Quitting? Michigan football leaders say no chance: 'I hate quitters'

It's been a brutal stretch for Michigan football.

The Wolverines (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) have won just two games in the past seven weeks (including a bye) and are coming off a 15-6 loss to Michigan State, which led to firing offensive coordinator Jason Beck.

All of the preseason goals are out the window and now all that's left to play for is an upset against a ranked team sometime in the next three weeks and even more notably, a rivalry game against Ohio State to end the season.

With that, there are questions about how the team will continue to get off the mat. The program has won nine or more regular season games in seven of the past nine full seasons, but leaders say they won't put up with anything less than total commitment.

"We're going to keep fighting and we're never going to give up," center Jake Guarnera said. "We're never going to quit. I told the guys 'I hate losing, but I hate quitters even more.' Like that will not fly with me. So, I think pressing forward, remembering what we're playing for these last three games.

"Especially that last game at the end of this season, is a big thing for me."

Michigan travels to No. 16 Oregon (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) this weekend and does so with offensive line coach Jim Harding having been tagged as the interim play caller for the remainder of the season. For wide receiver JJ Buchanan, it's the first time in college he will play in an offense not orchestrated by Beck.

The sophomore wideout followed Kyle Whittingham and Beck from Salt Lake City to Ann Arbor this past offseason, but knows the bigger picture for the program is making sure the Wolverines end the season on a high note.

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"Great mentor, great person, great family," Buchanan said of Beck. "He's one of the reasons why I'm here today. So obviously, unfortunate.

"You know, it's the nature of the business, [so] my message to the team has just been everybody's got to stay together, finish the season out strong."

The noise from the outside has gotten loud, with fans extremely frustrated with the state of the entire team. Senior defensive back Zeke Berry said the message from the staff this week has been to turn the page and not "let the same team beat you twice."

It will be a tall task, traveling to Eugene against Dan Lanning's team that just beat Ohio State in Columbus. Michigan is a double-digit underdog and the pitchforks are out for Whittingham, who hasn't met fans where they're at. Many feel he's downplayed both the MSU and OSU rivalries, hasn't shown a ton of fire on the sideline and was late to make the move of relieving Beck of his duties.

That hasn't been the tone from players like Buchanan who called him "a great leader of men" and said he has "nothing but love" for the head coach.

"The only voices that really matter are the ones inside the building," Guarnera added. "We are the ones that are in here day and night, the ones that are practicing every day, and the ones that came for summer workouts, fall camp meetings, all that.

"We just try and keep the main thing being the main thing, and you know, keep everything inside the building."

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Guarnera understands there may be some temptation to put an eye on the future − be it the transfer portal or the NFL − but said if there's anybody who doesn't want to play "there's the door."

He said he hasn't seen any quitting yet. Defensive players admitted this loss was perhaps the toughest to move on from. It's been a frustrating season, but losing to an injury-riddled rival as two-touchdown favorites was the lowest point of an already tough year.

Now it's about getting back in the fight.

"I've been through tough losses before − I've lost in a national championship before," Guarnera said. "I understand what locker rooms are like after games like that, and it's really just how you respond. You can get punched in the face as many times as you want. We're going to get back up every single time, you know, regardless of what anybody says."

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.