ANN ARBOR, Mich. _ Ugly. Sloppy. Almost catastrophic.
That's the only way to describe No. 7 Michigan's play in a 24-21 double overtime win over Army.
The Wolverines were poised to suffer a devastating loss, the worst of the Jim Harbaugh era. Then the defense came up with a huge play.
With Michigan leading by three in the second overtime, Carlo Kemp and Aidan Hutchinson converged upon Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr., forcing a fumble that Josh Uche recovered to end the game. The Wolverines rushed the field in celebration after a game that was much closer than anyone anticipated.
The Black Knights were a 23 {-point underdog and don't have nearly as much talent as Michigan. None of that mattered because of how poorly the Wolverines played.
Against a team built to capitalize on sloppy play, U-M made mistake after mistake. With the score tied at 14 late in the fourth quarter, Army stopped Michigan on fourth down, but kicker Cole Talley's 50-yard field-goal attempt fell just short, sending the game to overtime.
On the first possession of overtime, Michigan halted Army on third-and-4, but senior linebacker Khaleke Hudson lined up offside, giving the Black Knights a first down. Three plays later, Hopkins broke a tackle and scored.
Michigan's offense converted a third down on its possession, throwing a pass after 15 consecutive runs, and pounded it into the end zone to tie the game at 21. On the ensuing possession, quarterback Shea Patterson threw three consecutive incompletions, leading to a 43-yard field goal from Jake Moody.
Then U-M's defense saved the day.
Self-inflicted mistakes were the theme of the day.
Michigan lost three fumbles in the first half _ two that led directly to Army touchdowns, and another that cost the offense a score.
The Black Knights' disciplined triple-option attack took full advantage of the Wolverines' early miscues, scoring on first-half touchdown drives that took a combined 11:58 off the clock and gave them a 14-7 lead at halftime.
U-M couldn't get out of its own way. The last drive of the half came up empty after an intentional grounding penalty lost 10 crucial yards, leading to a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt.
Patterson _ who lost two fumbles in the first half _ didn't look sharp and wasn't utilized in the run game. That meant Army could sell out in the run game without any threat of Patterson keeping the ball on zone reads. The Wolverines also struggled in pass protection. Left tackle Ryan Hayes allowed the first sack-fumble, and running back Christian Turner blew an assignment that led to the second sack-fumble.
In all, Michigan had five drives in Army territory that ended with zero points. The defense gave the offense plenty of opportunities to win the game in the fourth quarter, but Michigan couldn't convert two short fourth downs.
The Wolverines were lucky to emerge unscathed. But the errors didn't inspire confidence, especially because their season-opener was riddled with mistakes, too.
As other teams such as Ohio State and Maryland beat the brakes off their opponents with explosive, no-huddle offenses, Michigan's new offense struggled to do anything right.
As of now, the Wolverines look far from the Big Ten title favorite and playoff contender as many had pegged them in the preseason.
