Michigan’s weaknesses are on full display in loss to Washington: Lessons learned from title game rematch

SEATTLE, Wash. – In the sixth game of his seventh year of college football, Jack Tuttle came off the bench and took his first snap of the season. And Michigan’s wild ride at quarterback continued.

Tuttle got Michigan’s offense going after replacing Alex Orji, but his fumble in the fourth quarter opened the door for Washington to score a touchdown, and an interception on the next drive sealed a 27-17 win for Washington, which beat Michigan’s 27-1 snapped. Winning streak against Big Ten opponents.

Here are four instant takeaways.

Tuttle’s spark quickly fizzled out

Michigan trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter after suffering a punt on its first three drives. The game got out of hand and Michigan’s offense seemed helpless to stop it. At that point, Michigan traded for Tuttle, who had struggled with injuries throughout the offseason and was only recently cleared to play.

Tuttle completed 9 of 17 passes for 92 yards, helping the Wolverines score 17 unanswered points and take the lead. His ability to cycle through his progressions and find open receivers was sorely lacking in the first five games of the season and immediately gave the offense a boost. Tuttle also has the ability to extend plays with his legs, as he demonstrated by escaping the pocket and finding a wide-open Colston Loveland in the end zone for a touchdown in the third quarter.

The magic was short-lived, however, as Michigan had back-to-back three-and-outs before Tuttle’s fumble in the fourth quarter. There’s no doubt the offense was more dynamic with Tuttle at quarterback, and he seemed to be an improvement over Orji and Davis Warren, the quarterbacks who started Michigan’s first six games together. It would make sense to give Tuttle a chance to start after a week off, but the loss left Michigan looking again. — Gentle

The defense’s tough start hurt Michigan

Michigan’s offense wasn’t solely responsible for giving the Wolverines a 14-0 lead. The defense also had a hand in this, as Washington had Michigan’s defense on its heels in the first quarter. The Huskies attacked Michigan vertically, running big plays to wide receivers Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson and targeting cornerback Jyaire Hill, as teams have successfully done at times this season.

Michigan did some good work on defense, sacking quarterback Will Rogers four times and snapping its streak of 269 consecutive pass attempts without an interception on a pick by linebacker Ernest Hausmann in the fourth quarter. The offense put the defense in a bad situation again after Tuttle’s fumble, and Washington converted a short field for the touchdown. Michigan’s defense played well enough starting in the second quarter to win, but for a team with little margin for error, the difficult first quarter was difficult to overcome. — Gentle

The Wolverines are reeling

Michigan came into this game with a 4-1 record and No. 10 national ranking, but anyone who watched the Wolverines could tell they were struggling. The quarterback situation was at the top of the list, and after a brief spark from Tuttle, it’s still there.

This loss all but eliminates Michigan from the conversation for the College Football Playoff — the Wolverines entered Saturday with just an eight percent chance of making it The athlete‘s model. Michigan’s schedule becomes much more difficult in the second half of the season with home games against Oregon and road games against Illinois, Ohio State and undefeated Indiana. With an off week ahead of it, Michigan needs to do some soul-searching and figure out how to keep this season from going south. — Gentle

Washington’s Revenge?

It’s hard to say Washington avenged the national championship game against Michigan given how different both teams are, but it’s still an important win. It’s a proof of concept that this program can be successful in the Big Ten.

Washington joined the league out of necessity when the Pac-12 fell apart in August 2023, knowing it could be at a financial disadvantage compared to the conference’s top programs. It lost at Rutgers last week. But Ohio State and Michigan remain the faces of the Big Ten, and the Huskies defeated one of them in their first year. This is an encouraging sign as Jedd Fisch works to rebuild the program after Kalen DeBoer. — almond

(Photo: Joe Nicholson / Imagn Images)