No. 24 Michigan dropped to 4-3 on Saturday with a 21-7 loss to No. 22 Illinois, becoming the second reigning national champion in the last 30 years to lose three of its first seven games the following season after a title win. Entering the 2024 campaign, the Wolverines had lost three games total in their last three seasons under former coach Jim Harbaugh, and now they find themselves on the cusp of possibly missing a bowl game with a tough slate ahead.
Michigan closes out the 2024 campaign with a brutal stretch featuring games against rival Michigan State, No. 2 Oregon, No. 16 Indiana, Northwestern and No. 4 Ohio State. Realistically, Michigan should be favored in games against the Spartans and Wildcats, but a six-win season would be the fewest in a full season in a decade.
The last time Michigan missed a bowl game in a full season was in 2014 — the final year under former coach Brady Hoke. The Wolverines went 2-4 in the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020 before going on a run that included three consecutive Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff berths.
Regardless of how the remainder of the season shakes out, Michigan finds itself in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar spot the program hasn’t been in since the end of the 2020 season. The gauntlet begins home next Saturday against rival Michigan State, where in Week 9, the Wolverines could find themselves in a must-win scenario to keep their bowl game hopes alive.
Offensive woes have Michigan in this position
The offense has been full of instability since the start of the season. Former Indiana quarterback Jack Tuttle got the start for the second straight week against Illinois, marking the third different signal caller to start at least two games for Michigan this season. Former walk-on Davis Warren was Michigan’s Week 1 starter against Fresno State before he was benched for Alex Orji ahead of the Big Ten opener against USC last month.
Michigan came into the weekend with the No. 131-ranked passing offense, which ranked only behind Army and Air Force for the worst in the country. The Wolverines averaged 115 passing yards per game coming into the weekend, which marked the fewest by a Big Ten team through the first six games since 2000.
J.J. McCarthy isn’t walking through that door to save Michigan’s offense. First-year coach Sherrone Moore will have a decision to make on who his starter will be for the remainder of the season, because the jury is out for all three quarterbacks that have gotten reps.
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