Five Burning Questions For Michigan Football Heading Into Oregon

Michigan football is at a crossroads. Following an embarrassing loss to Michigan State, Kyle Whittingham fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck and promoted offensive line coach Jim Harding to interim offensive coordinator. Now, the Wolverines must travel to Eugene to face No. 18 Oregon with bowl eligibility still hanging in the balance.

Here are five burning questions heading into Saturday's matchup.

Harding inherits an offense ranked No. 126 nationally in scoring, No. 109 in rushing, No. 125 in passing and No. 132 in total offense. It's difficult to imagine things getting much worse. Nobody should expect Harding to completely overhaul the offense in less than a week, but noticeable changes in personnel usage, play-calling and overall philosophy would be encouraging. Michigan desperately needs something different. It'll be interesting to see if Harding employs a more north-south, physical rushing approach, especially since the outside, jet motion runs were completely useless with Beck calling plays. 

Whittingham described his players as angry and embarrassed following Saturday's loss to Michigan State. Those emotions are understandable, but how the Wolverines respond will be telling. Michigan's season has fallen well short of expectations, and the firing of Beck only adds to the uncertainty surrounding the program. Will the players rally around Whittingham or begin checking out with three difficult games remaining? There have been some rumblings that Whittingham has lost the locker room, so it'll be interesting to see what it looks like on the field in Eugene.

It's difficult to properly evaluate Carr given the circumstances surrounding Michigan's offense. The freshman has shown flashes of legitimate ability, but inconsistent protection and questionable play-calling have made his job considerably harder. Can Harding simplify things for Carr, establish some rhythm offensively and put the young quarterback in positions to succeed? Carr hasn't officially been named the starter, but some prominent news-breakers in the college football world have already said that it'll be No. 14 under center in Eugene.

Perhaps nobody understands Michigan's offensive limitations better than Harding, considering he's been coaching the offensive line all season. Of course, Harding also deserves some responsibility for the unit's struggles. Now that he's overseeing the entire offense, can he design a more effective attack around the strengths and weaknesses of his offensive linemen? This is one of the biggest developments, in my opinion. The offensive line hasn't been very good all year, and now Harding has to put a ton of his effort and time into a completely new part of preparation. It literally can't get much worse, but what if it does?

Jay Hill's defense has repeatedly done enough to give Michigan opportunities to win, only to watch the offense squander them. That has to become exhausting, both physically and mentally. Against a talented Oregon team, the Wolverines will once again need a strong defensive performance to remain competitive. How much longer can Michigan reasonably expect its defense to carry the program? The defensive players are asked about this every week and, while they all say the right things, it has to be weighing on them week in and week out.