Michigan Football begins to disappear from sight

Michigan football is quickly disappearing off the national radar after an embarrassing loss to Penn State.

How bad can it be when you can’t wait for the clock to run out on a game that is obviously lost, when the only thing left to play for is personal pride and dignity? Pretty bad.

Related Story: 3 Takeaways from Penn State loss

That’s how it was for Michigan football in the closing seconds of the game Saturday night against Penn State, when the Nittany Lions were threatening to score yet again. It was already a blow out, and there they were again, within a few yards of the end zone, trying to avenge their own loss last year in Ann Arbor.

And I was thinking, “Please, just let this be over.”

Penn State looked like the no. 2 team in the country, an almost certain playoff team, and Michigan football looked, well, let’s be honest, unprepared, stunned (in the first minutes especially), ineffective, mediocre, and an embarrassment for a prime-time TV game.

Even Kirk Herbstreit, calling the game for ABC and not known for being particularly kind to Michigan football, tried to be generous by reminding fans that the Wolverines were “young.”

Well, okay. That’s something we can all hold on to.

Let’s bury the idea once and for all that Michigan simply had a bad game against Michigan State, the first loss of the season, but is otherwise a solid and promising team, one that could sneak into Happy Valley (or Columbus) and steal a win.

Penn State, as well-balanced a team as I have seen in a long time, put that idea to rest. Michigan isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. A third place finish in the Big Ten East, a second-tier bowl invitation, and high hopes for next year – that’s where we’re headed.

Michigan Wolverines Football

From a no. 6 national ranking just a few weeks ago, Michigan has fallen off the charts. S&P came out first and dropped Michigan to no. 27, which is about right. A top 10 defense and a bottom 50 offense must average out to about 27. I’ll leave the rest of you to do the math.

Then came the Amway Coaches Poll which dropped Michigan to no. 25, so still alive, right? Well, maybe not. Michigan ranks only two votes above Memphis. That’s tough to see. I had to look away.

And finally, with the AP Poll Michigan dropped out of the top 25 altogether. Disappeared from sight, which is probably what most of the players wanted to do after the game on Saturday night.

Look, this isn’t what any of us hoped for, and it’s more than a mid-season slump. This is a team that isn’t showing much progress, much killer instinct, or much of anything. In fact, we seem to have taken a step backward, particularly on defense.

It’s time for some leadership, and that should be coming from the $9 million man. Enough of this “better today than we were yesterday, better tomorrow than we were today” stuff, and a lot more of the “we’re building for 2018.”

Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time

I think it’s time to get Brandon Peters into the huddle and give the young man some playing time. Please, a spark. Some imagination. Something.