Kyle Whittingham walked into his first postgame news conference at Michigan looking more like a man who had dodged a disaster than one who had just won a football game.
The Wolverines escaped Western Michigan 13-12 on Saturday night on a 47-yard Hail Mary from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan after officials put one second back on the clock. Fans poured onto the Michigan Stadium turf. The locker room, according to the new head coach, stayed quiet.
Whittingham said there was no celebrating once the team got inside.
“There was no hooping and hollering in the locker room… we’ve got a lot to fix. We didn’t stop the run… we didn’t run the ball well… that falls squarely on my shoulders,” he said.
He later expanded on that point, telling reporters there was not a lot of hooting and hollering, and in fact there was none, because the players understood how much work remained.
Michigan scored on its opening drive, then went nearly four quarters without another point until the final snap. Western Michigan controlled the clock for more than 40 minutes, kicked four field goals and outrushed the Wolverines.
Underwood finished 12 of 22 for 170 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. Michigan committed nine penalties for 80 yards and lost the turnover battle 3-0.
Whittingham did not hide from any of it.
“The things that we didn’t do well: We didn’t play the run well on defense, we didn’t run the ball well on offense, we lost the turnover margin three-zip, we didn’t make enough first downs, and all this is squarely on my shoulders,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that, and I’ve got to do a better job preparing this football team.”He described his first reaction to the winning catch as simple relief.”
“My reaction was just, thank goodness. But I didn’t move. I was mad. I’m still pissed,” Whittingham said.
Running back Jordan Marshall, one of the team captains, sounded just as unsatisfied.
“We’re a way better team than this,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to be way better than this.”
The win kept Michigan from what would have been one of the most embarrassing losses in program history. The Wolverines were heavy favorites in Whittingham’s debut after he left Utah to take over a program still dealing with the fallout of recent coaching turmoil.
Whittingham called the finish one for the history books, then added he was not sure it would be remembered in a positive way.
He also said the team was flirting with disaster and that an actual loss would have been epic. The crowd that stayed until the end earned praise from the coach, who noted he has seen places empty out long before a finish like that.
Next week gets harder. No. 10 Oklahoma visits the Big House. Whittingham told his players the degree of difficulty is about to jump and that a similar performance will not be pretty.
The players, he said, already knew it. No one in the room pushed back.
Michigan is 1-0. The new coach made it clear that record is not the story he wants remembered from opening night.
