Michigan Wolverines

Michigan Football Loss At Iowa Hurts Like An SOB For Two Reasons

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Michigan football is no longer undefeated, and its loss at Iowa Saturday night hurt pretty badly for two main reasons, both of which should be in the past.

In its quest for perfection, Michigan football ran into a familiar road block. Great teams find ways to maneuver and get through; the Wolverines didn’t.

Michigan lost on a walk-off field goal in a game that really didn’t deserve to end any other way. Michigan looked like a shell of itself the entire night, and even though a win was obviously preferable, you can’t say Michigan lost a game it deserved to win.

That’s one of the key factors separating this loss from another loss the Wolverines suffered last season: the botched-punt-turned-touchdown that propelled Michigan State to one of the unlikeliest of victories.

Other than that, these two losses have a lot in common.

Michigan with a chance to ice the game? Check. Michigan not icing the game? Check. Ensuing heartbreak? Check.

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GBMWolverine 17hMichigan Football: Wolverines Fall to Iowa, Still Control Playoff Destiny

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Here’s an interesting stat for you: In half of Michigan’s losses under Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines had the ball and the lead with under two minutes to play. The parallels between these two losses are very real, and it’s part of why Michigan’s loss Saturday night hurt like it did.

Whether you even consciously made the connection or not, half of Michigan’s losses in the last two seasons have been suffered in essentially the same way. Yes, the Wolverines were much better against Michigan State than against Iowa, but what did that matter in the end?

The other reason this loss stings is because of a sense of “been there, done that” in the form of incompetence on offense and some painful decision making. Those are nods to Brady Hoke’s Michigan.

The Wolverines on Saturday night looked like they were getting ready for a date: playing it way too cute on offense. Iowa was obviously on its game in the trenches, leaving Michigan little room to work with in the traditional run game, but the Wolverines were quick to abandon it.

One of the more questionable calls of the night came on a third-and-1 in the fourth quarter with the Wolverines down one. Instead of trying to power it through for the first down, Michigan called a pitch to Karan Higdon, which resulted in a 6-yard loss. Instead of extending the drive, killing more time, possibly scoring a touchdown, the Wolverines settled for a field goal.

Wilton Speight was also woefully inaccurate. He had multiple opportunities to hit open receivers downfield, but he missed long almost every time. The only times he didn’t miss long, he missed short.

Speight, who was dealing with a sore left shoulder late in the game, had a chance to keep a critical drive alive with under five minutes to play. On a third-and-9 from Iowa’s 38, he dropped back and threw to the right sideline for Jehu Chesson. Only the ball didn’t quite get all the way to the boundary like it should have, and freshman cornerback Manny Rugamba was in position to wrestle the ball away from Chesson for the interception.

At one point in this game, Michigan had a series of possessions that went like this: safety, punt, punt, fumble (on the opening kickoff of the second half), punt, punt.

It was easily the worst offensive performance under Harbaugh.

Michigan’s playoff hopes are still very much alive; the Wolverines still control their own destiny in the Big Ten East. For now, though, this loss has brought back some terrible memories.

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