Thoughts on Michigan's loss to Alabama

Alright, it wasn’t pretty.

There isn’t much positive to say about Michigan’s loss to Alabama.

But, all is not lost.

The Crimson Tide would embarrass 99% of the teams in college football. They are just on another level right now.

Regardless, here are three things that stand out from the game.

The Michigan Defense was exposed

Again, I will temper my argument here a little bit, as Alabama has arguably the best offensive line in the country and their sixth string running back could be an All American anywhere else. However, I still expected more from Michigan on defense. I thought the Wolverines would really make it tough for Alabama to move down the field. Michigan showed up on the opening possession, but then got out-muscled the rest of the way. We all knew the defensive line had some question marks, but that has to be a concern going forward.

Toussaint, Clark would have made no difference

The 1997 Michigan team could have been on the field tonight and lost, Alabama is that strong. Toussaint may have made Michigan more dynamic on offense, but he certainly wasn’t going to make up for 27 points. I think had Michigan had Toussaint, Denard Robinson would have been used differently and not been forced to be a pocket passer.

The world is not ending

The loss hurts. The injury to Blake Countess didn’t help either. But, in the end, the majority of the country expected Michigan to lose, and lose by a large margin. There really is nowhere for Michigan to go, but up. The Wolverines won’t face a tougher defense than it did on Saturday (sorry MSU fans) and they won’t face an offense that is stronger up front. This loss can show Michigan where it needs to improve and will make them a better team in the Big Ten. I don’t think this means Michigan can’t contend for the Big Ten title. It simply means that they can’t contend for a national title, which I didn’t think they would in the first place. The opening weekend was tough for a number of good teams, Michigan included. I still think there is a lot to figure out about the Wolverines.