Loser: Michigan Wolverines (No. 14 down to No. 21)
As good as Notre Dame looked, the Michigan Wolverines looked as bad. Jim Harbaugh’s team came into the game as hyped as anyone in college football and some experts even pegged the Wolverines as national title favorites, but they looked like anything but.
Michigan was a favorite to win on the road, according to Vegas, but the Wolverines couldn’t do anything against the Notre Dame defense as fans were promised upgrades on the offensive side of the ball, but the offseason is often about hyping a team up rather than being realistic. The offensive line sent Shea Patterson running for his life and the run game was non-existent.
In fact, Patterson, who is usually a strong runner, had five carries for negative-21 yards and he passed for 227 yards and an interception. The offense as a whole finished with only 58 yards on the ground, averaging 1.8 yards per carry.
Michigan has more work to do than most teams still in the AP Top 25, but will this offensive line make improvement possible?
Either way, the Wolverines are one of the biggest losers of the week and there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix.