Michigan football: 5 things that went wrong against Wisconsin

Poor offensive line

All three of the Wolverines’ talented pass-catchers have the strength and speed to be able to stretch a defense over the top, make tough catches in traffic and work over the middle of the field.

Thanks to an atrocious offensive line performance, however, they never got the chance to do so.

The Wolverines were overwhelmed by a small Army defensive line two weeks ago, and the return of left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. didn’t do anything to help. Patterson took only two sacks, which seems low considering he basically never had any time to set his feet and throw. When he did, most of his options were blanketed. When Dylan McCaffrey came in to start the second half in relief of the senior, it seemed like an act of mercy.

It didn’t go any better in the running game, either. In the first half, Michigan’s longest carry was for six yards.

What should have been the experienced foundation of an explosive offense, and what was projected to be the Wolverines’ best group of the Jim Harbaugh era, was nowhere to be seen Saturday.