Jim Harbaugh should have won his first game as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, but the offense was not at the level it needed to be against the Utah Utes, as the Maize and Blue lost 24-17. 

The quarterback, Jake Rudock, overthrew two touchdowns to Jehu Chesson and logged three interceptions. Shane Morris did not touch the field, but he will probably get a chunk of playing time next week under center. 

Along with the passing struggles, the run game did as well. De'Veon Smith ran the ball 17 times, but could not manage to break 50 yards. Smith finished with 47 yards on the ground, while the entire Michigan team had 76 rushing yards as time ran out. 

"I thought we were playing a little bit tentative in the first half and not coming off the ball like we need to," Harbaugh said. "We did miss some holes, backs missed some holes. All things to grow and improve on, and I thought we did that as the game went on."

One offensive player brought the fire for the Wolverines. When a pass was a little off target, he would go get it. The tight end made almost ever play he could to help the Wolverines stay in the game. Jake Butt is that player, who finished with eight catches for 93 yards and one touchdown. Amara Darboh added 101 receiving yards and one touchdown. 

Utah's offense was not outstanding either, but a pick-six and two rushing touchdowns set the table for the victory. The rushing touchdowns came from Devontae Booker and Travis Wilson, who combined for 122 yards on the night. 

The Utes took a 24-10 lead with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter with a 55-yard interception return from Justin Thomas. 

"Those are plays you dream about," Thomas said. "I just broke on the play, and that's all I remember and then just took off. I prayed about getting a play like this, and it just came through."

A big concern for the Utes is Andy Phillips, the kicker. He only kicked one field goal out of three attempts. The missed field goals were from 45 and 48 yards, while his made attempt was from 30 yards. Michigan also struggled kicking the ball as Allen Kenny went 1-for-2 on field goals. 

Travis Wilson was solid, but could have had a better game against the Maize in Blue. The versatile quarterback finished 24-for-33 with 208 passing yards, but he did not toss a touchdown. 

The good thing for Wilson was that he did not get super aggressive and sat back and took care of the ball for the most part of the game, except for one interception he threw. 

His rushing touchdown came in the third quarter to give Utah a 17-3 lead. Wilson faked a handoff to Booker and the entire Wolverine defense went towards Booker, leaving Wilson with an easy 14-yard touchdown up the middle. 

"We beat Michigan for the third time in a row," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That's a heck of an accolade for our program."