Michigan Wolverines news: Fiesta bowl officials ripped, Ohio State out and more

It was a tough day to be a fan of the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday as Michigan football lost a heartbreaker in the College Football Playoff. Here’s the news roundup. 

The Fiesta Bowl loss still hurts, badly and for Michigan football fans, it wil hurt for a while.

That’s because Michigan football should have won the game. TCU won the trenches but the Wolverines also made mistakes you can’t make in a College Football Playoff game.

Two interceptions returned for touchdowns were the difference, as was a turnover on downs at the two-yard line and a fumble at the one. That’s basically four turnovers and in a one-score game, well, it leaves a lot to think about.

One thing Michigan football fans will be thinking about for a long time is the poor officiating. Yes, the Wolverines had their chances — no doubt about it.

But two calls in a short sequence in the second quarter really hurt. First, Rod Moore’s interception wasn’t spotted right and Michigan lost about two yards — frankly something that should never happen.

However, the missed call on Roman Wilson’s touchdown (one play later) was egregious. Sort of like the Aidan Hutchinson TD called back against Michigan State in 2021, there was no evidence that Wilson got possession of the ball before he was in the end zone.

What’s the point of having replay if they can’t get it right?

Joel Klatt, Mike Greenberg, and others ripped the officials, which is justified. Those two yards and the missed call right before a fumble ended up being huge plays in the game.

TCU could still have won and Michigan had more than its share of missed opportunities, but it’s a different game at 14-10. The Horned Frogs went up 21-3 right after and the climb wouldn’t have been so steep if the officials could actually do their job.

Ohio State drops a heartbreaker to Georgia

The only thing worse than losing a College Football Playoff game would have been watching Ohio win against Georgia and then win the national championship.

Thankfully, the Buckeyes choked away a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and missed a game-winning field goal with a few seconds left.

At the very least, Michigan football fans can still revel in their second straight win over Ohio State and their second straight Big Ten title, something that would have been spoiled a little if the Buckeyes rallied to win it all.

I won’t lie, that improved my mood slightly as I went to bed with fumbles and interceptions dancing in my head.

Jim Harbaugh admits bad call

Give credit to Jim Harbaugh who admitted he made a terrible decision with the “Philly Special” on the fourth-and-goal at the two. Why Michigan football didn’t run the ball with McCarthy near the goal line, I’ll never know.

I get trying not to run him, but just like the Ohio State game, TCU was crashing down hard on Donovan Edwards because McCarthy refused to keep it. The coaching staff needs to make that option more realistic especially near the goal line.

Edwards also should have gotten the ball near the goal line, although he fumbled out of bounds a few times during the game too and maybe there was a concern about ball protection due to the cast.

At any rate, if you run your QB near the end zone in the first half, you’re probably playing Georgia for the national championship.

Michigan Wolverines women’s basketball drops game to Ohio State

After two really good wins, the Michigan women’s basketball team went on the road against third-ranked Ohio State and fell short 66-57 on Saturday.

Leigha Brown and Laila Phelia were a combined 3-of-17 from the field and Emily Kiser was also limited to 10 points. Michigan shot just 2-of-18 from 3-point range and also turned the ball over a whopping 27 times.

It was the first Big Ten loss of the season for the Wolverines (12-2, 2-1) who’ll be back on the floor Tuesday against Penn State in Ann Arbor.

Michigan basketball home against Maryland

Since we might be too depressed to get the typical preview up for Michigan basketball, the Wolverines will be back at Crisler for a massive game against Maryland (4:30 PM EST, FS1) on Sunday.

The Wolverines are 7-5 following a brutal loss to Central Michigan earlier this week and it’s become desperation time. There are a lot of games to go (19 in the Big Ten), so there is time but the signs of trouble have been brewing.

Michigan’s effort has been pathetic and the execution late in games has almost been worse. I still have faith in Juwan Howard though and I’m hoping to see a better effort on Sunday.