Michigan football has become a tough watch this season, even for those who once wore the winged helmet with pride. The losses are piling up, and the patience is running thin for Taylor Lewan, a former Wolverine, as the losses follow him home and turn into anger around the house that his kids just do not understand.
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“Every week before Michigan plays, I have so much optimism that this is the week it finally clicks,” Lewan posted on X. “Every week I have to explain to my kids why their dad is all of a sudden in a bad mood.”
The latest loss was 15-6 at home to the Spartans that had lost six straight games before Saturday. Michigan is 5-4 and 2-4 in the Big Ten in Kyle Whittingham’s first year, with Oregon, UCLA and Ohio State left to finish the season.
Lewan also raised his concern with the kicker for Michigan, writing “this kicker might be the death of me,” as freshman Jacob Baggett hit the upright on a 26-yard try on Saturday. Michigan has now missed five of its last seven field goals. Lewan played left tackle at Michigan from 2009 to 2013 after a redshirt year, started 48 of 50 games, and was a two-time All-American. He was the Big Ten’s top offensive lineman in 2013, then went 11th overall to the Tennessee Titans in 2014.
Lewan’s raw frustration goes way beyond standard fan heartbreak. Former players who lived through elite standards are watching the program’s offensive identity slip away under Whittingham, and that deep-rooted disconnect is echoing across the entire alumni network as losses pile up.
After the Minnesota loss earlier this season, Lewan told Josh Pate that he felt broken. A former Wolverine with such a resume knows what a good Michigan line looks like, and Saturday’s game wasn’t that, as the program ran for 54 yards. Michigan was a two-touchdown favorite against Michigan State, which played without its top three running backs and 14 players overall. It trailed 6-0 at halftime with 78 yards, and the crowd booed.
The Spartans then went 17 plays and 79 yards from their own 1-yard line, using 10:41 for a 38-yard field goal. Michigan finished with 192 yards and four turnovers to none of the Spartans, who outgained them 298-192.
According to Steve Clarke, passed along on X by Sam Webb, Michigan hadn’t been shut out in the first half at home three times in one season since 1934, 92 years ago. Tom Fornelli added on X that the problem isn’t only losing at home to Michigan State. It’s getting shut out at home by a team that was 0-5 in Big Ten play.
Liam Boyd scored all 15 Michigan State points on five field goals. Cornerback NiJhay Burt had an interception and a fumble recovery, and Alessio Milivojevic went 21 of 32 for 188 yards. For Michigan, freshman Tommy Carr made his third start in place of Bryce Underwood, who was benched during the Penn State win on Oct. 17.
Carr went 14 of 26 for 138 yards with two interceptions, a week after throwing for 266 against Rutgers. Michigan’s only touchdown came with 1:35 left, and the two-point try failed. The Wolverines have beaten Western Michigan 13-12, Oklahoma (17-10), UTEP (52-17), Penn State (21-18) and Rutgers (28-21).
Michigan has lost to Iowa, Minnesota, 13-6 in overtime to Indiana, and now 15-6 to Michigan State. Michigan’s defense is fourth nationally at 250 yards a game, and the offense ranks 126th.
Up next is Oregon in Eugene on November 14, a team that just scored 38 straight against Ohio State. Unbeaten UCLA visits Ann Arbor on November 21, and the regular season ends at Ohio State on November 28. Michigan was unranked before Saturday, and all four of its losses are Big Ten losses, so a playoff case is hard to make. Michigan needs one win in those three to reach six, the usual bowl-eligibility mark.