Michigan falls to Washington, QB situation questionable before bye week

Seattle – In a loud, raucous road environment, the first of the season for Michigan, a troubled offense and an overplayed secondary couldn't overcome turnovers and Washington's big-play attack.

The last time Michigan and Washington met in January, the Wolverines won the national championship. This time both teams had new head coaches, completely different staffs and now shared a conference. Washington won 27-17 on Saturday evening in front of 72,132 spectators at Husky Stadium.

Michigan is 4-2, 2-1 Big Ten and Washington is 4-2, 2-1.

The Wolverines are now using three quarterbacks at the halfway point of the regular season, which is hardly a recipe for success. Jack Tuttle took the reins from starting quarterback Alex Orji with 9:38 left in the first half and immediately gave the Wolverines, who trailed 14-0 at the time, a boost. He led them to three consecutive scoring drives and the lead, 17-14, with 8:38 left in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, he had two turnovers, a fumble and an interception at critical moments that the Huskies were able to convert into 10 points.

“I thought he came out and gave us a spark early. The players benefited from it,” said Michigan coach Sherrone Moore. “He trained well all week and came back healthy, which was great for us. He gave us the spark, so we'll see if he'll be the starter. It looks like he's giving us the best chance. In the end we have to clean up the sales.”

Moore said if Michigan played tomorrow, Tuttle would be the starter.

Michigan has now played three quarterbacks this season. Davis Warren started the first three but lost the job after throwing six interceptions, then Orji took over and started the next three. Tuttle, who transferred from Indiana before the 2023 season, started this season as the only Michigan quarterback with starting experience. But a lingering, unspecified injury kept him out of spring training and limited him to participating in preseason camp. He was cleared by doctors a week before the Washington game.

The Huskies had just taken the momentum and tied it late in the third quarter when, early in the fourth quarter, Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann, who finished the game with twelve tackles, intercepted Will Rogers, who had completed 269 consecutive passes without a turnover . But on the next drive, Tuttle fumbled and the Huskies were able to score a touchdown and take a 24-17 lead. On Michigan's next possession, Tuttle was intercepted and Washington added a field goal.

“I need to be able to protect the ball better,” said Tuttle, who was 10 of 18 for 98 yards and a touchdown. “Can’t fumble around, it won’t work. That's entirely up to me. I can't put the team and the defense in such a situation. And at the end of the last drive, I can’t put the ball in danger anymore.”

BOX SCORE: Washington 27, Michigan 17

The turnovers that Washington capitalized on made the difference.

“In the fourth quarter, those two turnovers were huge. They’re 10 points ahead,” Moore said. “Jack will be upset about this, but we can’t let him do this. We have to lift him up.”

Donovan Edwards had 95 yards on 14 carries and a 39-yard touchdown run. He also had two catches for 23 yards. Tight end Colston Loveland led the receivers with six catches for 33 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tuttle.

Washington outrebounded Michigan 429-286 and had 315 passing yards, while Rogers went 21 of 31 for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

The Huskies built a 14-0 lead just before Tuttle replaced Orji. During the game they had nine big pass plays of 15 yards or more, but they had receptions of 36 and 39 yards in the first quarter and a 37-yarder in the second quarter.

“Early in the game, they had a lot of explosive plays,” said defensive tackle Mason Graham, who was credited with a half-sack. “They had too many explosive plays, but they were strong defensively the whole game. We tried our best to get back there, but it didn’t go the way we wanted.”

Moore said: “We need to do a better job of reporting and doing things to clean things up. They did a great job planning it. I thought our guys settled down in the second half and limited the explosive plays. We just have to do that in the first half.”

Michigan's defensive backs missed a number of tackles.

“We just have to do a better job of closing the gap on the fundamentals,” Moore said. “That’s the biggest thing. If we forego short passes, we have to clear the lines in space. These guys are athletic in space, but we need to focus better on the ball. If we can do that, we’ll be a pretty good defense.”

Also a big deal is Michigan failing to finish games solidly. The Wolverines won the three previous games on the road to Washington, but struggled toward the end of those games. The Huskies outscored Michigan 13-0 in the fourth quarter, and the Wolverines have been outscored 63-40 in the fourth quarter of the first six games.

“Details and execution,” Loveland said when asked why Michigan struggled late in games. “It looks like they wanted it more, they made more plays when their name was called. I have to make plays and keep the sticks moving.”

Michigan has next weekend off before playing at Illinois on Oct. 19. There's a lot of work to do, but Moore said it's pretty clear where this team is right now and what needs to happen.

“We're 4-2 and our job now is to play the second half of the season and try to win every game,” Moore said. “We have an opportunity this week and next week to get better and prepare for Illinois.”

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