Michigan football: 5 things that went wrong against Wisconsin
By Jacob Shames
When Michigan football pulled off a 24-21 double-overtime win over Army two weeks ago it came with a sigh of relief but also a warning.
The warning was as follows: If the Wolverines didn’t take advantage of their bye week and played equally as poorly at a superior Wisconsin team fourteen days later, they would lose and lose badly, no question about it.
Saturday, that nightmare scenario came to predictable fruition.
The Badgers had their way with Michigan all afternoon long, winning, 35-14, and never seeming challenged. They dominated in the first quarter behind star running back Jonathan Taylor, and when he went down with cramps in the second quarter, they kept dominating. They led, 28-0, at halftime, and outgained the Wolverines 489-289.
For the Wolverines, the loss was a gut-punch of the highest order. With as poorly as they had played to open the season, the result was one many could have seen coming. That doesn’t lessen the blow, nor does it make Michigan’s deficiencies any less excusable.
Just what went wrong in Madison? Well, a lot of things, but here’s a few of them: