and-inches late in the fourth quarter. Hopefully the bye week allows the line to get healthy, because the road will only get more difficult.

Defensive line: A-

If we were to give individual grades, Mason Graham and Josaiah Stewart would receive A+ grades, and the rest of the group would land in the high B category. Graham was everywhere on Saturday, collecting half a sack and a blocked punt. Stewart took advantage of the odd man and made four tackles (two for loss) and a sack. Kenneth Grant, TJ Guy and Rayshaun Benny each finished with four tackles.

Linebacker: B

It was no surprise that the linebacker room led the team in tackles again this week. Ernest Hausmann finished with 12 and Jaishawn Barham with six. Before things went wrong, Hausmann made the biggest play of the game, intercepting Washington quarterback Will Rogers to steal the Huskies’ momentum and turn the field over. It was a typical day with extreme highs and catastrophic lows for the second stage canceling each other out.

Defensive Backs: C

Michigan was without Jaden Mangham, Ja’Den McBurrows, Wesley Walker (and Rod Moore) for the second straight game, but that’s no excuse for how the secondary played against Washington on Saturday. Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill and Brandyn Hillman had big performances in their absence against Minnesota last week, but they were injured left and right against the Huskies. At several points during the game, questions were raised about Hill’s cleats and whether he had enough traction to cut as he kept slipping, and the safety of Makari Paige giving up several deep balls, resulting in three completions of more than 35 yards led. Washington threw the ball at will, totaling 315 pass yards to seven different receivers, and Michigan had no answer offensively. Something has to be done in the secondary or Illinois, Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State will have a field day.

Special Teams: B

Kicker Dominic Zvada didn’t have many opportunities to take over the game in Seattle, making his only attempt from 45 yards out. Punter Tommy Doman was once again questionable, averaging just 37 yards per punt and going for 44 yards. Michigan did block a Grady Gross kick courtesy of Graham, but the special forces unit was unable to take over the game in any way.