Michigan Football: 5 things we learned from loss to Michigan State

Michigan’s defense dropped the ball

An elite quarterback may have stuck the dagger in Michigan State on Saturday, but even so, 33 points should have been enough for Michigan football to win the game.

Of course, things would feel different if Hutchinson’s touchdown would have counted but in the fourth quarter, the defense needed to make a play to put the game away and couldn’t do it.

RJ Moten dropped an interception and David Ojabo forced a fumble that the Spartans were able to recover at their own 20-yard line. It was a stop and the Wolverines fumbled it right back, which didn’t help, but still, the defense wasn’t as good as anticipated.

What was really frustrating was how the Spartans were able to beat Michigan football with tempo. The Wolverines sub in a lot of players on defense and Michigan State took advantage, including on multiple touchdown runs by Kenneth Walker.

The defense made some big plays, but not enough of them, and allowing Walker to run for 195 yards and five touchdowns is a big reason the Wolverines are heading home 7-1, not 8-0.