Dan Lanning didn't get to rub Kyle Whittingham's nose in it as much as he wanted to, but the Oregon Ducks' head coach made his point all the same.
Oregon settled for a 31-7 win. Lanning was trying to score a final touchdown to make it 35-7 and kicked a field goal instead. It didn't really matter, though. For Michigan football fans, the point hit home.
The Wolverines ran for over 200 yards against Oregon. Both quarterbacks were terrible, and the defense was as bad as it has been all season. You can say the offense wasn't great, yet the Ducks rolled up 467 yards of total offense.
It was a disaster on both sides of the ball. Here are four takeaways from the 31-7 loss.
The Michigan defense was as bad as the offense
The Wolverines gave up 341 passing yards and four touchdown passes to Dylan Raiola. It was easily the worst showing of the season. Even on that side of the ball, things have turned into a disaster. Guys were missing tackles and letting people run free. There were five plays allowed that were 36 yards or longer.
It seems like the will of the Michigan defense has been broken.
Even as the offense attempted to keep the game close at 14-7, the defense allowed Oregon to drive more than 90 yards in the final minute of the first half, culminating in a 59-yard touchdown pass to Dakorien Moore.
The game was over at that point.
Offense is still a disaster
Things were slightly better under Jim Harding, but Michigan football finished with less than 300 total yards and scored only seven points. Down 21-7, the Wolverines had a goal-to-go situation and failed to score after a long drive. That was the final nail in the coffin.
Michigan's quarterbacks completed 6-of-20 passes for 71 yards. It was horrendous. Tommy Carr made some plays with his feet; however, in the last three losses, Michigan has only scored 19 points.
The one bright spot
Maybe the only thing to feel good about was the 100-yard effort from Savion Hiter. With Bryce Underwood in the game, after a couple of solid runs, Hiter was able to break a 70-yard touchdown run.
It gave Michigan some life. The Wolverines couldn't sustain much offense after that, or finish a drive, but it was good to see the running game get 215 yards on 40 carries. Hiter finished with 107 on 13.
Kyle Whittingham has to go
Nothing we saw Saturday should change the calculus. Whittingham is a disaster. He's too old for a rebuild and needs to be fired as soon as possible.
Whatever happens, he cannot be the head coach next season.
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