It's hard to defend the Michigan football coaching staff at times, especially when head coach Sherrone Moore allows nearly 20 seconds to run off the clock instead of using a timeout in the final minute.
Did Moore forget he had a timeout to use? When he called it, Moore looked like he had zoned out on the sideline, in a 20-15 game Michigan football still had a chance to win. It would have taken a miracle, sure, but it's starting to feel like it will take a miracle to turn around the current program, which fell to 5-5 on the season after another miserable offensive performance.
Twice, Michigan football got inside the 10-yard line only to settle for field goals after unimaginative play calls. The running game didn't work and the passing game worked even less. The offense managed just 206 yards. The Wolverines ran for 69 and still had 16 first downs, two more than Indiana.
That's how dominant the defense was. Michigan football had four sacks -- two from TJ Guy on three plays. U-M gave its offense a first-and-goal after a Zeke Berry interception, only to see the offense settle for three points.
It's almost uncanny how bad this Michigan team is at creating explosive plays. The Wolverines didn't have a single run over eight yards or a pass over 16. They still don't have a completion of more than 40 yards -- probably because they rarely throw more than a few yards downfield.
The poor offensive line doesn't help, but that's as big of an indictment of Moore as anyhting else. He was their coach the past few seasons but Greg Crippen, Giovanni El-Hadi, and Andrew Gentry were all blue-chip recruits with multiple seasons to develop under Sherrone. Clearly they didn't.
The offensive line fell off a cliff, just like the offense. Then, Moore says that Ben Hall and Donovan Edwards looked better in practice so they got more carries early. Edwards I get but Hall isn't as good as Kalel Mullings as Michigan wasted carries near the goal line on him.
Wink kept things pretty basic and the Wolverines allowed just 246 yards. Indiana has the second-best scoring offense in college football. That's impressive as hell. The defensive line dominated. But it wasn't enough because Michigan has the worst offense in college football.
It's not hyperbole to say that. It is, especially with some of the pieces available. Moore isn't going to get fired, but Kirk Campbell needs to be, otherwise, Sherrone will never stand a chance.
Either way, things have fallen apart much faster than we all predicted, which in hindsight, is something we should have foreseen. Moore wasn't going to be Jim Harbaugh.
My hope right now is that he's not another Brady Hoke.