Depth Dossier: Michigan Wolverines (Week 10)

Show Notes

A Week After Looking Like a Finished Product, Michigan's Offense Disappeared Entirely The Depth Dossier breaks down what Michigan's Week 10 game against Michigan State changed on the depth chart: injuries, snap shares and who is moving up or down.

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This is the Depth Dossier: the Michigan Wolverines, Week 10.

Michigan's offense looked like a finished product a week ago. This week, it just disappeared, and the Wolverines paid for it, losing the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021 in a 6 to 15 loss to Michigan State.

Let's start with the ugly numbers. Michigan managed only 192 total yards, just 54 of those on the ground, and converted two of ten third downs. Quarterback Tommy Carr, who'd just turned in the best game of his career against Rutgers, finished 14 for 26 passing for 138 yards with two interceptions and got sacked five times. He never found any rhythm behind an offensive line that couldn't block anybody. Add in lost fumbles from running back Bryson Kuzdzal and receiver Andrew Marsh, and that's four turnovers total, which kept stranding a defense that was actually playing well enough to win. Running back Savion Hiter's touchdown with 1:35 left kept it from being a shutout. Michigan sits at 5 and 4, 2 and 4 in the Big Ten, with Oregon, UCLA and Ohio State still on the schedule.

Here's the thing, though. The final score really undersells how well Michigan's defense played. Michigan State held the ball for over 38 minutes to Michigan's under 22, and still never scored a touchdown. Four field goals, zero trips to the end zone. Michigan State's biggest drive came right after halftime, 17 plays, 79 yards, almost 11 minutes off the clock, starting at their own 1-yard line. All that time and all they got was a field goal. That's the whole game right there. The defense bent for most of 11 minutes and gave up three points, then had to go right back out because the offense couldn't flip the field.

Those turnovers are really what decided the margin. Carr's first interception on the opening possession went right through receiver JJ Buchanan's hands before a Michigan State safety plucked it away, which set the tone early.

Special teams didn't help either. Kicker Jacob Baggett missed a 26-yard field goal off the upright, while Michigan State's kicker made all five of his attempts. In a nine-point game, that swing matters.

Without Hiter's late touchdown, Michigan would have taken its first home shutout since 1967. Only one Michigan drive all night produced points, and just two possessions lasted more than four plays.

Now, there were no in-game injuries reported, so what we're watching here is about performance, not availability. Carr's follow-up to his career day was rough. Five sacks, two picks, and he looked uncomfortable handling pressure. His job isn't in any danger, but questions about the offensive line in front of him, and how offensive coordinator Jason Beck adjusts the play-calling to protect him, are fair now. The program's own read on the night was that Carr held onto the ball too long and never settled into the pocket.

On defense, linebacker Troy Bowles had a career-high 15 tackles, six of them solo, and looks like a weekly building block no matter what the offense does. Defensive end John Henry Daley, back after missing the previous game, was the best individual story of the night. Eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, tying his career high and reestablishing himself as Michigan's most disruptive player up front.

At running back, Hiter remains the guy who moves the chains when the offense needs it, and he scored the only touchdown. But Kuzdzal's lost fumble is worth watching in a crowded backfield. Buchanan still flashed some ability, including a 31-yard catch on the final drive, but that dropped interception keeps his case as a true number one receiver unsettled.

Michigan heads to Oregon next with a defense that's earned a lot more trust than the offense has, and bowl eligibility now runs straight through the hardest part of the schedule.

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