Michigan Football: 3 overreactions from Wisconsin win

Overreaction 3: Losing Graham Mertz changed the outcome of the end result.

This is unlikely, but Mertz was beginning to heat up before Dax Hill knocked him out with a viscous, clean shoulder to rib shot in the third quarter.

Wisconsin was only down by three at this point and had the momentum on their side because they scored a touchdown right before halftime that allowed them to get within striking distance.

However, Mertz got off to such a porous start, that it put him and his teammates too far behind the eight ball. Thanks to a rare Michigan football miscue on a kickoff though they fought back into it and found a way to get behind by three and make it close.

When he got hurt it felt like the life was sucked out of their offensive attack. Backup Chase Wolf didn’t fare any better but somehow managed to post a meaningless touchdown when it didn’t matter.

Michigan’s defense pinned their ears back and stuck the dagger in the Badgers once Wolf took over. Mike Macdonald’s unit notched six total sacks, three turnovers and held Wisconsin to a sluggish 1.3 yards a rush.

Even if Mertz would have remained in it, it’s hard to imagine him making much of a difference against Michigan’s equipped defenders.