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Michigan's football loss to Oregon shows true CFP succession: mediocrity

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In case you haven't noticed, folks, the beautiful dream is over. Michigan football fans who have been burying their heads in their pillows and clinging to the sweet smell of a national championship since September can no longer avoid the smell coming from the Big House kitchen.

And it's not coffee.

It's mediocrity.

That trait was on full display Saturday in U-M's fourth loss of the season, when Oregon, the No. 1 team in the country, left the Wolverines on their own turf, 38-17. The Michigan offense couldn't keep up, and the Ducks swallowed the UM defense the way real ducks swallow breadcrumbs, scoring four touchdowns before halftime.

The last of those came from Oregon's Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who took a snap and ran straight, untouched, 23 yards into the end zone. Rarely do you see a quarterback run so straight, so alone and for this distance. A monk has more company.

Required reading: Michigan has so many problems in its loss to Oregon that it's hard to pick the biggest one

It was one of numerous embarrassments Saturday for a Michigan program that was already two-thirds of the way through its undefeated season at this point last year and had stunning performances from its quarterback, running back, defensive line and secondary. No longer. We all know UM lost 18 starters. We all know Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL and left the cupboards bare, especially under center. We all know that new coach Sherrone Moore has his hands full. We all know that UM's best defensive back, Will Johnson, was out Saturday.

We all know that just last week the Wolverines had one of their quarterbacks retire from football and a top QB recruit decommit.

We know all that. We knew it was starting.

That didn't make it any easier to watch.

“The most important thing … is to win the football game,” said Davis Warren, who finished Saturday with 165 passing yards and two touchdowns in his second stint as starting quarterback. “As an offense, we have to start faster…to be better on third down…keep our defense off the field. … But our most important job is to win the football game.”

And that didn't happen.

Again.

A painful trick game

Saturday presented an opportunity to significantly improve UM's legacy in 2024. Oregon is a bit like last year's Michigan team: on the rise, believes in the program, has a hot quarterback and is undefeated as the No. 1 team in the country. One surprise could have changed everything in Ann Arbor.

Unfortunately, the Ducks agreed with their math (sorry, too easy), and the Wolverines agreed with theirs. UM's pathetic passing game couldn't keep them on the field early, especially on third downs, and the defense had no answer for Gabriel and his accuracy on the run.

“They did well,” Moore said. “We need to continue to focus on small details.”

Yes. And big ones.

Give UM the credit for not giving up. That hardly sounds like much. But the way the Wolverines played in the first half, they might have been forgiven for coming out late in the second half. They gave up touchdown drives of 63, 75, 80 and 94 yards. And their offense had numerous three-and-outs.

“We had a real heart-to-heart at halftime,” Warren recalled, “and said, 'We've got to go now.' ”

And they have actually improved. Warren made some nice throws, Colston Loveland (seven catches, 112 yards) had some great catch-and-runs and the Wolverines kept it interesting, even nearly making it a one-score game midway through the fourth quarter.

But a 70-yard drive ended with a stupid trick play call on fourth down, a putback to Semaj Morgan that resulted in him throwing the ball out of the end zone while his intended receiver, quarterback Alex Orji, was right in a television camera was running.

It was painful to watch.

On multiple levels.

A few moments later, Gabriel again escaped the Michigan defense (he threw for nearly 300 yards and wasn't sacked all game) and fired a 47-yard shot to Traeshon Holden. From then on, it was just a countdown until Oregon went home undefeated and Michigan simply went home.

“What are you playing for now?” Moore was asked after his team fell to 5-4 this season. “What’s the motivation?”

“The motivation is that you’re in Michigan,” Moore said. “That you wear a winged helmet, that you have a block 'M' on your chest.”

It's a good, defiant response from a college coach.

The problem is not the answer.

The problem is that he is asked the question.

That's all for a CFP miracle

Saturday's loss officially shuts down any miracle playoff dreams. Sure, if the Wolverines had somehow stunned No. 1 Oregon, then come back the next week and knocked off No. 13 Indiana and upset No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus two weeks later, you could even count that three defeats claim they deserve a place in the last 12.

And if Kamala Harris wins 49 states on Tuesday. …

The point is that it didn't happen. And most likely, Michigan will finish with five or six losses and get a minor bowl game. But there's a chance that even that won't happen. In any case, it's quite a drop from last season's peak. And you wonder how the players who remember last year's sunshine will deal with this year's mud.

“Our goal going into the year is to beat Michigan State, beat Ohio State, win a Big Ten title and win a national title,” Warren said. “Of course (that’s) disappointing, but it’s not our job right now to have that perspective to feel bad about ourselves. …

“If you use that wide angle view all the time, you’ll get stuck.”

That's why the players don't accept it. But fans do. And I have to disagree a bit with Warren's “wide lens” assessment. Michigan can no longer just set its sights on MSU and Ohio State. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will now regularly stand in the way of all of his Big Ten and national team dreams, and UM coaches would do well to give the Ducks, Huskies and Trojans the same sense of rivalry that they do the Spartans and Buckeyes.

“Is there a specific goal you can rally your team towards now?” Moore was asked.

“Winning,” he snapped. “How do we win the next game and the next and the next?”

Even if they do (and that seems unlikely if you've watched Ohio State), nothing significant will change. All titles are gone. The best trophy they can hope for has the name of a bowl on it.

And Wolverines Nation is generally not a patient bunch.

Still, there has been relatively little outcry about the slow decline of the 2024 season. Do you find that strange? Maybe last year's cheer will turn this year's glasses pink. Or maybe fans want to give Moore a longer career. I have a friend who is a huge Michigan fan and says he's watching last year's games back to back every week this year and reliving the joy.

Whatever floats your boat. A national title gives you grace (although programs like Alabama expect it every year). But when you see how Oregon went from Heisman finalist Bo Nix last year to Heisman candidate Gabriel this year, it seems criminal that the Wolverines switched to a three-person committee at JJ McCarthy's most important position.

What a difference a year makes. The dream is over. Wake up and smell the record. Four losses to five wins, then watching Oregon prance off the field on Saturday, rejoicing in an undefeated record and fantasizing about what's to come must make Michigan fans nostalgic. Or at least they wished they could go back to sleep.

Contact Mitch Albom: [email protected]. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchhalbom.

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