The future feels bleak for Michigan football

Thud. That is the sound of the Michigan Wolverines' season coming to a full halt. After a win against the Michigan State Spartans the week before, the Michigan football team fell to the Oregon Ducks, 38-17, the week after.

Many things could be said about what lost the game for the Wolverines but there is no bigger observation than Michigan football does not belong on the same field with Oregon. And now with three games left on the schedule, the Wolverines are dangerously close to going winless the rest of the way. What a mighty fall for the defending national champion.

What is more striking than the fact that Michigan football played two quarterbacks in the game because the coaching staff didn't seem particularly sold on either one, is the fact that Michigan no longer has the aura of the previous years under coach Jim Harbaugh.

Michigan football was a tough team. A team that would wear their opponent down and by the third quarter would lead the opposing team to submission. No longer does Michigan strike fear into their opponent. They are now a team, that others look at as complete shells of themselves. Against the Oregon Ducks, the Wolverines played like a team trying not to give the game away. They were playing it safe. But playing it safe continued to showcase the Wolverines' lack of capability at quarterback. In the same week when Jack Tuttle would announce his retirement from football due to his history of concussions and injuries (which was both saddening and completely understandable), the Wolverines continued to scrap together a position that seemed reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle.

The Wolverines' three remaining games are at Indiana, home against Northwestern and then at Ohio State for "The Game." An Indiana team that is undefeated and seems to be on a magical ride will obviously be a tough out. Northwestern, in most years, would have been an expected win but the same could have been said about Illinois at one point and Michigan lost that game.

Also, remember earlier in the season, Arkansas State could have easily beaten the Wolverines. And even with Michigan's previous history against Ohio State, it would be fool's gold to put any real investment in them going to Ohio State and winning this year, much to the chagrin of every Wolverine fan. Let Ryan Day run off into the November sun with a victory against Michigan and Michigan football fans will count the days until they can have their revenge.

The future feels awfully bleak. A year after winning a national championship, the Michigan Wolverines could end the season under 500. A storied program. A program stacked with a tradition of Heisman winning players and mythical head coaches. A place where accepting less is not an option. Wearing Maize and blue is a right of passage and birthright; not something you take lightly. It is because of all these things that watching this year's team has felt slightly unreal.

It will be increasingly important that the coaching staff and the Michigan brass look themselves in the mirror after this season and reassess what it means to be in this current college football landscape. At this current moment, the Michigan Wolverines are at a crossroads and in desperate need of redirection. This season is a glaring example of what happens when a team has lost its way.