The Michigan Wolverines (5-4) hit a new low this weekend. The 38-17 loss to no. 1 Oregon (9-0) didn’t come as a surprise. However, it left an egregious stat for first-year HC Sherrone Moore and co. to cope. The program has now lost more games in less than 60 days than it did in the previous 3 seasons. While losing to the best team in the country is not the end of the world, the manner in which one particular drive unfolded in the clutch left a bad taste in the Wolverines’ mouths.

Albeit the final scoreline reads a handy defeat for Michigan, it was a two-score game in the closing stages, with Michigan in possession of the football in the red zone. Sherrone Moore and his OC Kirk Campbell then committed a sin which proved fatal. That is according to Wolverines’ fan James Yoder.

Yoder took to his YouTube channel to say some choice words in the aftermath of the loss. “The coaching malpractice that I felt was the most noticeable was [that] Davis Warren was having himself a heck of a second half. He was playing well. You were feeling confident as a Michigan football fan. I mean, he’s not JJ McCarthy, he’s not Tom Brady. But he was feeling like he was playing good enough to put Michigan in position to score points. Which he did”.

“[Towards the end of the game] Michigan’s down inside the 10 yard line. They’re going to go for it on third down, they’re going to go for it fourth down. And what does Michigan do after a long play that gets Michigan into score in position? They put Alex Orji in the game on third down. Then, on fourth down, they go with a reverse pass back to Orji, et cetera. That was honestly one of the worst play calls I’ve ever seen in my life from a Michigan football team, and I watched this program for, you know, over 30 years, at this point,” Yoder added.

Sheesh! That’s gotta sting. Michigan’s offensive issues have been the bane of their season. The failure to replace JJ McCarthy adequately has been the crux of the matter. Once again, not having the utmost confidence in Warren led to 4-and-out on a drive that potentially could have sparked life into Moore’s tenure so far. But does Moore deserve to shoulder all the scrutiny himself?

A case for why Sherrone Moore’s shortcomings aren’t all his doing

Off the back of a national championship, expectations from the season were sky-high. The luster of the trophy perhaps made many factions blinded to just how big a turnover was due in Ann Arbor. Michigan did not just lose their head coach and quarterback to the NFL. A total of 18 players from the championship roster either left or are injured.

Sherrone Moore’s escalation to head coach coincided with Kirk Campbell being promoted to OC from the Quarterbacks’ coach role. Campbell’s offensive play-calling has left a lot to be desired amongst the fans. Many believe he’s firmly on the hot seat as the leader of an offense which has failed to break 20 points since September.

The inexperience on the sideline has been on full display at the “Big House” all year. A Harbaugh-sized shadow looms over the Wolverines. Michigan heads to Indiana (9-0) next weekend before a bye. Results don’t seem to be on the horizon anytime soon. As the pressure continues to mount on the coaching staff, they face an uphill battle to merely make bowl-eligibility.