According to some on social media, the sky is falling in Ann Arbor, and Michigan should fire Sherrone Moore immediately. The noise is growing louder because the money is not rolling in to their accounts like they want it to. So the profiles that don't go to games or reveal their true selves with their pettiness or are fake accounts run by Michigan State or Ohio State fans are delving deeper into clickbait sphere. The most amusing part of the overreactions is how priceless and asinine people will stoop to. Here are three of the best from the week seven loss.
1. Bryce Underwood should transfer
This will be a typical response from social media attention seekers anytime Michigan football drops a game. Underwood could leave Michigan at the end of the season, but he's the unchallenged starter for as long as he stays at Michigan. One loss to a reputable opponent won't change that. To demand a coaching change now is absurd. I can understand if Michigan was searching for a new one like Penn State is, but they are not, so this is an overreaction until there is no defending Moore and his staff.
You can argue that Biff Poggi brought out the best of Underwood, while Moore has resisted. To Moore's credit this is his first real quarterback that he has worked with as the head man. Moore has to swallow his pride and rewatch the Central Michigan film and let Bryce do what he did in that game moving forward. Michigan's slim playoff chances depend on it now more than ever.
2. USC would have sold out the coliseum regardless of Michigan's brand
There was some chatter by both coaches about the crowd size leading up to Saturday night. Coach Moore said the only reason the showdown would sell out is because Michigan was coming to town. Coach Riley took offense to that in the postgame interview with a jab at Moore's comments. For instance USC sold out the Penn State and Notre Dame matchups in 2024, which makes this sentiment an overreaction.
Factually speaking west coast fans are not as invested in football as traditional Big Ten diehards are. In last year's victory over USC, Trojan patrons were outnumbered by the stripe out. Saturday's crowd was probably somewhere hovering around the 65/35 range in favor of the home squad.
Brand names like Michigan always bring in fans from the furthest depths of the city. The official attendance number was greater than 75,000 visitors, compared to the 67,000 or so that watched the Trojans outlast Michigan State a few weeks ago. It proves that people will show up when the name on the jersey is known by locals far and wide.
3. A healthy Justice Haynes changes the outcome
It's hard to imagine Haynes making much of a difference because Michigan needed to score in bunches and in a hurry. The touchdown pass to Andrew Marsh were the kind of plays that the Wolverines had to have, but USC's defense would not oblige. Michigan's offense had zero plays over 20 yards, besides that. USC had a handful of them.
Not sustaining drives like the first possession of the game and the opening series of the third quarter were killers for the offense, which struggled to make hay. Once Haynes went out, Jordan Marshall was the only option at running back. Not having a third back in the rotation could have lightened the load on Marshall, because Michigan only ran it once with Bryson Kuzdal and eventually turned it over on an errant throw from Underwood during a second-half attempt at points.
Coach Moore expects Haynes to return for the Washington affair this week, but didn't want to risk further injury in the USC loss. Missing his big play ability puts more pressure on a freshman who is still in the infant stages of his getting his feet wet.