Michigan's Kyle Whittingham knew it was time to fire Jason Beck after watching film of latest loss

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said after watching film of a 15-6 loss to rival Michigan State, he knew it was time to fire offensive coordinator Jason Beck.

“It became apparent to me that needed to make the change now,” Whittingham said Monday, a day after making the move.

Whittingham insisted there was “zero” outside influence in the decision.

He named Jim Harding as interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season and acknowledged the staff lacks coaches with play-calling experience.

The Wolverines (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) are in the midst of a disappointing season under their first-year coach with three games left, needing to pull off an upset just to be eligible for a bowl after being ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP Top 25 .

They play at No. 18 Oregon (6-3, 3-2) on Saturday, return home to face No. 4 UCLA and travel to match up with rival and 21st-ranked Ohio State.

Whittingham would not name a starting quarterback for the game against the Ducks. Tommy Carr replaced Bryce Underwood in a comeback win against Penn State and both have struggled to lead the offensively challenged team.

The Wolverines barely avoided being shut out for the first time since 2014 against rival Michigan State, scoring with 1:35 left in a 15-6 loss after being favored to win by two touchdowns.

Michigan has been held scoreless in the first half three times in a season for the first time since 1979.

Under Beck, the Wolverines were ranked No. 132 out of 138 FBS teams in total offense, No. 126 in scoring, No. 125 in passing offense and No. 109 in rushing offense.

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